Restaurant Review: Almacen Secreto

I'm a big fan of closed door restaurants and have slowly been checking each one off my list.  My latest pick was Almacen Secreto in Villa Crespo.  The reviews were pretty good on Guia Oleo and I had heard some good things about it.  I was also intrigued by the menu because there are a ton of options compared to most closed door restaurants with a fixed menu.

The neighborhood is slightly deserted which worried me a bit, but once you get inside, it's the cutest little place ever.  A lovely garden that would be awesome in the summer, cool paintings of the walls, overall good onda.  The menu is divided by region in Argentina so there are a lot of choices.  We read about the goat cheese provoleta, so ordered that right off the bat.  It was 30 pesos, but came in two HUGE chucks, one of which I brought home and just ate with my dinner!  Kind of expensive for an appetizer, but not when you consider the portion size.  Then we ordered the fish al horno de barro and cazuela de pollo.  The fish was good, but a little fatty for my taste and the veggies it came with were super boring.  The chicken was cooked in a cazuela, but not served as a stew like I expected.  It was ok, but nothing to write home about.  The bread was bomb and we had a little empanada to start which was also delish.

Overall, cute place and pretty good food, but nothing exceptional.  And if you go, don't get the pisco sour because it sucked.

Provoleta de queso de Cabra (1/2 portion)

Cazuela de Pollo

Pescado al horno

Musicos

Braised Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

If you're reading this post then there is about a 4% chance that you've read all my posts and know that Italian food is not my favorite.  Every few months or so, however, I get a craving for pasta and set out to make some ridiculous kitchen-sink, whatever I feel like putting in it pasta dish.  This night was no exception and it was great.  My new favorite move is slowly cooking chicken in liquid because it gets so tender and then using the liquid for the sauce.  See below for recipe and step by step pics.

Saute Onions

Add spices to onions

Add chicken

Add wine and tomato sauce

Voila

Ingredients:
1 bag of pasta
2 pata de pollo with bone
1 can of tomatoes perita
1 large onion chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
3/4 cup of red wine
1/4 cup of quasi creme
Spices ( salt, pepper, garlic powder, sage, provencal, chili powder, sugar) - just about a 1/2 tsp of each to taste
Shredded cheese of choice

Directions: Saute onions and spices for 5-10 min.  Turn the heat up.  Remove skin from chicken and add to the hot pan, cook for 2 minutes.  Add wine and let it reduce.  Lower heat and add tomato sauce.  Let simmer and reduce for about 20 min.  Add quasi creme and let cook for 5-10 min more.  You can cook the chicken for as long as you like on low heat, but I didn't have time in this case.

Add broccoli and cook for about 5 min.  Remove chicken and broccoli and set aside.  Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta.  Let sauce thicken while pasta is cooking.  Shred chicken into bite-size pieces.  Once the pasta is ready drain the water and add it back to the pan.  Add the chicken and broccoli to the sauce and pour over pasta.  Top with shredded cheese and serve!