I LOVE BUENOS AIRES

Why (in Part) People Love Buenos Aires

I was there for two days, only — my first trip. While it was sort of obvious which parillas — essentially restaurants specializing in grilled meats — not to go to, it was more difficult to determine which ones were going to be worth a trip.

A couple of Times correspondents recommended El Desnivel in San Telmo, smack in the middle of one of the most touristed streets in South America. It was fun, and dirt cheap, and not bad. There was an eggplant escabeche that was especially notable, but the meat was not — at least what we ordered.

On our second night, after much agonizing, we checked out El Mirasol. This operation has three locations, and we picked the one under a highway, because it was in walking distance; a less appealing location could hardly be devised. The room was nice enough, however, and the service terrific. The steaks (you can see my skirt in one of these shots) were good, but again … I guess I need to go back.

The most amazing thing, however was the French fry list, which our waiter patiently went over with me in a mixture of bad English (his) and bad Spanish (mine). It’s essentially every shape fry you’ve ever had. And you can get any a la provenzal — fried, then turned in a mixture of garlic, parsley and butter. (In some places this costs 50 cents extra, but not here.) These babies were perfect.

I shall return.

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SOURCE:
“Why (in Part) People Love Buenos Aires”
March 2, 2010
By MARK BITTMAN
Bitten
The New York Times

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http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/why-in-part-people-love-buenos-aires/