I told ya Bite Marks might come back now and again. It fits for places that either I’m just giving a cursory look at, or that just don’t really need or justify a more extensive writeup. That doesn’t mean they’re bad (some may be), it may just mean that a more detailed look will come down the line, but I think they’re worth noting. This time around we have a much anticipated and hyped burger, we have Peruvian, Chinese, and, a rarity newcomer here in town, Thai!
Paralyzed by Dreams of Burgers
I’m not sure I have this right. There’s a family style restaurant up in the northern suburbs, in General Pacheco, called Manolo a Secas, that is known for it’s smoked meats, along with things like fried chicken and milanesas and other fare. For those of us without cars, it’s more or less “the middle of nowhere”, because getting to it ain’t easy. In some way they were connected with the opening of a burger place, or started serving burgers, or shared space, or something, and there was a lot of hype about these great burgers, with some implication that they involved the smoked meats. And then there was a year or so long hyping of the opening of two burger joints, one up in the Nordelta north of Tigre, and one here in town in Palermo. By the time either of them opened, I’m not sure anyone was still paying attention.
Enter, Big Pons, Fitz Roy 1727, Palermo (no idea what the name is supposed to signify, in English, the pons is part of the brainstem responsible for carrying signals to various parts of the body, as well as being implicated in both sleep paralysis and the generation of dreams). Now, as best I can tell, there are no smoked meats involved. It’s just another run at making “gourmet” burgers, something that if someone comes up with an amazing new one, I’ll be all thrilled about it, but as we’ve seen over the last couple of years, most of them are nothing special.
And honestly, the same here. It’s a good burger. Nicely seasoned meat, two patties (or more for some of the combos), but they’re really thin, and cooked to a solid medium well. Mediocre sandwich slice cheddar. I think they bake the bacon, pressed between a couple of sheet pans or something, since the pieces are exactly even and near perfectly flat – they are crispy, I’ll give them that. My combo choice had a spicy-sweet tomato and jalapeño relish on it that was good. The bun held up, and was actually well made, but too small for the size of the patties. The fries were thin, crispy outside, and soft inside – the best thing on the plate. But overall, while I’m happy to recommend it as a decent burger… it’s just one more in a line of nothing special. Yawn.
If life doesn’t give you sugar & water too, all you’ve got is sour lemons
El Limeño, Sánchez de Bustamante 259, Once – Just don’t go. Seriously. No. Rundown, dirty, very limited menu, service with an attitude of indulgent ineptitude, and…
…a barely edible ceviche mixto (390 pesos) of low quality fish (chewy and stringy) that tasted old, along with mealy, rubbery shellfish, and the curing liquid was so out of balance it couldn’t be rescued…
…and a chiccharón de pescado (360 pesos) of probably the same fish, at least crisply fried and not greasy, but bland and uninteresting. We left over half of both dishes, paid and left ourselves. Nothing recommendable about this place.
What’s in a name?
ADU Restaurant, Mendoza 1587, Belgrano – A new spot opened in Barrio Chino. Not entirely sure on the name – yes, in Spanish or I suppose in English, it says “ADU Restaurant”, but in Chinese it says Hé Mù Snack Bar. Go figure. I’m not sure what either of them means, so we’ll let it be. Interesting decor for a Chinese restaurant – it almost has the look of some sort of upscale salon. And I’m thinking that there was some sort of salon there before, I was trying to picture it when I was there.
Friendly, efficient service, from the moment I walked in – the one negative, sort of, is that the waitress was doubling as the delivery person, so she kept leaving, but the manager filled in while she was out each time, so it all worked. Probably because they’re brand new (waitress said three weeks), and don’t have a lot of business yet, at least at lunchtime.
The menu is shorter than many Cantonese spots, with maybe a half dozen appetizers, including some very good, very delicate potstickers.
And, rather than a list of various dishes – although there are a few, mostly what they offer are “combos”, which seems to mean a smaller than typical portion of one of about half a dozen different stir-fries, with rice, and vegetable (which consisted of two bok choy leaves sauteed with garlic). Also quite good, and as an individual portion, completely satisfying, especially after the dumplings. Kind of nice for not having half a plate of food that I then feel like I either have to leave or take to go. Very reasonable, the two dishes above, plus a water and tip came in at a little over 500 pesos.
For when you’re all Thaied up
New spot on the delivery circuit, this is apparently a delivery only spot, Thai Express, Ecuador 1312, here in Recoleta – I’m not sure if they have a storefront for takeout as well – will have to take a wander by there, when it stops raining. I would venture to guess, given the packaging and labeling, that they have everything pre-made, pre-packaged, pre-wrapped, and pre-labeled. And they probably microwave them to heat them up and then send them out via the delivery guys (Pedidosya). It would also fit with that I had these in my hands 20 minutes after ordering them. [Closed permanently during the 2020 pandemic, replaced by a taco takeout place]
I decided to sample through their appetizer menu – karipaps, or curry puffs, were nice and crunchy and filled with a spicy chicken and potato curry, thumbs up there (260 pesos); satay chicken was cooked right, not dried out, and the peanut sauce had a decent kick to it, another thumbs up (310 pesos); and, the coconut shrimp were juicy on the inside, and had a nice coconut crust – they needed a hint of salt, but that’s more personal taste, a third thumbs up (340 pesos). All around, surprisingly good, and just the three appetizers was sufficient food for two to share as a lighter dinner or lunch. Worth another order down the line to try some of their main course curries and/or noodle dishes.
[…] and noted that a place that prior to the pandemic had been serving quite good Cantonese food, ADU, was gone, and replaced by Ma La Tang, Mendoza […]