First, you (and I) were probably starting to wonder if we’d ever see another Where To Eat post. This quarantine has dragged, and is still dragging on, over six months now here. But second, we do have a little more freedom, we’re more into the “stay at home when you can” level of things than full on quarantine, with allowances for getting some exercise, and… as of two weeks ago, being able to eat at some restaurants, at some times, in some places, with some limits. We haven’t been going crazy with it – six months of conditioning and there still being uncertainty about, well, everything to do with this virus, we’re being cautious. But a few ventures forth….

A new opening, and a sort of new restaurant. 13 Fronteras, a favorite of those into creative reinterpretations of pan-Latin American dishes, has picked up and moved in the midst of this pandemic to El Salvador 5720, Palermo. It was already in the works beforehand, and has now had to endure a good portion of a six month delay from their planned opening, but it is now open. It’s a beautiful space inside, taking that counter seating approach again, but with far more elegance than the old space in San Telmo. Unfortunately, we can’t yet eat inside at the gleaming polished bar, but there are a trio of tables for four setup outside on the sidewalk for those who want to sample items from the new menu. I imagine once they’re fully open that menu will expand, but there’s more than enough on it to satisfy your tastebuds. I’ve stopped in a couple of times to talk with Dave, the chef-owner, in passing when doing deliveries in the area, and on the last visit, he treated me to a taste of his new cod cheek empanada coated in vegetable ash. Hot and delicious! I have to admit, I’m trying to wrap my head around prices as the peso has plummeted against the dollar over the last six months, and 290 of them seems awfully high for even a very creative empanada – on the other hand, in real world terms, that makes it only about $2, and even at the “official” rate, which no one really pays attention to it’s less than double that. (We’re offering our delivery dinners at ranging from 350-450 pesos for a full on main course – maybe we need to rethink those prices.) We’ll be back to sample more.

Actually, before that “outing”, which was unplanned, I’d met up with my friend Jamie for a wander about in Palermo on the first weekend of our being allowed to eat out. We hadn’t really planned to eat… well, actually, I kind of had, it’s just been so long…. He’d already eaten, but joined me for a beer at Blest, Gorriti 4857, Palermo. They serve up their own line of craft beers, though they didn’t have all of them available. I figured, it’s been six months or more since I last had a burger, why not? The burger – the patty far too thin, not quite a “smashed patty” style, but not much bigger, and cooked to death. But, well seasoned, and the toppings, some sautéed fresh pine mushrooms and gooey melted cheese, on a quite decent bun, made up for a lot of that. Plus, first burger in over six months. The onion rings are simply glorious. Easily the best onion rings I’ve had in BA, and well worth the upcharge for substituting them for fries. Mushroom burger – 460 pesos, the rings normally were something like 180 pesos, they tossed in at a mere 60 peso upcharge on the burger, the pints were 220 pesos apiece.

Henry and I took advantage a few days later for a first outing together for lunch at a new (it opened maybe two months before the quarantine) branch of Quotidiano nearby to home in the front plaza of the Recoleta Urban Mall. We’d eaten there once before prior to the shutdown, and we ordered for delivery once during the last few months. It’s a bigger space than the original. The menu is, as best I can tell, the same, though I’d say that the cooking is more consistent at the original. We’ve found, out of two visits and one delivery order, that the pastas are a mix of a more or less perfect al dente and a touch too much so on two dishes so far, with the pasta still being chewy. Really liked the lasagna quite a bit, but Henry’s maccheroni with bolognese was just too chewy for him to eat. It was on the edge for me, and we decided to just swap dishes. In normal times, I’d have probably sent the dish back to be recooked, but everybody gets a little more latitude these days. And, it was still tasty, just more of a workout. For pastas, and not particularly large portions, the prices seem a little high, especially the lasagna which comes in at over 700 pesos, while the other was just shy of 500. But again, at the real world rates, those are now basically $5 and $3.50, or a touch under double that at the official.

And, this one we’ve been to before, many times, though it’s been awhile. Cosi Mi Piace, El Salvador 4618, Palermo. Over the last year or so we’ve been going to Soler Vino Pizza, which I’d give the edge to on everything from the pizzas to the service, to the atmosphere. And, that’s what we’d planned, for my birthday lunch outing this last weekend, but arrived to find that at lunch time, they’re now only serving thick crust square pizza by the piece, sort of a “Sicilian squares”. It’s just not what any of us wanted, and with apologies, we withdrew from our reservation and walked the few blocks to the original Roman pizza spot in BA. It’s still excellent pizza, I should note – nothing at all to disparage, I just like the other a bit more. Two of us shared (that’s Jamie, by the way, in the picture, also noted above) a pizza with burrata, and another with mushrooms, and left happy campers. Henry’s not a huge pizza fan, so he ordered a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs and was happy too. Respectively, 560, 580, and 600 pesos, plus 240 each for a couple of half pints of beer (that’s a bit pricey for a half pint, even with the exchange rate), a couple of sodas for Henry and two espressos for us – all told, with tip, 2930 pesos, or about $21, or at official rate, $39.

All of these places are offering not just outdoor seating, but also food for pickup or delivery, for those who still aren’t ready to venture out.