I was once, many years ago, accused on social media of “only reviewing restaurants in Recoleta and Palermo”. It was laughable at the time, as anyone who’s spent any time reading these pages or looked at the maps I’ve got linked in the right-hand column of the blog for where to eat various foods. I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten in every one of the 48 barrios in the city, something not many people can say. At the same time, fifteen years ago or so when the accusation was leveled, Recoleta and Palermo were kind of the hotbed of dining out, unless you just wanted classic local food. That’s changed over the years, and I’ve done numerous posts focusing on one or another barrios in the city. At the same time, we live in Recoleta, so it shouldn’t be surprising that sometimes, I just like to review stuff that’s close to home. And so, how about a look at some of the newest pizzerias within a few blocks of my front door?
Leña, Ayacucho 1409, Recoleta – In the eighteen years I’ve lived here, this space has changed hands numerous times. I don’t recall prior, but at some point it was a pizzeria called La Cuadrita, then the brief phoenix-like reincarnation of Palermo’s La Cupertina for its justly famed empanadas, then a pizzeria called Sancho’s, and now, Leña, or, Wood. One presumes that that relates to the wood-fired oven in which both pizzas and empanadas are baked.
A smoked bacon and leek pizza? Yes please. This is good pizza. This is damned good pizza. The crust is classic Argentine style, it’s not some fancy sourdough whole wheat pizza, which has become all the rage, but it’s flavorful, light, and perfectly cooked. The tomato sauce, a little zip to it, and enough of it on the pizza to taste. Generous amount of both bacon and leeks. A proper amount of cheese, and good quality. I’m a happy camper, and it’s only two blocks from home.
Lollo’s Osteria, Peña 2005, Recoleta – Directly across the street from the previous place, is the small Italian spot in the Ayacucho Palace Hotel. I reviewed it for their pastas back in November. I liked it enough that I thought it worth checking out their pizzas. In an interesting Italian-Argentine twist, they offer each of their pizzas in either “Italian” style or “Argentine” style. The former, more or less Neapolitan, a four slice, individual pie, with a supposedly cold fermented whole grain dough, the latter a six slice small pie, with more typical “white bread” dough. They’re the same price. To date, I’ve only tried the Italian style.
It’s good. No more than that. I don’t buy the claim of being a 48-hour cold fermented sourdough, it just doesn’t have the flavor and texture of that. But it’s decent, and it’s cooked right. But then it’s just got an Argentine ton of oozing mozzarella and no more than a blush of sauce on it. The thin sliced sausage was good. But, an Italian style pizza this is not, and with Festín being a mere block further away, I wouldn’t bother. The sfogliatella that I had for dessert was likewise good, but no more than that – the main problem being it was over-baked and edging towards burnt. I’ll stick with their pastas.
Andiamo, Montevideo 1088, Recoleta – Although noted as being “inside the Colegio Marista Champagnat”, it’s not. It may be in a commercial space rented out at the corner of that building, but it’s got its own storefront, and as best I can tell, has no other connection to the college. I’m sure it gets a good number of students, though, being both a bit pricier than most pizzerias in the area, and being more Italian style than Argentine, who knows? There weren’t any the day I went – the age range was primarily in the mid-30s and up. Recently, this place has been getting some hot press as one of the best pizzas around.
I don’t know about that. It’s got a great crust, though too much of it – it’s really thick and puffy, and the crust to cheese and toppings ratio is just off for me. It’s really big for an individual sized pie – more like what most places make as a six-piece small/medium, just cut into four slices. I got their highly touted four cheese pizza, which I didn’t realize had no sauce on it, just the cheeses. And it’s drizzled with a lemon zest syrup and walnuts are scattered over it. The drizzle was just too sweet for me. And, bizarrely, the tomato sauce is delivered on the side, “for dipping the crust into, the way Italians do it” I was informed. Umm, no, they don’t. And the sauce tastes like plain tomato puree from a supermarket carton – unseasoned. Now, maybe I should have tried a more classic pizza, but if that’s the sauce they use, I can’t imagine that I’m going to be impressed.
Vinnie’s, Uriburu 1039, Recoleta – Not quite as recent, this three-location chain started up four years ago. Each location took over spaces that were food related. I don’t know if perhaps the owner of one of the three spots is behind the chain. All three are here in Recoleta, this one taking over the space vacated by the horrific Pizza Yerman, another taking over the spot that was the mediocre Amore’s Pizza, and the third was a candy shop. They offer classic Argentine style pizzas, individual or large, and at a discount price that had me worried before I ordered the pie.
This is an individual calabresa pizza, and it barely dents the change purse at $2.40. It is, unfortunately, not worth that much. A bland crust with the texture of a sponge, a brushing of what is probably plain tomato puree, too much oily mozzarella, cheap sausage cut into variedly thin and thick slices and with a chewy casing still on it, and a dusting of well aged oregano… dust. It borders on inedible. Pass.
This seems a good place to stop for now. One thumbs up, one thumbs down, two hovering somewhere in the middle. I’ll be a regular at Leña!
[…] (9) Across the street is a branch of Pizza Yerman. Well, branch is probably too strong of a word, they have two outlets, one near me here in Recoleta, and one at Coronel Díaz 1491, just off the corner of Paraguay. It’s a take-out only place, with barely enough space to even wait for your pizza after ordering it. And, I can’t tell you if the pizza is any good, because there’s a story here – a rather disgusting one. So we order a small mozzarella and figure we’ll either snap a photo and then each grab a slice and eat while we walk, or go sit in the plaza a couple of blocks away. But that was not to happen. You see, there’s the pizzero, a big, hulking guy with a long braided pony tail. And he’s walking around in the kitchen, in full view of customers, and there are these roasting pans on the floor, and he trips over them once or twice, steps in them, basically kicks them around. And then he gets this big carton of raw chickens out of the refrigerator (the place offers some things besides pizza), and proceeds to start cutting them up into sections on a big cutting board, on the same counter where he just made our pizza, so we’re a little nervous right from the start. And then he picks up the roasting pans off the floor and tosses the chickens in them and then sticks them in one of the ovens. And he has this grimy grey rag on the side of the counter which he uses to, in order, wipe off the counter, wipe off the cutting board where our pizza and the raw chickens were, wipe off his knife, and then wipe off his hands, and then toss it back on the countertop. And then retrieves our pizza from the oven, sticks it back on the cutting board where he cuts it into sections, slides it into the box using his unwashed hands, grabs some oregano from an open container that’s sitting there, tosses it on, closes up the box and sticks it on the counter. We objected, he shrugged and walked away, we asked for our money back, they refused, we grabbed the box only long enough to snap the photo and then tossed it all in the trash without trying it. 23 pesos wasted, and not a chance in hell I’d go back and try them again. I recommend you don’t either. [Closed around the end of 2019, replaced by an outlet of Vinnie’s Pizza] […]
[…] Amore’s Pizza, Arenales 1721, Recoleta – This recently opened place here in the ‘hood smells delightful when you wander down the block. I’ve passed it by a couple of times since it opened and tucked it away in my mind to order up from them soon. And then, one day, passing by, I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s take-out and delivery only, and one negative, they only accept credit/debit cards if you order through PedidosYa for delivery (I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me standing there to just literally place my order with the app), but I had the cash with me, so no big deal. [Closed during pandemic lockdown, replaced by Vinnie’s Pizzas & Empandas] […]