Lúcuma: Peruvian Speezy of the Week

A veces the need for fresh seafood calls and when it calls, Peruvian ceviche is the only answer in Buenos Aires.  The other week, I discovered the sweetest little Peruvian restaurant in Amalgro: Lúcuma.  I don't really want to blow the restaurant up because there are only 5 tables in the place and I'll be pissed if I start seeing a fat line outside next time I want some ceviche-socks.

Overall, the restaurant is perfect for a great, well-priced, good meal. The service was excellent, most notably from the 12 year old hostest/waitress/bar tender.  It's a family-owned spot and they go above and beyond to make the experience great.  Part of which included the FREE cocktail of chicha morada (peruvian fruit juice) and fernet.  I HATE fernet, but this was good!

We also ordered the quinoa, sun dried tomato, fresh farmer's cheese, and pesto salad.  Simple, bright, good.  Then we shared an abundant plate of ceviche mixto.  Besides the cilantro (kill me now) which I asked for on the side, it was great.  The best part were the corn nuts!

Conclusion: good spot worth a visit.

Fernet and chicha morada cocktail

Quinoa, sun dried tomato, cheese, pesto salad

Ceviche mixto

Sottovoce: Restaurant in my TOP 5

Lamb Involtini

Rabbit

A few people had mentioned Sottovoce in passing, but it seemed like a stuffy, italian food, foreigner haven and I never really had the ganas to test it out.  Last night, however, I tried to go to one of my favorite restaurants, Juana M, for its bomb-dig, endless salad bar, but it was CLOSED.  Devastated and starving, I went straight to the only restaurant I knew in the area: Sottovoce.

The restaurant had nothing going for it: a pasta-dominant menu, $100 pesos appetizers, a bunch of wealthy old people, but I needed to eat so I sucked it up and played the old "convert to dollars so as to feel better about the prices game."

We ordered the rabbit of the day (conejo a la cazadora) and the lamb involtini.  The rabbit was roasted with mushrooms, tomatoes, and the most incredible sauce EVER.  And when I say ever, I nearly took it home along with the rabbit bones to make a soup base.  The lamb was rolled thin, stuffed with mushrooms and grilled to perfection.  It came with fried polenta (key to my heart) and I loved it.  A little wine and pure happiness.  Sottovoce definitely gets my official stamp of approval.

Poke chef Mychael Henry repays a debt

A few weeks ago, Mychael Henry, chef of Buenos Aires pop-up restaurant Poke repaid a debt to my roommate Joanna. Joanna, the Colombian hot mama that she is was kind enough to bring Mychael back authentic Arepa masa from Colombia.  To return the favor, Mychael cooked us all roasted beer-can chicken, rice, arepas, and curry during our last dinner party.  Talia came through with a bomb salad that I got first dibs on so as to hoard as much bacon as posible.  The chicken was moist on the inside and nice and crispy on the outside.  The arepas were a solid sandwich-building base and the rice/curry/salad sides were tasty too.

For recipes and tips, you'll just have to ask Mychael himself at his pop-up every wednesday at Magdalena's party.

CHICKEN!!!

Salad a la Talia

Arroz

Arepas

Final product

The spread

BBQ Town: A "picar"er's dream

"Picar" means to "pick at" in Spanish, most commonly used to refer to picking at your food.  I love picaring and if you're variety-seeking, want to try everything, buffet-loving person like myself then BBQ town is the place for you.

At BBQ town, you're served all-you-can-eat Korean side dishes including peanuts, eggs, calamari, etc to accompany grill yourself, marinated meats and prawns. You can (and will) eat until you wish you had stopped about ten "this is my LAST bites" later.  But it's good, seemingly fresh, and fun.  I prefer BBQ Town to the Flores original version because there are more side dishes, better service, and no need to worry about getting robbed on the way out.  The most satisfying $90 pesos a person place in Buenos Aires these days...

Joanna and Dario getting ready to chow down

Side dish section 1

Side dish section 2

Side dish section 3

Spicy seafood soup

Prawns and panceta

Pork and beef

Cooking action

Anna action

Buenos Aires Staples: Sarkis and Sudestada

Sarkis and Sudestada are my two favorite BA go-to's.  Whenever I need cheap, tasty, and different my move is Sarkis.  Whenever I need spicy (and I mean bad ranking in guiaoleo because Argie's can't handle it spicy) I go to Sudestada.  Definitely give both these a try if you haven't yet and be sure to order the following items:

Sarkis - falafel and chicken or lamb fierro/kebab/whatever it's called COMPLETO with the yogurt on the side.  The yogurt is amazing, thick, doesn't exist in BA style so it's a must on the completo, but you need to ask for it "a parte" or you'll get screwed by an excess of it drenching everything.  

Sudestada - the jalapeno cocktail, the grilled rabbit, and the curry special.  Ask for extra picante if you like spicy because it's LEGIT, almost borderline too spicy for me, but a welcome change from typical argie fare where carne picante empanadas may as well be dulce in my opinion.

Both places are winners and not to be missed.

Chicken kebab completo 

Spanakopita

Falafel

Yogurt on the side

Fish balls - AMAZING

Grilled Rabbit

Green curry chicken

Brazilian Eating Adventures with Ashley

I recently returned from a one week vacation on Ilhabela island in Brazil and I must say, I love Brazilian food.  Tropical fruit, delicious seafood, good sushi, and everything fried.  Top it off with a caipirinha (which is an art in Brazil) and I'm set.  Eating throughout the trip was simply a nice change from bland BA.  I wish I had more pics to share, but blame it on the ca-ca-ca-ca-caipirinhas!

Poolside Beer

Huge Mango Face

Mussels, Calamari, and Shrimp Plate

Pesto Shrimp and Potatoes

Polenta Fries

Fried Sausage

Michael Jordan does more than play basketball

Apparently Michael Jordan likes steak.  I had the "opportunity" to eat at his steakhouse at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut during a soccer convention that I attended for work.  This is not my typical blog post, but it made the cut due to MJ's surprisingly good taste in food.  

My partner had the filet mignon while I went for the ahi tuna steak and roasted brussel sprouts with bacon.  Both good, a far cry from San Francisco's foodie finds, but a job well done.  The best part was that every single item down to the butter was monogramed with his initials.  I suppose his ego had to be boosted post NBA somehow.

Ahi tuna with roasted rice cake

Filet Mignon

Roasted sprouts with bacon.  Amazing!

The Rusty Spoon - Orlando

After spending nearly a week in Florida sampling everything from lobster to sweet plantains, it wasn't until I discovered an innovative restaurant in Orlando that Florida finally earned a place on my culinary map.

My meal at the Rusty Spoon in Orlando was by far the best meal I had in my 3 week trip.  I started with a cucumber martini (best I've ever had) and a spin on deviled eggs with olives and sundried tomatoes.  Rich, creamy, deliciousness.  I followed up with braised lamb and cheesy polenta.  The photo, sadly, does not do the meal justice, but it was the bomb-digg.  I also dabbled with my friend's roasted cornnish hen, sweet potato mash, and roasted brussel sprouts.

All perfect. Lovely company. Worth a trip back :)

Stuffed Eggs - Lake Meadow Eggs Stuffed With tapenade, herbs & Oven Dried Tomatoes 

Braised Lamb and Polenta special

Lake Meadow Cornish Hen - 1/2 a Hen with Smashed Sweet Potatpes, Herbed Brussel Sprouts & Natural Jus

Joe's Stone Crab - Miami

My life is pretty amazing.  In the last month, I’ve been able to travel to Miami, Orlando, New York, Connecticut, Boston, and Sao Paulo for work.  My favorite part is getting to try all the local specialties and discover new restaurants.  Last week, I had the privilege to explore Miami’s culinary offerings.   

My first stop was at the highly recommended Joe’s Stone Crab, so popular that they don’t need to take reservations.  There are probably 500+ seats in the place and not a single one was open.  The wait was over an hour, but after nearly gnawing off my left hand in anticipation I was left wondering – was it worth it? 

The stone crab claws were good, but fresh crab is hard to beat.  The stuffed tomato was awesome.  The key lime pie was tangy amazingness, but overall my socks weren’t knocked off.  It was a nice change compared to my typical seafood-less argie meals, but I wouldn’t be enthused to go back for anything other than the pie.

Bread basket

Stuffed Tomato

Halibut seafood chowder maybe?

The famous crab

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, entraña, 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

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