This week I went out to dinner a couple of times.

After my tango lesson every week, I go to a little local place called El Sanjuanino, because I can’t be bothered cooking when I get home. This week, Cecilia’s sister Adriana was visiting and she wanted to see me. So we killed two birds with one stone, and here we are eating some of the best empanadas in Buenos Aires. They also serve the house wine in what they call a pinguino, which you can see on the table. You can’t see it very well here, but it’s a big wine jug shaped like a penguin.

Yesterday there was supposed to be a street fair featuring all the provinces of Argentina. It was a lovely sunny day, and I planned to meet some friends and go. Lina arrived on the scene first and WhatsApp’d to say there was no sign of a fair. Apparently it was cancelled, no idea why — oh well, it’s Buenos Aires!

But it was so nice I wanted to go out anyway, so I met up with Lina in San Telmo and we had a late lunch in La Poesia. This is one of my favourites of the Bares Notables, about which I am once again writing a book. The official “research” starts next week, but I’ll take any opportunity to go to La Poesia.

Lina is a steak girl — the rarer the better. I think this one walked into the restaurant and jumped on her plate. I went with lighter fare, as I prefer my steak at dinnertime. These cold plates, with cheese and olives and cold meats etc. are called picadas, and I could practically live on them.

This wall is typical of the kind of things you find in these old bars. I’ll be writing more about La Poesia when we come here for the research night. (I’ll be glad when Venetia gets back and we get some decent photographs — not my forte!)