“Venice is a cheek-by-jowl, back-of-the-hand, under-the-counter, higgledy-piggledy, anecdotal city, and she is rich in piquant wrinkled things, like an assortment of bric-a-brac in the house of a wayward connoisseur, or parasites on an oyster-shell.”
— Jan Morris

Just an assortment, a octet, if you will, of lunches over the last couple of months, and dishes that stood out as ones I’m quite comfortable saying, “go there, eat this”.

Behold the aleman, the smoked frankfurter, from Peter’s Hot Dogs, Chivilcoy 3896/Nueva York 4010, Villa Devoto. I first wrote this place up about seven years ago. I was happy with my regular hot dog, but hadn’t tried the aleman. I’m even happier now. Not only a great dog, but they’ve improved the bun, and they offer an even wider array of sauces than before. This one is topped with smoked mustard and pickled jalapeños, and, of course, the ubiquitous shoestring potatoes. There are so many interesting little restaurants right there near to Plaza Devoto.

If you haven’t spent time out there, it’s worth the trip to check some of them out. Ritratto for Italian. Sunny for Detroit style pizza. Mecha for grilled meats. Café de la Plaza Bistro for their lamb. Casa Lucca for their pastas. Bar Pintón for their beer and nibbles selection.

Staying with the sausages for a moment, a serendipitous find at one of my neighborhood favorite bodegones, a chori a la pomarola offered up as a daily special at La Tía Zelmira, French 3015, Recoleta. This one is intense. First off, I want to know who makes their chorizos, because this is one of the spiciest and best chorizos I’ve had here. The pomarola sauce was quite good, though a touch on the salty side. The mashed potatoes need work. Then again, mashed potatoes here generally do. It’s like Argentine chefs have never heard of putting butter, milk, or cream into them. Or at least not enough to make a difference.

Let us go momentarily veggie. Corn ribs have made it to Buenos Aires. You may recall last year when we encountered these in various barbecue and barbecue adjacent restaurants on our whirlwind tour through the southern US. Currently on the menu at one of our long time favorite restaurants here in town, Las Pizarras, Thames 2296, Palermo, these are beautifully roasted yet not dried out, and slathered with a sweet chili sauce. Not much heat to the sauce, but delicous nonetheless. Get them while they’re hot!

Four years ago I was, if you recall, going full tilt on checking out Korean restaurants in both of the Koreatowns here. Maniko has opened up a second location, in Palermo, at Thames 1780. It’s a sleeker, trendier looking spot than the original which is pretty much a takeout place with a few tables. The fried chicken is offered up with Maniko’s range of sauces, from soy to mild to spicy, plus garlic, honey, and one or two more. It’s a decent sized portion. I will still say that this is not my favorite for Korean fried chicken – the spicy is toned down a lot more than others, and it’s boneless breast meat, whereas I prefer the places that give you whole pieces of chicken, both light and dark meat, and enough heat to make me sweat. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious, it is, and, it’s a lot closer than trekking out to Floresta. Service, well, the kitchen, was really slow. We were among the first in the door when they opened on a weekend afternoon, and it was clear they just weren’t ready. First order into the kitchen and it took 45 minutes to get our food. Tables that came in later got their food much the same time as we did.

I have written about the chifa dish Taypa before. I met up with some friends at a Peruvian spot near to them that I’ve also written about before, Misky Wasi, Yerbal 2499, Flores. We couldn’t resist ordering a platter of this dish to share. Packed with a mix of different meats – red, white, and shellfish – plus plenty of veggies, and a really tasty sauce with a bit of smokiness to it. Not that I’ve tried a huge number of taypas, because it’s almost always served up as a family style dish, but to date, this is the best one I’ve tried.

A dozen years ago when I tried China Rose, Mendoza 1689 in Barrio chino, I liked it, but wasn’t impressed. And, until recently, just hadn’t been back. There were always plenty of other places around that I liked better. I happened to be walking by one day and our favorite waiter from Beijing, which closed up during the pandemic, not to reopen, was standing in the doorway. Turns out, the owners of Beijing were related or friends with the owner of China Rose, and have taken the place over. The menu’s been revamped, the service and everything about the place has been redone. And, they offer a selection of spicier dishes among the usual assortment of fried rice and noodle woks. This isn’t quite Sichuan peppercorn chicken, as it has few, if any, peppercorns, instead, it’s packed with a couple kinds of chilies, green onions, peanuts, and sesame. It’s totally delicious, even if I miss that numbing spice.

One of the first Chinese restaurants I ever tried in Barrio chino was Palito’s, Arribeños 2243. It had never been a favorite, but it was always good, and I’ve been back numerous times. I’m not sure how I never noticed the “super spicy” lamb dish on the menu before, but I’m now addicted to it. This is a fiery, almost stewed dish of tender lamb slices with carrots and onions, and enough heat to induce sweat at nearby tables. I love it. If you like spice, you likely will too. Make sure to tell them you want it super spicy so they don’t tone it down for your perceived delicate palate….

And, let’s end here, with one of our long running, and reviewed more than once, Japanese spots, Nueva Casa Japonesa, Humberto 1º 2357 in San Cristobal. Among the various “lunch sets”, mostly of ramen or udon soups with side dishes, are a couple of gems of the non-soup genre. My two favorites, the smoked eel (though that has gotten super pricey), and the grilled sardines. I could happily eat this dish every week. And the side dishes, over the years, have gotten better and better.

Damn, that’s a lot of food in one post. But then, these stretch back more or less one entry per week for the last two and a half months. Get out there and enjoy! And send me more recommendations. It’s how I find out about the good places!