MOVIN' ON UP!

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Dear Milanesa de Soja,

Milanesa de soja meet vegetarian minded X, your new best friend. If X has been living in Buenos Aires for a while, I am sure you need no introduction. You may already have a love-hate relationship. Oh MdS, you are so quick, easy, and cheap. I can cook you in the microwave, stove top or oven. I can ignore the fact that you almost always are freezer burned because you are reliable... I can find you at the disco, jumbo, chino, and if I'm lucky, maxi kiosco. I eat you for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. On the go, in the home, at work. You have the protein I need without making my chin grow double. But while you come in various flavors like ham & cheese, spinach, onion, original, and (the death of the earth) without salt, you still manage to taste sucky and I have grown to hate your face, even when smothered in cheese and sauce.

But I have a huge announcement to make! Could it be??? How could I just discover this new and reinvented you that comes in a crispy form masking the limp beige textureless oval, appealing to the meatiest of the meat-eaters?

Granja del Sol NUEVA milanesas SOJA Rebozadas tipo Caseras - soft on the inside, crispy on the outside with only 206 calories per serving and AR$6.45 for the box of four? Oh YES!

Bob Cobb's Salad

How can I talk about a Cobb Salad without showing a clip from one of my favorite Curb Your Enthusiasm Episodes? I was inspired by Larry David to make this delicious Cobb salad, with no substitutions. Then, I watched the episode while eating the cholesterol packed plate.


Ingredients:
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- 1 sliced avocado
- 1 head chopped lettuce
- 2 hard boiled eggs chopped
- 250 g crisp bacon (or turkey bacon)
- crumbled blue cheese
- chopped cold grilled chicken
- dress with balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper

Another interesting thing to note , Bob Cobb is also the name of Seinfeld's "the Maestro"character.

Feliz Cinco de Ma-show

To celebrate Mexico's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on the 5th of May in 1862, I stuffed by face with chicken fajitas (AR$69 for two) and guzzled down frozen margaritas (AR$21) at Taco Box (Soler 5581).

 

Well spiced and marinated chicken, fresh vegetables (a bit too greasy for my taste), and lots of little sides. Feliz Dia! Still doesn't compare to real Mexican, but will fulfill the craving for now.

Slap a steak on the parrilla

As a former vegetarian once perplexed by this meat obsessed culture, I slowly am beginning to understand the appeal of eating red fleshy carcass.  Known as the “land of beef” (self-proclaimed title, you don’t see Japanese people boasting about the “land of sushi”), Argentina has the world’s highest consumption rate of beef, with the average consumer scarfing down a yearly average of more than 140 pounds of cow parts galore.

Chinchulín - Intestine
Riñones - Kidneys
Molleja - Sweet Bread
Morcilla - Blood Sausage... cooked blood? ick, no gracias.
Chorizo – Sausage*
Tira de asado – Short Ribs
Vacio – Flank Steak
Entraña – Skirt steak*
Ojo de bife – Rib Eye
Bife de Chorizo – Sirloin Strip Steak*
Bife de lomo – Filet Mignon*

 *My personal favorites, don't forget to order the sides of Chimichurri and Salsa Criolla, and a Morron (roasted red pepper).

The best Parrillas in the city?  Tough call. While I manage to eat mostly vegetarian, I do have a few favorites for when I have friends in town... I generally still manage to order some sort of grilled vegetable dish, and almost always get shit for doing it.

-    Parrilla Peña (Rodriguez Peña 682, Recoleta/Centro): Far from Palermo's overly trendy restaurants, Parrilla Peña remains one of the last standing authentic bodegónes with no one under 50 years old in the whole restaurant.  Why do I love it? The food is sooo delicious. This is my #1 recommendation to anyone visiting Buenos Aires.  A welcome meat empanada, bife de lomo, thick steak fries + wine to share runs about AR$70 per person.

 Chorizo from Parrilla Peña

-    El Trapiche (Paraguay 5099, Palermo Hollywood) Another classic bondegón with a quite extensive menu filled with pastas, seafood, and of course, meat.  My favorite is a brochette (skewer) with lomo and vegetables.  I know this is a post about meat, but I must note they serve a real good grilled salmon - which is a hard thing to find in this city!
-    Touristy but still oh so good: La Cabrera (Cabrera 5099): All about sides! This place is for sharing as each dish comes with about 10 sides dishes.  You might as well be in the US because everyone around you will be speaking English.

 Bife de lomo + all the glorious sides from La Cabrera

One word of advice, stay away from Puerto Madero tourist traps!  Cabaña de las Lilas is the devil.  A good slab of meat should never cost more than 70 pesos. Never ever. Unless it comes with a side of something special, like drugs.

Curry in a hurry

Once I tried to smuggle Indian food into a movie theater. Wasn't the best idea for many reasons: The smell, this one is a given... I reeked of Indian spices, as if I bathed in pungent coriander and tumeric stew, liberally rubbing garam masala as a body scrub. The mess, it didn't occur to me the difficult logistics involved in attempting to eat with curry on my lap, in the dark. The security, imagine being publicly reprimanded by a movie theater manager for hiding Indian food in your backpack while going to see Million Dollar Baby, not a fun situation.

I forgot about this story until while flipping through the channels, Million Dollar Baby appeared on the screen and Clint Eastwood's squinty stare transmitted an intense craving for something spicy. I ventured off to my Buenos Aires culinary Mecca, Barrio Chino, with only 42 pesos in my pocket, to collect the goods.Not enough time, nor experienced, to make my own mix of spices I grabbed a Thai yellow curry paste (AR$16) at the supermercado that is towards the end of the street, Arribeños 2263, not sure the name but it is next to Lotus Neo Thai Restaurant.
I grabbed coconut milk (AR$7.50 each) at Asia Oriental (Mendoza 1650) and picked up some firm tofu (AR$4.50). Only AR$6.50 left for the veggies! I managed to pick up potatoes and zucchini for 5 pesos, and had just enough left for the busride home.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 package Firm Tofu
- 2 cans Coconut Milk
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons Thai yellow curry paste (to taste depending on heat)
- 1 teaspoon salt & sugar
- 1 can of peas
- 2 zucchinis
- 3 chopped potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce

Once brown rice is cooked, the rest takes only 15 minutes - heat a sauce pan with oil (I used cooking spray) and stir fry curry paste for about 30 seconds. Add coco milk and bring to boil. Then add stock, potatoes, fish sauce, onion and return to boil. Then, simmer uncovered and add zucchini, peas, salt & sugar for another 15-20 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

Found: Go-To Barrio Favorite

Photos of restaurant found on facebook page

Familiar ambiance, adorable decor, interesting menu, attentive service, decent prices, good location, fresh and homemade ingredients, tasty food - in my mental check list, these are essential. Imagine my joy on a perfect autumn Sunday afternoon when I stumbled upon Tartine Crepes & Bakery in Palermo Hollywood (Arévalo 1488). This french inspired café/bistro boasts a large menu of crepes, quiches, sandwiches, salads, fresh baked breads, bagels, pastries, and even offers a Sunday brunch with an "American" style breakfast.
Even before trying the food, I was sold upon entering the bright and sunny room, greeted by the rich smell of recently baked breads and fresh flowers. The crowd is too cool for school Palermonites, but
Oh, how I love red rooms like this with grand chandeliers, obsessed. I wanna put all those chairs together and sleep there.
So, on to food & drink. Brunching with a self-proclaimed coffee expert, it should be noted that the café doble was large, not watery, and fairly priced at AR$9 (apparently this is the important criteria when juding a good coffee). Plus, the cup and saucer is absolutly delightful! Apparently, they just began brewing Juan Valdez café de Colombia, if that is a good thing?
What to order with such a brunchable menu? I chose the Crepe de verduras (AR$26), which was served with mixed greens. The crepe was nice - light, fluffy dough wrapped around fresh grilled vegetables with a creamy sauce. Pictured below is the super-hangover sandwich (AR$35). You could tell the homemade crusty bread was fresh out of the oven. The sandwich contained scrambled egg, cream cheese and smoked salmon served with a side of nothing special roasted potatoes. Growing up this combination was such a cheap staple, it feels morally wrong to spend 35 pesos (almost US$9!!) on a small plate. I must face the facts... salmon/all fish is expensive in BA. I will still definitely be back next weekend to try more.

Artemisia Cocina Natural Casera

Artemisia has been on my list of restaurants to try for a long time. Just recently, the owners opened up a second establishment in Palermo Hollywood (Gorriti 5996), only a few blocks away from my house so I had to try it!

The pics I took don't really give the food justice... the menu is creative with mostly vegetarian options. A bit on the pricey side, but overall quite good and I definitely will go back to try more thingsThis is the menu, while I appreciate the earth-friendliness written on recyclable paper bags, I am not a huge fan with menus that have grease stains from previous diners.For appetizers, the menu lists a number of bruschetas - I picked the "Griega" (AR$26) that had grilled vegetables, goat cheese, dried fruit and basil on a black olive focaccia bread. It came a bit different than expected, with a lot of grilled mushrooms, and a bunch of greens (not basil) on top. The menu also includes a buscheta on focaccia rosemary pear bread served with grilled pear, goat cheese, greens, and a membrillo (which is quince fruit) vinagrette.For entree, I ordered the Pesca Thai (AR$47) which was kind of like a fish curry (made with cod) that had ginger, lemon grass, coconut milk, yamani rice, raisins, cashews and coliflower. It was just OK, the fish portion was a bit one-note and the rice bland. The green garnish on top was unnecesarry, and seemed like it was just plopped on the plate (same greens appeared on each dish). I would probably like it more if it was 15 pesos cheaper, basically too expensive for what it was.Above is a pic of the Polenta Lasagna filled with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms covered in a vegetable soy sauce with cream and brown sugar. While I didn't think the soy-cream sauce quite worked, my dinner companion licked the plate to slurp up every drop of sauce.Artemisia has two locations in Palermo - one on Cabrera 3877 the other Gorriti 5996.

Fat Pasta, Skinny Pasta

For those who are not regulars in the kitchen, and you want to impress someone for the first time with your cooking, there is one secret ingredient that will never disappoint - BUTTER. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way and when I first began cooking up a storm, I also ate my way through endless sticks of creamy, salty, butta.. literally, biting off big chunks like it was a candy bar.

Luckily, after many pounds gained I came up with a new plan cooking both fat meals and skinny meals. Basically, I started making the same meal two ways, with minimal extra cost, clean up, and time spent slaving over a hot stove. This is my version of a Roasted Tomato Cream Pasta / Roasted Tomato & Zucchini Pasta. I first got the idea from Ree Drummond on her blog The Pioneer Woman (her blog is supposedly turning into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon) when she posted a recipe for the ridiculously delicious farfalle with zucchini pasta.After chopping up onions and garlic, divide in two piles sautéing half in butter, the other half in olive oil (or cooking spray to be extra skinny). Add chopped up zucchini to the light version. Pour some white wine and simmer.Mix whole cherry/grade tomatoes with round tomatoes (in 1/4s) in a bowl with salt and olive oil (again, no oil is necesarry). Throw on to a roasted pan with some garlic cloves and cook for about 20 minutes until soft.Here comes the divergence. Fatty version gets a can of crushed tomatoes, few roasted tomatoes, chopped roasted garlic and cream.. a lot of cream. For the skinny version, toss in roasted tomatoes and garlic. OK, almost finished. Boil pasta water (saving about 1/2 cup water for the sauce). Mix all together. Serve with basil, parsley and parm cheese. Next, mix the fatty tomato cream with the pasta, serve with basil and liberal amounts of shredded and shaved parm cheese.

Ingredients
Fatty Pasta:
- Bow Tie pasta
- 2 Cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- Cream
- Parm cheese
- Butter
- 1/3 cup white wine

Skinny Pasta:
- Bow Tie Pasta
- 1/4 kilo cherry tomatoes, 1/2 kilo round tomatoes (roasted)
- 2 zapallitos (or zucchini)
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- Chopped parsley
- Chopped Basil
- Sprinkle of parm
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil / or cooking spray

Quimbombó boombadeedopdop

Walk up the first flight of stairs to Quimbombó (Costa Rica 4562) in Palermo Soho and immediately fall in love with the beige, taupe, and off-white earthy decor. Then, walk up the second flight of stairs to an airy room with a comfortable and inviting set up, terrace over looking Plaza Armenia, and intimate tables in a second, more exclusive terrace.The menu is Indian influenced, but I woulnd't say it has Indian food. Instead, it promotes more health/natural food that has been popping up in BA restaurants in the past few years - fresh vegetables, whole grains, and soy products. This is a mostly vegetarian place, but they do serve some fish and chicken in some dishes.
I opted for the Tunecina Salad (about AR$30) - tomato, fresh mozarella, grilled eggplant and zucchini, sweet corn, lemon zest, basil and mint. The salad was large (enough for 2 to share) with really fresh ingredients (besides the canned corn). It came with whole grain bread and a sweet potato like puré. The drink menu is also extensive with a wide variety of licuados (AR$13) - I ordered one recommended by the server, it had passion fruit.

Photo from the Quimbombo website.

This is a place to definitely try again, sitting outside on the terrace with a few cocktails before the weather gets cold!