The hottest spots for you to try, from our palates to yours.

 

Irifune, Paraguay 412, Microcentro – I first went to Irifune back in 2007. By comparison to what was on offer at various sushi bars at the time, it was among the better spots, but in retrospect, it was actually pretty mediocre sushi. but a few scattered visits, I enjoyed their cooked food quite a bit, and while I won’t call it a go-to spot for that, it was reliable for a good cooked Japanese meal, including one of my favorite ramens. I had to be downtown one evening recently and thought I’d give a shot at their sushi bar and see how it is these days. I have to say… [Closed during the pandemic]

…I’m pretty impressed. A nice selection of different fish on offer, a good selection of maki rolls of different types, and only a few that include cream cheese. I got into a conversation with the manager, as I’d inquired first if their spicy tuna roll was made with fresh tuna or canned, as so many local spots make it. He assured me not only that it was fresh tuna, but that he considered using canned tuna in sushi to be an abhorrence. I asked about the scattered rolls with cream cheese and he grimaced – he agreed it really has no place in sushi, but “we have to have it for locals who don’t know any better”. I like this place more and more. My first impulse is to say that it was rather pricey, but the 630 pesos ($10.50) for the 6-piece selection of sushi is, while the same price as my neighborhood takeout sushi place, Maki Sushi charges for an 8-piece selection, this is both far better quality and more variety. And while the 810 pesos ($13.50) for a spicy tuna roll is a couple hundred more pesos than most places here charge – it’s fresh tuna, not canned, and the roll is spectacular – not only do they season the tuna well with shichimi powder, but then instead of nori wrapping the tuna inside the roll, they use leaves of cabbage kimchi, and then top the whole thing of with a sriracha mayo. That all had a kick! Oh, the first photo, compliments of the house a little mixed salmon and fried white fish escabeche to wake the tastebuds.

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Café de la Plaza Bistro, Av. Lincoln 3990, Villa DeVoto – The Roving Ravenous Horde’s 73rd outing, and we headed back out to Villa DeVoto. This place came to my attention for one dish in particular, a whole leg of lamb, served up roasted for 3-4 people to share. No guarantee the Horde was going to order it, as we had no further details, but it was the reason the place was on the list.  The four of us who came decided to go for it.

We started off with one of their shared picadas. This one, the Ibérico, was the recommendation of our waitress, as opposed to the other, the Clamor de los Clientes, the supposed customer favorite. Apparently the waitstaff have a different favorite. Really good, nice selection of charcuterie, some fresh mozzarella, olives, capers, and pickled mild chilies. 720 pesos ($12) and enough for four of us to share as a start.

So, here’s that lovely roast leg of lamb…. But wait, that’s not roasted, that’s braised. It’s falling off the bone tender, it’s delicious, but that’s not roasted. It’s accompanied by a potato-pea puree with pistachios, which is a brilliant little combo – add some fresh mint to it and it’d be perfect with lamb! But, we’re a little disappointed – both the missing presentation of a roasted leg, but also because we were really looking forward to that crispy, crackly skin. Again, delicious, but not meeting our expectations. And just to be clear, it’s not like we misread anything… these two photos are from the restaurant’s own Instagram feed, and one posted by the owners to their TripAdvisor page as an advert for the dish, which again, they’re known for.

I mean, we knew that it might not look exactly like a PR photo, but come on… this is a totally different way of preparing it. And our waitress assured us that not only had she never seen those photos, but that the lamb always came out braised and looked like what we were served. Always. Again, still delicious. 2600 pesos ($43).

In for a centavo, in for a peso. At this point, even splitting it four ways, we’d already gone beyond what we’ve ever spent per person at a Horde lunch. Then again, peso prices rising rapidly, and likely to continue to do so under the new administration – there are predictions that it may well go from 60:1 that it is now, to 100:1 by the end of the year. So, we got a couple of eclairs, both good, and some coffee, likewise. All told, with tip, 5400 pesos for four, 1350 each ($22.50).

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Intriguing. burgers made by grinding meat that’s already been slow smoked in a smoker…. Will it work? Inquiring minds want to know.

We’re at Uría, (name change) Meat & Greet Burgers, Emilio Lamarca 387, in Martinez, one of the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires, conveniently located a mere block from the Martinez train station on the Tigre line. We’ve heard rumors about these smoked meat burgers. Good rumors. The combinations on their online menu look intriguing, these are not the usual suspects. [Closed permanently during the pandemic]

The condiment selection grabs our attention as we walk in. In addition to the commercial mustard and ketchup, there’s sriracha, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and housemade plain and cilantro mayos, and barbecue sauce (a variation on a Chinese hoisin sauce, it turns out).

We order a couple of burgers. The Arrivata is two patties, netting 200 gms (7 oz), topped with burrata, olive oil, basil, and a tomato mascarpone, on a housemade white bread roll. The Inca is likewise a double patty, with pickled red onions, creamed corn, huancaina (sans walnuts, it turns out, which was good for my companion who is allergic), and lettuce, on a housemade potato bread roll. Out of nine combos, they manage to pack in five different kinds of burger buns, and only repeat two ingredients (tomatoes and arugula, each of which appear on two different preparations). Burgers are offered solo, or in combination with fries and either soda or craft beer. The fries are among the best I’ve had in Buenos Aires, maybe even the best. The burgers are up there in the top too, easily moving into one of my top five favorites around – I’m knocking The Pony Line out of the top five, simply because their amazing 45-day aged sirloin burger is only sometimes available, and while their regular burger is damned good, these top it.

I will be back! Kind of interesting, thinking about it, over the last few months, some of my favorite eats have been up in this neck of the woods – from a stunning meat-packed dinner at Bestia to the great pizzas at Orno, to this. I foresee some more explorations of the northern suburbs coming up this spring and summer!