Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Biggest and BEST Asado Argentino

Welcome home!!!

Normally when I see a BBQ full of meat, I think that I'm in for a boring dinner of overcooked steak and a decent chorizo.  Typically, I bring vegetables or demand a chicken to be grilled as well.  BUT my life changed the other week when I ate the RIGHT meat and now I have a new found respect for Argentine beef.  Key to an asado's success (at least for me) is a good asador, entraƱa, a nice rib (costilla), and chorizo. Sencillo.

This was a mega asado for 20 people with costilla de something, entrana, chorizo, morcilla, and other ridiculously good cuts of meat.  I had to add a little yankee flair with a potato and pesto salad.  All 10 puntos.


The magic grill
All it needs is a little salt
Yes please

My potato salad

Pesto pasta salad

Friday, February 3, 2012

My Grand Buenos Aires Return: Paraje Arevalo

After nearly 4 months of being in the States, I've returned to Buenos Aires with complete excitement to explore the new culinary options and pick up where I left off.  While I have come to terms with BA food being sub par to that of San Francisco, there are still plenty of good options (at least when you're willing to pay for them).

My first stop for my all-out-welcome-back meal was at Paraje Arevalo, a cute corner cafe with a 5 to 7 fix course menu.  The meal started off well with warm bread and nicely salted butter.  Then we moved onto a good, lightly fried eggplant popper.  The wine was abundant and I was optimistic.  Plate two - a slowly cooked egg - not bad.  Then a seafood risotto that was undercooked and really mediocre (not to mention a lack of actual seafood pieces).  We moved onto the main course, a white fish with green beans.  Overcooked, lacking flavor.  At this point, the wine was carrying me through.  Then the last course came - a chocolate cake for me and a panna cotta type thing for my date.  Respectable, but again, nothing to write home about.

All in all, 450 pesos later, I wouldn't go back.  It was ok, perhaps even good for BA standards, but if i'm going to spend one hundred dollars, I better be eating michelin star-worthy food and this was far from it.

And on a side note, they played one Frank Sinatra CD the whole time.  Humidity, ok food, and Frank on repeat… Let's just say I've had better nights.

Solid Bread Basket

Great butter

Eggplant

Slow cooked egg

Seafood Risotto (and nice try with the "bacon")

White fish and green beans

Chocolate Cake

Panna Cotta soup