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.