Cafes

by

Research at the Black Cat

These are the spices that create the wonderful aroma

We had a fun research lunch at El Gato Negro on Thursday. We were five: Lina, Joanna, Gayle, Venetia and me.

El Gato Negro is one of the old, classic Bares Notables, and it’s typical of old Buenos Aires. It looks small when you go in the front door, but if you keep walking past the bar you find it opens up into another seating space at the back. Apparently there is more upstairs, but I haven’t ventured there yet.

We pushed two very small tables together to accommodate us, and it was definitely cozy. But the place was packed, so that’s the best we could do.

 

Venetia’s fish fortunately tasted better than it looked!

Not quite sure what to call this beef dish in English but it was yummy.

Joanna and I had lomo salteado (kind of a stir

You can tell Lina was happy with her choice of salad.

fry/stew of filet) which was delicious. Lina was very noble and had a salad. Venetia’s fish left something to be desired in terms of presentation, but she said it was very good. Gayle asked for a croque madame, but they brought a croque monsieur and she sent it back to have the eggs removed! Everyone was happy with the food.

El Gato Negro is also famous for fresh spices, not only in the food but available for purchase, as well as a huge variety of teas. As a result, when you open the door you are enveloped in a delicious aroma. I’ve bought tea there before, and I’m always tempted by the spices, but as I’m not an ambitious cook I think the effort would be wasted. But Lina bought a special Moroccan spice which she was dying to try.

I have the email address of the manager, and I’m going to set up an interview sometime soon. Lovely little place, and everyone would be happy to go back.

by

Bar Notable “New Brighton”

New Brighton, Bar Notable of Buenos Aires

This is a Bar Notable of Buenos Aires? It looks more like a high-end gentlemen’s club in England. There’s good reason for that, and it goes back to the place’s history, but I’ll talk about that in another post.

It’s much bigger than it looks from the outside, as the whole space is long and narrow. The dark wood paneling is lustrous and elegant. The mirrors, of which there are many, are polished to within an inch of their lives. The table linen is blindingly white. Two stag heads are mounted on the wall, but even these are understated in an English kind of way.

Lina and I select a bottle of wine. When the waiter brings it, instead of asking one person to taste it, in the usual way, he asks us both. I wonder what would happen if one liked it and the other didn’t! A nice touch though.

Lina selects a risotto of spinach and smoked salmon. When she takes her first forkful, her eyes close and she utters an ecstatic “Mmmmmm!” I can’t count the number of times she pronounces it delicious before it’s done.

I have the Spanish omelette. In Canada they always seem to smother them in tomato sauce, but here they serve them as they do in Spain—stuffed with potatoes and no sauce needed.  It’s one of my favourite dishes and the one I often choose in Bares Notables. It gives me a point of comparison to see who does it best. So far it’s a tie between New Brighton and Los Galgos. This one is very large, and before serving the waiter asks if I would like to have it cut in two. I do. I’m sure he knows from experience I will want to take half home with me.

I know some people think omelettes should be runny, but I’m not one of them, so I always ask for it cozido (cooked). When he cuts into it, he notices it is quite liquid, so he thinks I would probably like it cooked a little more. I agree. Pro-active — I like that.

Before leaving, I ask to speak to the manager, Mariela. I explain what I am doing, and we arrange for me to go in by myself next Wednesday at 11 am for coffee, when she will talk to me about New Brighton. Before the lunchtime crowd arrives I will also have free rein to sketch. I’m looking forward to it.

by

Bares Notables Research—Los Galgos

Los Galgos is one of my favourite places to have lunch or merienda, but this was the first time I’d gone with the book research in mind. I was joined by Lina, Joanna and Joanna’s husband Gary.

Galgos means greyhound, and the motif is used very effectively on the menu, as well as in the rest of the decor. I took a couple of photos of the inside, but they don’t really show the greyhound theme well. I’m going to go back there on my own and chat with the manager. I’ll go when it’s not too busy and then I can sketch and take better photos.

The food is very good. I like Spanish omelettes, so I eat them a lot and can compare. So far, the one at Los Galgos is the best. The others had meatballs, some sort of steamed dish that contained fish and veggies, and milanesa. Milanesa is a very popular “cheap and cheerful” dish here. It’s a flattened piece of beef or veal or chicken, breaded and fried. Gary’s came a caballo, or on horseback, which is what they call it when it has fried eggs on top—I was familiar with that term as they also use it in Portugal. Everyone proclaimed their food delicious.

In fact, all in all, Los Galgos gets top marks from everyone.

I haven’t scheduled next week’s events yet, but everyone is looking forward to them.

 

by

Research: Bar El Federal

We started the research again last week into the Bares Notables for my upcoming book. The first outing was for dinner at Bar El Federal, one of the oldest ones in San Telmo. There were just three of us – Lina, Wendy and me — but it was a fun evening and I got opinions from everyone. All good.

Here are a few of the photos I took.

The Menu

Behind the bar.

Lots of chorizo for the ever-popular picadas

Wendy and Lina

As you can see, the iconic portrait of Che Guevara graces the bar, so I thought I’d talk about him to add some spice to the book. For example, did you know his name wasn’t Che? It was actually Ernesto. “Che” is a very Argentine word that can mean many things, from “hey you” to “friend” to just a filler word that doesn’t really mean anything. When

Lovely old cash register on the end of the bar

he went to Cuba to join the revolution, as an Argentine of course he kept saying it. One of his comrades starting referring to him by it, and it stuck. Hence: Che Guevara. See — every day’s a school day!

Tomorrow we are going to Caffee Tabac, quite different from Federal, but also a Bar Notable. Stay tuned.

by

Cowboy Music in Buenos Aires!

Last night I joined a group of folks at La Dama de Bollini to hear our friend Cliff do a program of Cowboy Songs and Poems. This is a funky little place that often has interesting shows you wouldn’t necessarily find anywhere else.

This video is longer than the ones I usually post here, but I wanted to give you a feel for the variety of the music. There was Johnny Cash and Elvis, as well as some songs by people who, not being really a country music fan, I didn’t know — but I did enjoy them. And then Cliff read a couple of his own cowboy poems, and I’ve included one here. There was also some singalong, which is always fun.

Altogether a fun night — thanks Cliff!

by

Fun Food and Wine Tasting in a Cool Bar

Last night I went with some friends — Lina, Lola, Wendy and Tomas — to a cool Middle Eastern bar called Fayer in the barrio of Palermo.

They have a regular menu I think, but last night it was a tasting menu with suggested wine pairings. We had falafel, kebabs, roasted cauliflower and a couple of fishy things I didn’t have. They had wines from various parts of the country and we agreed they were all good.

Again, it was a little dark for photographs and I didn’t take one of our group, but these will give you an idea of what the place and the food looked like.

Veal kebabs with flatbread

Grilled (or it might have been fried) cauliflower

Maybe the best falafel I’ve ever tasted

I chose a second red instead of the white and all three were good

 

General view of the bar area

Apparently the place had a photographer at work and they sent us a few photos of our table group. Lola, me, Lina, Wendy and Tomas.

 

by

Yes, They Are Canadian

A couple of months ago, I was invited to go to an event at a new restaurant/snack bar with a few friends. When Venetia told me about it, I immediately asked if the owners were Canadian. She looked at me in amazement.

“Yes, they are,” she replied. “How did you know?”

Well, the name of the place is 416. For those of you outside Canada, 416 is the area code for Toronto! Isn’t that a fun name?

Well, in fact I couldn’t go to that event, but this week I finally did go — twice. On Thursday night I went to a Ladies Night Out with a group of fun women friends. It was quite informal, and we sat around eating delicious finger foods and drinking wine and champagne. The food included an amazing, spicy Korean chicken — which was welcome to lovers of spicy food. Argentines are not big on spicy food, and even when you ask for it hot, it rarely measures up. But this was hot hot hot!

I forgot to take photos (Venetia, are you surprised?).

When we were there, the owners told us they have a new monthly event called Sunday Roast, and some of us decided to go for that last night. As you can see from the photo, it is quite dark there, but it’s quite atmospheric and enjoyable. To be honest, I’ve had better roast beef, but everything around it was excellent. Here’s the official photo of the oven roasted cauliflower, which was as delicious as it looks.

by

Casal Catalunya

One of our friends is called Montserrat. She is originally from Barcelona, but lives in England and is a professor at the University of Canterbury. She is here for six months doing research on the Catalan community in Argentina and other South American countries. She is also an avid tango dancer.

Today, she invited Venetia and me to have lunch with her at Casal Catalunya, which is basically Catalan House. It’s a lovely old building, with a great restaurant in it. We were treated to a selection of little dishes chosen by the chef, Damian, and it was a very different, and lovely, way to enjoy lunch.

The elegant entrance to Casal Catalunya

Our friend, Montserrat

Closeup of the lovely Catalan tiles on the walls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the biggest pepper mill I’ve ever seen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I’m home relaxing a bit, because later I’m going out again to a dinner party at the home of some friends. I will definitely be rolling into bed tonight after all this eating and drinking and talking!

by

Coffee Festival

Yesterday there was a festival of coffee at the Plaza de Peru, one of the many green spaces amongst all the buildings in the city. Venetia and Lolly and I went along in late morning, and as soon as we got off the bus beside the entrance, we could smell the coffee! There were dozens of stands all around the sides, many of which had freshly brewed coffee, and the blending of all the aromas made for a heady aroma!

At the first stand we were offered a taste of something called “coffee marmalade”, which was actually quince jam strongly flavoured with coffee. Oh my — I bought a jar immediately and enjoyed more than I should have after dinner last night!

One of the most famous cafes in Buenos Aires, Las Violetas, had a very imaginative stand that was really a miniature cafe, complete with a waiter in white jacket!

Here are some photos of the goods on offer, as well as the people enjoying a late summer day and a cup of great coffee.

by

Another Lovely Old Buenos Aires Bar

Last year I began researching the very old bars and cafes of Buenos Aires known as “Bares Notables”, with a view to writing a book about them. My research is stalled because of other projects, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the bars!

Last night I went to a milonga with my friend Lina, and we went for dinner afterwards at Bar Federal, one of the oldest. I had a steak, which was as good as it looks in this photo! These old places are full of atmosphere and still brimming with life.

I will get back to that book one of these days!