It’s been since mid-pandemic that I haven’t written a Where to Eat recommendation piece. There have been too many mediocre or bad spots recently, and writing about them was depressing me, so I’m just not going to this time around. There were half a dozen forgettable spots, I’ve added them to my maps, without any more write-up than a little blurb attached to the location pin. This time, a trio of things I quite recommend!
Let’s start simple, and at a place I wrote up a bit back on my Day Drinking post about wine bars. I’m back, as I am relatively regularly, at Verdot Wine Bar, Quintana 465, Recoleta, in the Mio Buenos Aires Hotel. I’m having a lovely glass of Brunetto 2020 from Bira Wines in Mendoza. It’s a ridiculously tasty and inexpensive blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Syrah. I’m also quite fond of their Tanito, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet; and not so fond of their Rosso d’Uco, a somewhat acidic and astringent blend of the same grapes as the Brunetto, but just not very pleasant.
To go with this tipple, I’ve ordered the burger off the menu, an absolutely rocking patty of ground flank steak, well seasoned, and topped with onions cooked down in Malbec, arugula, Tomme cheese, and their own homemade ketchup, all on a cheese bun. It’s served up with a hasselback potato – perfectly cooked, and so much more interesting than french fries, served with smoked mayo. I could happily eat that burger and drink a glass of wine, on a regular basis, which, with tip will run you 6000 pesos, about $12 and change.
Interestingly, here I am, drinking the aforementioned Tanito, on my first visit to Fresca Laboratori di Pasta, which has had a store out in Belgrano for quite some time, and recently opened up a small trattoria in Palermo chico, at República Árabe Siria 3065, in the strip of restaurants under the Palazzo Bellini. On my second visit, with The Horde, we went with the Brunetto. We were a big group that second visit, so I’m picking out some favorites.
First, just a very interesting appetizer. It’s rather pricey for what it is, so delicious as it was, I’m cautious about recommending it. Then again, blue rate and all that, it’s not that pricey. These are little balls of deep-fried parmesan, served over a pear marmalade. They’re teeny – these are each about the size of a standard small marble. But yum. The remainder of the appetizers are solid renditions of vitello tonnato, various bruschetta, a caprese salad with burrata, and some quite good veal croquettes, which would probably be my other appetizer recommendation.
The rest is all about pasta, and they make the pasta fresh, in-house. It’s silky smooth, really kind of perfectly made pasta. Standout dishes were the tagliatelle with a mushroom cream sauce; a quartet of squash and ricotta filled ravioli in a sage butter, topped with thin slices of prosciutto (albeit very rich, and difficult to eat four of these, which are huge); and, the shining star, easily the best lasagna bolognesa I’ve had in Buenos Aires. The other pastas were… fine… the small four-cheese ravioli, a special of the day, were kind of a yawn, the gluten-free strozzapreti with tomato sauce were better than most gluten-free pastas, but noticeably not the same texture and quality of the other noodles. Seriously, go for the lasagna, have a glass of Brunetto or Tanito, and be happy.
For the neighborhood, pricing is inline, though it’s not a cheap meal – pastas run between 4000-5000 pesos apiece, appetizers between about 2000-3000, and there’s a 500 peso per person cover charge. For a two-course meal with wine, it ran around $21 per person for lunch.
Out for an evening with a friend. We’re early, and the place is empty. Now, here’s the thing. This place has been on “my list” for almost the entire time I’ve lived in Buenos Aires, which, as of yesterday, was 18 years. The way people talk about it, I had visions of a somewhat stuffy, upscale spot, with white gloved waiters in smart vests, and a price-tag to match. And that’s kind of why we picked it, as a special night out. So it was a surprise to find out that Les Anciens Combattants, Santiago del Estero 1435, in Constitución, is a casual bistro in a French veterans’ social club, the Unión Francesa de Ex-combatientes. It was also a surprise, and a pleasant one, even if we weren’t going upscale, to find that a full three-course meal (including bottled water) is a mere 6800 pesos (7800 if you add in a cheese course before dessert) – about $14 and $16, respectively. Compare that to the two places above!
Oh, and an excellent, smooth drinking bottle of 2020 Clos de los Siete, a Michel Rolland wine blend of Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, for a mere 6700 pesos, just under $14, which retails for around 5500 pesos, so not a huge markup (and I think that was the second most expensive bottle on the whole list). And, with tip, bringing our bill to about $23 per person for four courses and wine.
There are roughly half a dozen each of appetizers, main courses, and desserts to choose from. We went with a classic onion soup and a simple liver paté. Both good. I mean, in the scheme of things, they weren’t a wow, and we had been prepared for a wow prior to walking in, so maybe we just needed to adjust our expectations to bistro level rather than posh level. Because really, these were dead-on, classic versions of both, that in any bistro I’d have been happy to have been served.
Rabbit in mustard cream sauce and magret of duck in orange sauce, each served with a potato accompaniment, the former with boiled small potatoes and the latter with dauphinoise puffs. The meats cooked properly, not dry or tough, the sauces as traditional as could be and tasty.
We both felt the cheese plate was a bit of a let down. First, it kind of looks like some of these pieces have been nibbled on, but second, they just weren’t very interesting cheeses, and there was no explanation of what they were on offer. The grapes were the best part of the platter, and personally, I’d recommend just the three course menu without the cheese course.
And, to finish, an okay creme brulee – it was served refrigerator cold, including the burnt sugar topping, which wasn’t crunchy – so they clearly torched the sugar before sticking them in the refrigerator; and profiteroles that were likewise a bit disappointing – the choux puffs had more or less collapsed into a dense ball of pastry, though the vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce were good.
Overall, a pretty damned good bistro meal for the price, at least on the appetizer and main course end of things. And though we were disappointed with the quality of the cheeses and desserts, we also didn’t leave a morsel behind, so it’s not like they were bad, just less interesting.
There you go. A trio of happy-making places to eat at. What more could you ask for?
