I have to say, it is with great honor that I welcome Diva, of Buenos Aires Through My Eyes (AKA Bitchtours) fame, to the blog. If you haven’t read her site, then, well, you should, now. Oh, actually, read her guest post below first, and then go to her site. And do please come back after, or I might cry.

1. I order a dish from a menu and they don’t have it

This is not something unusual here, even in fancy restaurants. You spent 10 minutes deciding what you’re gonna have and when you order the waiter gives you this look like you’ve pronounced a forbidden word and then says: “I’ll check if we have that”.

How come? It’s on the menu, the only thing I would eat right now is that damn dish and you don’t have it? Give me a break.

2. I buy something in a kiosk and they give me candy instead of change because they don’t have coins

Mr. or Mrs. kiosk: I’m buying a pack of Lucky Strikes and a diet coke, do you think I really want candy? Maybe we should do what a friend suggested the other day: Keep all the candy in a jar and then try to buy my cigarettes with them.

3. The taxi driver tells me that he doesn’t know the street I’m trying to get

Taxi driver: Corrientes and Anchorena? Hmmm… I’m not sure where that is.

Me: That’s the Abasto.

Taxi driver: Abasto? Is that the place where there are horse races? Excuse me, but I’ve been driving this taxi cab just for 3 days and I don’t know the city very well…

That’s the oldest trick in the world, dude, at least in Buenos Aires. I know what you are doing. You are testing if I know where I’m going. I do know, and I also know the fastest way to get there so cut the crap and drive.

And then you are going to tell me that you’ve just started your shift so you don’t have any change. Don’t worry, I have lots of candy…

4. The TV in the subways

Oh my god, that’s annoying. Maybe you are visiting and you don’t have to take the subway like most of the locals do (anyway you won’t escape from the taxi drivers). They have these TVs all over the place repeating the same crap every 5 minutes. From stupid music videos to political propaganda, from fashion shows to a coach teaching people how they should dress in order to get a job. All kinds of uninteresting programs that last 30 seconds.

I would get a taxi cab if it wasn’t that they probably won’t know the address I’m going to.

5. Bad graffiti

Hey you, the guy that paints the walls in such a messy and ugly way: If you are going to damage private property, at least do it with some class. Haven’t you seen all those wonderful stencils around Buenos Aires? Those guys try to add something to the world, they carefully design what they are going to paint. What you do is just stupid. I hope the police caught you while you are damaging another wall. If you have things to say, go get a therapist, because nobody wants to know what you have to say.

And that’s it. I could go on and on, but this is not my blog so…

Coming soon from Diva: “These are a few of my favourite things”

About me: Buenos Aires Through My Eyes

Dear readers, what do you hate about Buenos Aires?

Dancing Tango in the Confiteria Ideal, Buenos Aires [Photo credit: Gerrysan]

Note from Alan – We are lucky enough to welcome a seasoned Buenos Aires tango and milonga expert to the Buenos Aires Argentina Guide, in the form of Cherie Magnus, from the Tango Cherie blog (see the end of this post for more info on Cherie). Her first offering is an excellent guide to the types of tango salon in Buenos Aires, for those interested in the real world of social tango dancing in the city. So, over to you Cherie…

If you want to dance tango in Buenos Aires, where do you go?

Actually it depends on many things: your age, what style you dance, what day or night of the week you want to go out, if you go with or without a partner, and so on…

Dancing social tango in Buenos Aires has nothing to do with the Tango Show Dancing on the streets of San Telmo, La Boca, calle Florida, or Recoleta, or the many Tango Cena-Shows with an orchestra, stage dancers and dinner. The first thing to know about tango is that what you’ll see in those places is a different dance – Tango for Export. And that is another post entirely!

Experience Authentic Social Tango in Buenos Aires

If you want to experience authentic social tango, you really need to know the best places for you to go to watch and dance. You could pick up one of the many free tango publications from shoe salons and hotels which list all of the milongas (places to dance social tango), but unless you have lots of time and money to explore each one, you can’t tell which is right for you. And that’s why Ruben & Cherie (as well as other bilingual local dancers) provide a service to help tango tourists get the most out of their visits to Buenos Aires. They know where you can have the most fun and how to break the codigos, and will even take you there themselves.

If you are interested in their tango services, you can contact Ruben & Cherie using the following details:

• Email: BsAsMilonga@aol.com
• Telephone: 4932-5027 (from within Buenos Aires)
• Blog: Tango Cherie

Click here to view the embedded video.

Types of Tango Salon in Buenos Aires

First, a tip: when checking where to go to mingle with the locals in Buenos Aires on the dance floor, remember that dances in the same salon vary greatly depending on the organizer, day of the week, time of day etc. In other words, every milonga at Region Leonesa or Canning will not be the same.

The following is a general break-down of the different types of places to dance tango in Buenos Aires, with some examples of each…

Salon de Baile

A formal atmosphere especially for dancing, with predominantly elegant attire, tables with tablecloths, uniformed waiters, tango codes are strictly respected, professional DJs play tango, vals and milonga music of the 1930’s-50’s, often with tandas of Latin and Jazz music. The public here is older (50-80) with an intermediate to high level of dancing in the close-embrace milonguero style. Women and men sit on opposite sides of the salon and use the cabaceo. The afternoon milongas tend to be more formal and traditional than the late night dances.

Examples in Buenos Aires: El Arranque, Gricel, Salon Canning, Viejo Correo, Los Consegrados, Maipu 444, Lo de Celia, El Beso, Chique.

Confiteria bailable

This old-fashioned type of salon has many of the same characteristics of the Salons de Baile, but also has a restaurant. The public is more varied, with lots of groups. The only example today is the Confiteria Ideal, which is famous for its long life and its architecture. Nowadays only a few Salons de Baile have restaurants, such as Nino Bien and El Beso, but they are milongas first, and only very few of the clients order food from the kitchen.

Club de Barrio

The dance floors are cement basketball courts or the club restaurant. Meals are usually available. Predominantly attended by the neighborhood families and older married couples; the music includes tango, jazz and tropical.

Examples in Buenos Aires: Sin Rumbo, Los Bohemios, Sunderland, Club Chicago.

Baile Joven

Informal atmosphere, young public (18-30), variety of casual dress, often with live music and dance exhibitions. More relaxed standards, a more diverse level of dancing, and more salon-style than close embrace. You will hear the music of Piazzolla, some rock ‘n’ roll, as well as salsa and cumbia.

Examples in Buenos Aires: La Estrella, La Viruta, Parakultural.

Aire Libre

Outdoor milongas that attract a wide variety of dancers.

Examples in Buenos Aires: La Glorieta and Plaza Dorrego (year round) and La Calesita (in summer).

An Aire Libre milonga in Plaza Dorrego, San Telmo [Photo credit: nyluke]

Practicas

Informal, bare-bones ambiance, no professional DJ.

Examples in Buenos Aires: Cochabamba 444, El Motivo, Tangocool, Soho Tango.

Gay Milongas

Informal, relaxed atmosphere, anybody can dance with anybody, alternative music along with the classics.

Examples in Buenos Aires: La Marshall, TangoQueer.

Coming soon from Cherie – reviews of different tango milongas around Buenos Aires…

About Cherie Magnus

Cherie Magnus is a published travel writer and dance critic from Los Angeles, and an expat tango dancer and teacher in Buenos Aires since 2003. She and her Argentine partner Ruben Aybar also do bilingual Tango Tours. Last year they were finalists in the Campeonato Metropolitano de Tango de Buenos Aires. She’s working on a memoir, The Church of Tango, and one of her pieces is included in a soon-to-be-published anthology on San Miguel de Allende. You can read more on her blog, TangoCherie.

[Phone number: 4825-3050. Also has another location in Recoleta at Ayacucho 1208 - phone number : 4823-3900]

Maybe you’ve heard that sushi is one of the city’s culinary specialties, but in case no one told you: don’t leave Buenos Aires without indulging in an expertly-prepared sushi feast at one of the many great sushi restaurants in town. For a sushi restaurant that won’t put too much of a dent in your wallet, has a cozy atmosphere with incredibly attentive service, and serves up some of the best lobster, shrimp, and avocado rolls, head to Maki Sushi in Barrio Norte or Recoleta. It’s a great place to have a light meal before an evening of drinks and dancing with friends, or you could come here for a fun and casual date.

[Note from Alan: I'm especially glad that we have Rachel on board to do this sushi review, because I never would have been able to review any sushi bars in Buenos Aires, an important part of the dining scene here - I'm allergic to fish! ]

Mouthwatering plates of sushi served in style

Maki Sushi is a relatively small restaurant, and very popular, so you should make a reservation ahead of time if you will be with a party of three or more persons. As you sit down to an attractively arranged table of chopsticks and sushi plates, you will be presented with a small portion of seafood and vegetable salad which should tide you over as you peruse the extensive menu. You may want to start the meal with a small pitcher of sake, which can be served warm or cold.

In addition to the sushi standards, Maki Sushi offers other Japanese culinary delights such as seared pork steak served over risotto with a cilantro and lime chutney, Japanese dumplings, steak served with a miso sauce, and stir-fried vegetables with your choice of chicken, beef, or shellfish. The best option for groups with large appetites is to choose one of their huge sushi platters, which are intended to be for three, four, or five people, and offer a selection of rolls such as California, lobster, spicy shrimp, crab, salmon, and sashimi.

Depending on how many rolls you want per person, it will end up being about $25 pesos per belly. If you want to order individual portions, five rolls will run you an extra $15 pesos.

Experience “Japan-tine” culture in Buenos Aires

When the sushi arrives, dig in happily to the perfectly sticky rice, succulent seaweed rolls, tender salmon and shrimp, and luscious cream cheese and avocado, all complimented by spices and sesame seeds, and served with wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce. If you look around at the modern, Japanese décor and have a hard time remembering that you are in South America, think of it this way: in a multi-cultural city like Buenos Aires, it is a pleasure to be able to enjoy international cuisine within the relaxed, social environment of the city.

The truth is that Buenos Aires has a pretty substantial Japanese immigrant population, so by eating at a sushi restaurant you are actually experiencing modern porteño culture.

Make sure you try the incomparable Rainbow Roll, which boasts salmon, avocado, cream cheese, cucumber and kanikama, all inside a rice ball and topped with a halved shrimp. Muy rico!

Sweet endings, wherever you are

If you enjoy a light sushi meal with a sweet finish, Maki Sushi has one particularly attractive and delicious dessert: the equilibrio de chocolate – a mold of hardened chocolate filled with gooey chocolate sauce. Indulge in this divinity with a little sake wine, and enjoy the quiet and warm atmosphere of the restaurant.

Of course, Maki Sushi also delivers, because as you might have read, in Buenos Aires EVERYONE delivers. Don’t forget to get sake delivered with your sushi, so you can have an authentic Buenos Aires sushi experience right there, wherever you are staying. They also offer Japanese beers as well.

As I said before, unless you are a vegetarian, it is a must that you try sushi in Buenos Aires. Sushi bars are a great way to sample fish and seafood dishes here, since these food items are pretty overpriced in most restaurants and supermarkets in the city.

[Photo credit: urbanlegend]

Maki Sushi: The Verdict

• Service: (5/5) The servers at Maki Sushi are attentive and much quicker than most restaurants in Buenos Aires. They will explain the menu to you (though don’t expect English translations) and help you decide what to order. The sushi didn’t take longer than expected to arrive; it was just about thirty minutes. They even let us pay with a combination of credit cards and cash.
• Food: (4/5) Every sushi roll was expertly prepared and the food presentation was attractive enough to please even a group of French diners. The main dishes are just as delicious and colorful, with meats cooked just past medium rare and barely seared. And the pre-meal seafood salad is a nice touch.
• Atmosphere: (3/5) With bright, contrasting, modern colors like red and black, Maki Sushi has an overall sophisticated look that provides a warm, cozy dining experience in Recoleta or Barrio Norte.
• Value: (4/5) Considering that sushi is usually a more expensive dining choice, you will find that at Maki Sushi you pay about $35 pesos per person for a great meal, including some sake and another drink.

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Take advantage of the thrill of having Maki Sushi, Japanese beers, and sake delivered directly to your apartment, hotel or hostel, so you can have an authentic Buenos Aires sushi experience in the comfort of your own abode. It is also worth noting that renowned Buenos Aires food critic Saltshaker (AKA Dan) is a fan of Maki Sushi’s delivery.

[Original photo credit: lonecellotheory]

In Buenos Aires, the land of steak, it’s gotta be hard for visiting vegetarians and vegans [I use the word 'visiting', because surely none of them were actually born here! ].

To make this point crystal clear, I have actually heard people ask for meat-free options in restaurants, only for the waiter to offer up dishes with ham or chicken in them, because, after all, they don’t include any carne (beef).

Most people here in Buenos Aires simply cannot comprehend a life without beef, and who could really blame them for this standpoint, when 1. meat is so damn good in Argentina, and 2. eating beef is so ingrained into daily porteno life. However, if you come to Buenos Aires as a vegetarian or vegan, there are still quite a few dining options available…

Argentina’s vegetarian & vegan food options

I decided to write about this subject after happening across a great blog post the other day, by the urban vegan, who was in Buenos Aires recently and hunted down some excellent vegan food options in Buenos Aires restaurants.

Her most successful vegan dining experiences in Buenos Aires were at Filo in Retiro (more or less the city center), where a delicious-looking cheese-less pizza was on the menu, and at Bio in Palermo Viejo, where she enjoyed an interesting looking seitan vegetable curry with coconut milk, while her husband had tofu in a Dijon mustard sauce. Even as a fully-committed worshiper at the church of meat, I have to say all that still sounds pretty tasty to me

And there are of course, many other options for vegetarians in Buenos Aires, many of which are also applicable to vegans, or can be easily changed to be so by making a special request…

Vegetarian and vegan restaurants & food in Buenos Aires

• As the urban vegan pointed out in her post, Buenos Aires has a strong Italian immigrant heritage, and so pasta dishes are an excellent choice for the vegetarian (and many are suitable for vegans too) – you will find acceptable al dente pasta dishes in many Argentine restaurants.
• Along the same lines, Pizza is an excellent choice here for vegetarians – some of the best, in my opinion, being available at Guerrin in the city center, Morelia in Palermo Hollywood and Banchero in La Boca. For vegans, cheese-less pizzas will be available at most pizzerias, in the form of fuggazza, a type of pizza made from just pizza dough, olive oil, oregano, and onions. But vegans should beware its close relation, the fugazetta, which also has cheese. Though faina, a fried chickpea dough, is an excellent vegetarian accompaniment to pizza (eaten on top of your slice).
• Despite the urban vegan’s experiences, salads are also a good option for vegetarians and vegans in Buenos Aires, and can be found in the majority of restaurants. OK, so many set salads include either eggs, ham or cheese, but in most places you will be able to armar (make/design) your own salad, from a number of choices, such as tomato, lettuce, onion, potato, green beans, carrot, avocado, palm hearts, and so on.
• Dan from Saltshaker, as ever, has a number of good suggestions for vegetarian and vegan food in Buenos Aires. Scroll down to near the end of this page for his complete list of vegetarian restaurant recommendations. Apart from the already-mentioned Bio, a couple of the best vegetarian options from his reviewed list look to be Flor de Lino in San Telmo (with an interesting-looking Tofu-topped Pizza) and Siempre Verde in Belgrano (for Chinese vegetarian food – which is also a good vegetarian option in many other Chinese restaurants and tenedor libres – all you can eat joints), while a vegan restaurant suggestion is Krishna Love in Palermo Viejo (scroll down on that page for the review).
• Finally, another interesting, potentially spicy possibility for vegetarians in Buenos Aires is the California Burrito Company, in the city center, who offer up tasty vegetarian burritos and salads, which can also be suitable for vegans you pick and choose the ingredients appropriately – which is dead easy, because your burrito or salad is made at the counter right in front of your very eyes.

Well, there you go – I hope that was some interesting ‘food for thought’ for any vegetarians or vegans scared about their eating prospects during a visit to Buenos Aires or Argentina.

I should also mention that the urban vegan made another, earlier, excellent post on Buenos Aires in general, including many fantastic photos of the city (and Colonia del Sacramento too). Go check it out!

[also has a second restaurant, La Cabrera Norte, down a block at J.A. Cabrera 5127]

La Cabrera: Buenos Aires steak at its finest

This review is going to be something of a first for me: a review pretty low on words, and high on pictures. Thing is, when it comes to talking about La Cabrera, words just can’t describe the ecstasy of enjoying one of their huge steaks or many other specialties. In this case, pictures seem to be the way forward, and so I’ll do my best to curb my verbose tendencies for today…

Happy drooling!

Image credit: aprillynn77 at Flickr, because none of my pictures quite do La Cabrera justice like this one does [note: the rest of the pictures in this post are all mine, as are 99% of the rest found on this blog]

La Cabrera – Steak is the word

As you can see from the two nicely sized cuts of bife de chorizo (sirloin strip steak) shown directly above, La Cabrera is extremely generous with the size of their steaks. Yet it is not only the meat which arrives in large quantities here – every main course order is accompanied with their trademark array of many small, varied side dishes (at no extra cost), as can also be viewed in the photo above and another photo further down this post. These side dishes range from complimentary sauces (depending on what you have ordered), to couscous, mashed potato with mustard, tomatoes in sauce, calabaza (squash) puree, sweet pickled garlic, sundried tomatoes, guacamole, and so on, and on, and on…

In fact, the experience of a meal at La Cabrera can be almost paralyzing (and I’m not talking about being weighed down after eating too much here, although that could well apply too). There is so much choice, so many different flavors and options to go for, that it stops you in your tracks for a minute, stunned by the freedom of choice placed in front of you (how existential)! My advice if this happens to you… concentrate on the steak first. Speaking of steak…

This was a pretty fine specimen. In fact, this Ojo de Bife Napolitano (rib eye steak with plenty of ham, cheese and sundried tomatoes on top) would be way more than enough for one person, forgetting the side dishes. So just try a few of the flavors on offer from those cute little sideshows whenever this occurs to you, but don’t let that detract from the main event, which is always going to be the huge steak.

As I hinted at already, it is hard to describe just how good the steak is without resorting to pictures. Let me just say that it is delicious, succulent, perfectly cooked (if you ask for a punto – medium – you really do get it medium and not overcooked, etc) and very, very juicy. And all this seems to be true whatever steak you order there, be it bife de chorizo, ojo de bife or bife de lomo – the three cuts I have tried and loved at La Cabrera. Incidentally, the lomo steak I had there (a chunk of which is pictured in the top right photo at the start of this post) was ‘perfumed with rosemary’, which was a very interesting and tasty take on what for me is the king of Argentine steaks.

Even though I just ate lunch, I’m already hungry thinking about the steaks at La Cabrera.

La Cabrera – A House of Gluttony

And yet, despite the steak alone being more than enough to fill you up before you even think about the variety of side dishes, sometime you have to go even further into the dark realms of over-eating. La Cabrera will probably tempt you to do so [especially when someone else is footing the bill and encouraging you to do so! Thanks Gunter, and Peri ]

Last time I was there, we shared two starters between three people. The first was the following chorizo sausage:

Very nice indeed, thank you very much.

The second starter was even better, a goat’s cheese provolone (a type of cheese grilled on the Argentine parrilla) with sundried tomatoes. This was the best provolone I have tasted in Buenos Aires, and I have had quite a few. Plus, I’m not usually a fan of goat’s cheese, but it worked really well in this format (see top left picture at the head of this post).

Then we shared two main courses between the three of us (Ojo de Bife Napolitano and Bife de Lomo). This is about right – if you are having starters, then a main course each would be waaaaay too much at La Cabrera. In fact, if you are just eating the main course and nothing else, two dishes between three people should probably fill you all to satisfaction. And if you are a couple, one main course between two will probably do, although being a glutton myself I’d probably order a side of their fantastic wedge fries to go with that

Finally, we finished off the meal with a fantastic Sorbeto de Limon con Champagne (lemon sorbet with champagne). At this stage of the over-eating proceedings, having a dessert that you can drink through a straw is a very sensible idea. This dessert is also pictured in the group of pictures at the top of the post. Sluuurrrp…

By the way, this is what a house of gluttony looks like…

Stay well away from this place if you are on a diet.

And while you’re at it, slimmers would do well to avoid looking at more delicious steak photos from La Cabrera that were posted/linked by Matt Bites and Asado Argentina. Nice work, fellow gluttons and meat eaters!

La Cabrera, Palermo Viejo: The Verdict

• Service: (4/5) The service varies according to other reports, but for me it has generally been very good. Last time I was there without a reservation we happily waited in the nice outdoor seating area for almost an hour and were given three complimentary glasses of champagne during that time. Now that’s what I call good service!
• Food: (5/5) Up to now, my favorite place to eat steak in Buenos Aires. Massive cuts of meat, an amazing array of free side dishes, and everything tastes heavenly. Even if you don’t go for steak, dishes like their costillitas de cerdo (pork rib chops) are simply delicious too. They seem to do extremely well at all things carne.
• Atmosphere: (5/5) Again, I know some people complain about tables being too close together etc at La Cabrera, but I always find that kind of arrangement to add to a restaurant’s atmosphere. The outside tables are my favorite location to eat there – eating outside in nice surroundings (read a leafy, quaint, old Palermo Viejo street) really puts you in the holiday mood, which is good for me, because I can’t afford any holidays right now!
• Value: (4/5) Most of the main courses seem to be around 35 Argentine pesos, more or less. This seemed like a lot to me at first glance, but when you consider that the size of the steak means that one main course can be shared by two people, and all the side dishes that come along automatically, it suddenly becomes good value. A meal like this in Western Europe or the US would probably cost at least 5 times the amount as at La Cabrera.

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Simply put, go to La Cabrera. That’s my tip. As you can see from my high ratings above, La Cabrera is my current favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, and in fact, I can say with a certain amount of confidence that…

If you eat meat, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be in heaven at La Cabrera.

In search of the perfect empanada in Buenos Aires…

It’s a tough job trying to find the ‘best’ empanadas in Buenos Aires (just ask Saltshaker). Primarily because there are so many different places to try them at, and of course many different types of empanada from across the different regions of Argentina, and even the rest of Latin America. Still, I came to Buenos Aires with the idea of finding the perfect empanada, and still have this spurious notion in my head, and so on I trudge on with this difficult, yet enjoyable, eating project of mine.

For the record, I have still to taste those hallowed ‘perfect’ empanadas here. There is always something not quite perfect about each one, and I often wish that I could combine the best features of empanadas at different places to produce a super-empanada of sorts. Yes, it’s this kind of silly stuff that keeps me awake at night.

One thing I can say is that my favorite empanadas so far in Buenos Aires cannot be purchased in any restaurant. They are lovingly made by mi suegra (my mother-in-law to be), and are so good I can literally eat twenty in one sitting (I’m a growing lad – perhaps not in the right direction, but growing all the same). At Cumana in Recoleta, the empanadas are pretty good, and excellent value, but for one reason or another, are not quite up there with my suegra’s homemade efforts. And still, I continue in search of empanada perfection…

Empanadas… Check! Vino Tinto… Check! Colorful Crayons… errr… Check???

At Cumana, the empanadas are not the only fun to be had. As shown in the photo at the top of this post, colorful crayons are available for children and grown-up kids alike, to be used on the paper tablecloths. This of course inevitably leads to silliness such as chalking down your order on the table in front of you. Still, if your Spanish pronunciation is a little rusty, I suppose it beats plain old pointing at the items on the menu that you want to order.

As well as creating this fun juvenile air with the crayons, the general atmosphere at Cumana is also buzzing, busy and brash. The tables and seats are fairly small and packed in tight, and the place always seems to be full at both lunch and dinner sittings, so it is not a place to go for a quite, relaxed or intimate conversation. Instead, Cumana is there for traditional Argentine food in a traditional energetic, rustic Argentine setting.

OK, so the service is pretty slow, but this is something I’m starting to forgive more these days in Buenos Aires, because it really is the norm here. You just have to adjust to it, and change your expectations accordingly: i.e. let go and relax, there’s no rush. Plus, if you take that attitude back with you into your real life, you’ll probably live longer

But enough about the service and atmosphere, and on to the main reason I’m here. To sample…

Cumana’s Empanadas

As you can see, the empanadas at Cumana look pretty tasty. I always like them to be nicely browned in places on the outside, and even slightly burned here and there. It just adds to the flavor a little. So Cumana delivers on that front.

I had five differently filled Empanadas on this visit, which I will now cover one by one:

• Lomo Picante – Chopped lomo (tenderloin) steak in a mildly spicy, meaty sauce. This is a great one to start with, because it is quite possibly the tastiest empanada filling I have tasted since coming to Buenos Aires. OK, so it’s not as spicy as I would usually like, but that allows the more subtle flavors of a frankly delicious sauce to come to the fore. And the chopped lomo steak easily beats the standard minced beef from your average empanada de carne.

• Humita – Creamed corn. Humita is fast becoming one of my favorite empanada fillings, although it seems it can be done very badly or very well. The bad versions are usually when they skimp on the corn and use way too much creamy white sauce. Cumana uses a lot of corn, and just the right amount of tasty white sauce, and so their Humita gets the thumbs up.

• Jamon y Queso – Ham and cheese. Apart from carne, jamon y queso is the next most common empanada filling you see in Buenos Aires. It is a basic, rarely spectacular empanada filling, and to be honest, quite hard to mess up. Cumana does a respectable version, with a good amount of ham, which sometimes can be a problem with this version.

• Pollo – Chicken. Probably the third most common Argentine empanada filling, and despite always sounding like a good idea, it almost always disappoints. No change at Cumana, because I don’t like their empanadas de pollo either. As per usual, I’m finding gristle in with the chicken, and that’s a real turn off for me. At least there were no bones, which sometimes provide a nasty surprise lurking inside empanadas de pollo in Buenos Aires.

• Choclo, Calabaza y Queso – Corn, squash and cheese. Never would have thought this when I ordered it, but wow! A great combination of fillings that really work wonders together. In fact, I just prefer this to Cumana’s lomo picante empanada. Although to be honest, it may just be me, because these days I am developing a serious calabaza addiction. All the same, I wish more places offered this empanada filling.

So, all in all, above average empanada fillings, discounting the usual pollo disappointment, and with a couple of stand outs. And at AR$1.50 a pop, although fairly small, they offer good value. Cumana’s empanadas are cooked in a traditional large wood-burning oven, as shown in this picture:

Which is always a good sign, and helps with that lovely charred effect on that pastry that I mentioned earlier. However, this is also one area where Cumana pulls up a little short on quality…

Empanada Pastry

Despite having some frankly wonderful fillings, I am left feeling a little let down by what’s holding it all together, the pastry, which is almost as important as the empanada’s filling. It has a hint of tasteless cardboard to it, reminiscent of the type of pastry you find on cheap take-out empanadas at places such as Solo Empanadas (ugh!).

OK, so the pastry at Cumana is still a great deal better than that, but it is certainly also a long way from homemade. Actually, I guess it’s about somewhere in the middle of the two. Not a huge problem, and not detracting from the quality fillings inside, but still enough to stop these good empanadas from becoming great, or perfect empanadas, which is the whole point of this particular quest of mine.

My guess is that, because Cumana is so damn busy, they use some kind of mass produced pastry on their empanadas. Which is fine and I’m sure what many other empanada joints do (and in fact, maybe a decision based on the fact that their fillings are so good… they could just want something to encase them in that will not fight for center stage itself!), but still not something that I would want to see on my hallowed perfect empanada. And so, the search goes on… (perhaps to El Sanjuanino next?)

Other Traditional Argentine Dishes at Cumana

Cumana also offers up many other great regional dishes from around the rest of Argentina and Latin America. Their Locro, Mondongo (although not really a favorite dish of mine) and Tamales are all very tasty. In fact, in addition to enjoying the same empanada fillings at Cumana that I did, Saltshaker also speaks very highly of their Locro.

And what’s more, all of these traditional dishes come in at around AR$6 each, which is an absolute bargain.

All this, AND the best Gnocchi in Buenos Aires?

Also very traditional in the city of Buenos Aires are noquis (gnocchi). As I keep saying in these restaurant reviews, my fiancee has a terrible addiction to these things, and generally orders them whenever she can. Here’s how they turned out on this occasion:

These were noquis con crema de tomate y albahaca (gnocchi in a creamy tomato sauce with basil), and having stolen a taste of some myself, I can say, with a great deal of experience in this area, that they are the best gnocchi I have tasted so far in my two years in Buenos Aires. High praise indeed. I think it was down to them being cooked in a clay pot in the same oven as the empanadas, and with lots of cheese in the creamy tomato sauce, this produced a lovely crunchy top, and a delicious gooey creamy, cheesy mess underneath.

So gnocchi fans, go to Cumana and you really will be in heaven, for the sum total of a mere AR$6.90.

Cumana Empanadas: The Verdict

• Service: (2/5) Slower than average service, though to be honest I don’t really care much about this anymore, and Cumana is always really busy, I suppose. In fact, if you go in the evening, be prepared to wait maybe half an hour for a table. I must say, the staff are quite friendly when they get round to attending to you, so that saves them from a 1/5 mark.
• Food: (4/5) Fantastic empanada fillings, let down by lower quality pastry. I guess you could say these empanadas have an inner beauty waiting to be discovered! I was going to give Cumana 3/5 for their empanadas because of the pastry let down, but their excellent Locro and Gnochhi pulls them up to a solid 4/5.
• Atmosphere: (4/5) A very nice traditional, rustic setting, and a great feeling of energy and authenticity. Some cynics will moan about the tables being too close together or it being too noisy and difficult to have a conversation, but to be honest, I won’t be going to eat dinner with the kind of person that says that, so I don’t care what they think. (Nathan and Diva, are you reading? – that was almost controversial!)
• Value: (4/5) Really good value on all their dishes. Almost a 5/5, but I’m feeling mean today. They’d get full marks for value if they used better pastry on their empanadas

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Go with a few friends, order a bunch of different empanadas (especially the delicious lomo picante and choclo, calabaza y queso versions), maybe a few other different traditional Argentine dishes such as the Locro, and share the lot. You will eat real good for very few pesos, and maybe not be as mean about the pastry as I am.

Wash it all down with the house vino tinto (red wine). I actually think empanadas taste better with cheap red wine than they do with anything else. Especially cheap red wine in a tumbler. Don’t ask me why, it just seems right.

I guess I’ve always been something of a hostel person. Not out of choice mind you – if my economic situation had been rosier over the years, I’m sure I would have been living it up in the odd luxury, design, or boutique hotel now and again.

These days, my financial situation is little different, and still I wouldn’t be able afford to stay in such hotels. However, my current job as an independent tour guide here in Buenos Aires presents me with a glimpse over the other side of the fence, giving me a taste for the good stuff – so close, and yet so far.

However, as a tour guide, I also have to be quite resourceful on occasion. And so I have been able to come up with a few ways to enjoy the most wonderful, expensive Buenos Aires Hotels, but on a budget. Read on for my top five suggestions.

Top Five Hotels in Buenos Aires

5. Caesar Park Hotel, Recoleta

A solid luxury hotel in Recoleta, with fantastic interior design, service and location (right across from the upmarket Patio Bullrich mall). Costs around US$270 a night, which is approximately US$250 over my usual budget

So, how to experience this hotel without paying a dime? Just walk in the lobby and do your most confident impression of a paying hotel guest. Take the elevator up to the 17th floor, and take in the wonderful view of the Rio de la Plata, seeing right the way over to Uruguay on a good day. Exit soon after, before security come and give you the privilege of a personal escort out of the building

4. Bo Bo Hotel, Palermo Soho

One of the most coveted boutique hotels in Palermo Soho, the sub-barrio where boutique hotels seem to be popping up every week. The design is cool, modern, fun and ever so slightly pretentious, as you would expect from a place where the name stands for bourgeois bohemian. They even have themed rooms, ranging from Pop to Techno to Art Deco. And if that isn’t enough, the staff and restaurant also both get rave reviews. Rates are actually fairly reasonable, at about US$135 per night.

But you don’t want to pay that! Make do with a trip to the restaurant and a quick scan around the stylish hotel interior. To experience their eclectic international cuisine should set you back less than 50 pesos a head, and although the servings are fashionably small, they are still quite delicious, and you’ll get all of the bourgeois bohemian experience for a fraction of the price of a night in their hotel.

3. The Hotel Alvear, Recoleta

If you are a head of state, diplomat or just plain rolling in old money, this is the place to stay in Buenos Aires. Faultless old world style and service, the most desirable location on the most upscale avenue in the city (they even share the same name), and quite frankly, effortlessly the most classically beautiful hotel lobby, bar, cafe and restaurant in town. However, you’ll need to be rolling in old money to stay here – it’s probably going to set you back over US$400 a night!

For the rest of us mere mortals, the Alvear offers an alternative – and something of an institution for in the know visitors to Buenos Aires. Well, at least those that are in to tea and cake. For 55 pesos a head, you can indulge in an afternoon high tea at the Alvear’s beautifully appointed L’Orangerie cafe, and pretend you are rich for a few sweet, sweet moments, accompanied by a few sweet, sweet cakes and pastries. Just make sure you dress the part.

2. The Faena Hotel + Universe, Puerto Madero

The most fantastical hotel in Buenos Aires, fresh from the warped mind of designer Phillipe Starck, and the straining ego of Argentine entrepreneur Alan Faena. A potent combination, heightened by your own personal ‘experience manager’, there to respond to your every whim, as you create your own mini-universe within the swish former docklands of Puerto Madero. But don’t lose yourself quite yet… there’s the small matter of a US$400 per night bill to address at some point in time!

Fret not, for there is another way for the canny budget traveler like yourself to experience this hotel. Cocktails at the Faena’s “Library Lounge” (down the corridor on the right, just after the outdoor pool), complete with film set surroundings and kitsch mounted deer heads on the walls, should set you back about 30 pesos a go. Just make sure you check out the enchanting entrance corridor and toilets while you’re there (yes, even the toilets are out of this world at the Faena).

1. The Four Seasons ‘La Mansion’, Recoleta

This cute little mansion in the grounds of the Four Seasons hotel (see first picture at top of this post) is so expensive that only world famous rock and pop stars like U2, the Rolling Stones and Madonna can afford to stay there. And that must mean it’s great, right? Well, my economic situation means I can’t realistically confirm that, but the building certainly is a cut above most hotels – a wonderful turn of the 20th century French mansion house that looks plucked from the Loire valley. Let’s just hope the latest rock star in residence hasn’t thrown all the wide screen TVs out of the window

Let’s not even mention a nightly price for this place, and go straight to the ‘budget’ option. Sunday brunch downstairs at the Four Season’s La Mansion is a great chance to take in the full mansion house experience, while gorging yourself on the best breakfast in BA. OK, so it’ll set you back 125 pesos per person, but trust me, you’ll feel like a rock star throughout, and for a good while afterwards. Well, more accurately, you’ll feel a rock star does at breakfast, but we all have to start somewhere, I guess

In it for the money?

The reason I’ve come over all ‘top 5′ in this post is so as to enter a spiffing contest set up by problogger, one of my daily reads. And this isn’t any old blog contest – if chosen I could win a prize of US$1001 (!), which I promise, in the unlikely event of me winning, to partly invest in a night at one of the five hotels above, to see how the other side really do live, sin budget. In fact, I’ll take votes in the comments below for which hotel you think I should book and why, if I win, so please do make your suggestions in the comments section below.

And if I don’t win, maybe there is a kind manager at one of the above fine establishments who would like to offer me a free night of hotel accommodation (in return for a blog review here, of course)… pleeeeeaaaaassseeeeee???

Here’s hoping…

[PS - More pictures and hotel details to come to this post in an imminent update, when I get time]

Sorry for missing a week folks. Without wanting to go into the details, it’s been a crazy and stressful time. Anyway, on with the show we go, with my picks from the Buenos Aires blogosphere from the last two weeks, and I’m going to to try and keep my usually meandering descriptions quite brief this time round…

My favorite Buenos Aires blog posts from the past 2 weeks

• Tango Cherie made an interesting post on the subject of tango ‘taxi dancers’
• Nathan from Trip Trap notices some funny goings on in the Buenos Aires section of Craigslist
• Robert’s map of Recoleta Cemetery is ready, and it looks beautiful
  

Things to see and do in Buenos Aires

• David Schneer goes in search of the Jewish underground in Buenos Aires (a series of posts, see links at top of the page)
• Saltshaker had an enjoyable and cheap day out at the races, at Palermo Hipodromo, a place that I also reviewed a while back on this blog: Palermo Hipodromo, Buenos Aires
• Highlights from Karine’s daily photos over the past couple of weeks includes a picture of the 15 year commemoration of the 1992 Israeli Embassy attack, and on a lighter note, one of the statue of General Alvear in Plaza Francia, Recoleta, and a nice aerial shot of the Retiro train station – I guess taken from the torre de los ingleses?
• Argentina’s Travel Guide covered a couple of popular tourist destinations in Buenos Aires… the Casa Rosada in Plaza de Mayo, and El Tigre, up on the delta to the north of the city

Buenos Aires news, info & general comments

• Argentina’s Travel Guide has some useful advice on how to get packages that are sent to you in Buenos Aires
• Disco Shawn reports on the recent ATM withdrawal problems for foreigners in Buenos Aires
• Will Bonner discovers that film director Francis Ford Coppola has just bought a petit hotel in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires, to stay in when he works on an upcoming film in Argentina.. which On the Road Travel says will be called Tetro and filmed in Buenos Aires
• Yanqui Mike marks the 25th anniversary of the unfortunate Malvinas conflict with an overview of the history of the Malvinas islands
• Buenos Aires Spotting posts about some interesting underground street art viral marketing by the SUBA clothes brand in Buenos Aires
• Greek in Argentina notes that Buenos Aires came in at number 13 on a list of the wealthiest cities in the world, followed by some interesting discussion that continues on into a lively comments section

Buenos Aires restaurants, food and drink

• Robert posts up more reviews of wines available in Buenos Aires in Divino Vino #10, this time with more misses than hits
• Miriam makes some interesting comments about Dining Out in Buenos Aires in her blog, ‘South for the Winter’
• Argentina’s Travel Guide reviews an ‘all you can eat’ (tenedor libre) restaurant, Gourmet Porteño, in Puerto Madero, and Katmandu, an Indian restaurant in Almagro
  
• Saltshaker reviews Barbacoa parrilla and Caballito pizzeria, both in Barrio Norte, followed up by a trio of short Buenos Aires restaurant reviews in one blog post
• Ken posts about our beer tasting visit to Antares in Palermo (including pictures of both of us in silly hats), which I swiftly followed with a review of my own: Antares Pub, Buenos Aires – and Ken also posted his thoughts on tipping in Buenos Aires

Funny or Odd Stuff in Buenos Aires

• Diva returns to form with posts suggesting that virginity is a scarce commodity in Buenos Aires and her thoughts on Catholicism in Argentina
• Ken notes that the fairly regular lack of customer service in Buenos Aires can feel quite odd to us extranjeros, and also rounds up some interesting signs he has seen around the city
• Nathan from Trip Trap has some interesting stories from the supermarkets of Buenos Aires

Thanks for reading everyone!

For your information, I’m writing this week’s Buenos Aires blog roundup slowly in between itching the many mosquito bites that have ravaged my poor body. Unfortunately we have a bit of a mosquito invasion here in the city of Buenos Aires at the moment, although at least it looks (correct me if I’m wrong) like there is no risk of Dengue here in the city (unlike in parts of Buenos Aires province, and further north in Misiones). Still, the bites don’t half itch a lot, so apologies if my itching-triggered lack of concentration causes any errors in this roundup…

Buenos Aires Blog Posts of the Week

• This week’s top posts are about three new things that I’m pretty certain I will love. First up, Robert points out that a cafe has just opened up on the ground floor of the Palacio Barolo, a building that fascinates pretty much everyone, including Robert and I. It looks beautiful in Robert’s pictures, and despite the hefty, touristy prices (9 pesos for a cafe con leche with 3 medialunas!!!), I will definitely be checking it out in the near future
• Secondly, Dan from Saltshaker has been privy to a sneak preview of the food at an authentic Indian restaurant that will apparently be opening in Barrio Norte (Laprida and Charcas) later this month. It will be called Tandoor, and hopefully will provide the quality Indian food many of us expats have been missing since arriving in Buenos Aires
• Thirdly, Disco Shawn (still my vote for top blogger pseudonym of the year), introduces us to the Chilean indie musician Javiera Mena, who will be playing in Buenos Aires this Friday, March 16th at Club Niceto in Palermo Hollywood, during their indie music night Compass. From the tracks linked to in that blog post, her stuff sounds pretty good (I like my “cute, keyboard-driven pop goodness”, as Shawn describes it), so I will probably try to make my way to Compass this Friday

Things to See and Do in Buenos Aires

• Karine has yet more lovely pics from around Buenos Aires, this week including two stunning city monuments: El Monumento de los Españoles in Palermo, and the monument to General Jose de San Martin, in Plaza San Martin (where else?!), Retiro – a fitting tribute to Argentina’s main independence hero
• Argentina’s Travel Guide has some interestingly varied things to do in Buenos Aires this week, ranging from the “Thursday night transvestite party” at Club Niceto to attending an Argentine league soccer game (in this case at the River Plate stadium), and finally taking in a trip to a meditation center in Palermo after to reflect on what sounds like a very interesting week!
• For all of you budding Tango dancers on your way to Buenos Aires to strut your stuff, Tango Cherie provides the inside knowledge of what NOT to wear to a milonga in Buenos Aires… please take note!

Buenos Aires Information, News and General Comments

• Great news: everyone’s favorite trilingual blog, Trendy Palermo Viejo, celebrated it’s first anniversary of blogging this week, and long may Dalila continue bringing us the coolest shops, restaurants and more from this most happening of Buenos Aires barrios And what better way to celebrate than with a post recapping the latest shops that have opened in Palermo Viejo?!

Buenos Aires Restaurants, Food and Drink

• Yanqui Mike made his way to the last night of the Buenos Aires beer festival, but as I had suspected, it was more of a glorified rock concert than anything else, and even worse, Mike came away disappointed without even a drop of beer passing his lips. Considering the festival organizers obviously know the rules about not serving alcoholic beverages during musical performances here, you have to wonder why they bother having live music at what is, after all, supposed to be a beer festival. Or change the name to something less misleading. Bad show all round
• Dan from Saltshaker posted a review of Piola Pizzeria in Recoleta this week, giving you another (more qualified!) viewpoint on their pizza in addition to my recent review of Piola Buenos Aires. For the record, I enjoyed the Pizza more than Dan, but he experienced far better service than I did. Now if only they could get both things right at the same time…

Funny or Odd Stuff in Buenos Aires

• In the Argentine Metropolis discusses the English words that have been making their way into Argentine Spanish over the past few years, and also in the same post overhears a really funny conversation between a middle-aged woman and her father in a Palermo fashion cafe… frapuccino indeed!

Not too many posts this week… did I miss anything, or were you all just as lay as me this week?

As for my blog, I promise that very soon there will be some other posts on this blog apart from the weekly blog roundups… I’m sure I can at least manage another bar review or something, you know, for the benefit of my readers… nothing to do with my hankering for a few decent beers now and again of course!

Well, here we are at week number 13 of my (late as usual) Buenos Aires blog roundup. 13, lucky for some? Well, if you like blogs and Buenos Aires, this may indeed be your lucky day! I can’t believe it’s been a quarter of a year already since I started to write these roundups. I guess time flies when you are reading blogs all the time rather than doing any real work…

Buenos Aires Blog Posts of the Week

• He doesn’t post very often these days (I know – pot… kettle… black), but when El Expatriado springs into action, you sure know you will be in for some interesting and/or useful reading. And very useful indeed (for those laptop users among us) is this list of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Buenos Aires
• Yanqui Mike put in a sterling effort with his post commemorating the 150th anniversary of the death of Almirante Guillermo Brown (Bill to his mates) this Saturday, which saw a contingent come from County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland to lay wreaths on his grave in Recoleta cemetery (you can’t miss Brown’s, it’s the big Irish-green column with a ship on top). I would have liked to be there, as not only is Brown also one of my favorite figures in Argentine history (see Mike’s post to understand why), but also my mum is from that part of Ireland, and I spent a good few summer holidays growing up in and around Mayo… so I guess I feel an extra association with Brown… not that I’m thinking of running off and founding another country’s navy any time soon
• Robert proves that around every corner in Buenos Aires there are still interesting discoveries to be made. This time he made a visit to the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, just off Av. de Mayo, and happened upon a beautiful cloister where soldiers from both sides were buried during the (unsuccessful) British invasions of Buenos Aires during 1806 and 1807. Shame the church authorities wouldn’t let him in to take some better pics

Things to See and Do in Buenos Aires

• Robert also posted some more, very different discoveries in his 36th (count ‘em!) roundup of the weird and wonderful stencil graffiti around Buenos Aires. Also, Disco Shawn (stencils) and Mark DeLoura (freehand) joined in on the BA graffiti act (not literally, I guess… although this is in the things to see AND do section!) in their respective blogs this week
• Diva suggests we take an economically priced tour (AR$0.80) on the number 24 bus. I’ve always preferred the 29 myself, when it comes to sheer numbers of standard Buenos Aires sightseeing attractions And Jeff Barry, well he likes to get adventurous on the 39, going through the colorful barrio of Constitución
• One Argentina Travel blog writer has been relaxing in the Japanese Gardens of Palermo, a haven of Zen tranquility in the middle of crazy Buenos Aires City, something I’m quite partial to myself, as you can see in my previous post about Buenos Aires’ Jardin Japones
• And after re-charging their batteries, the Argentina Travel blog then went on a shopping spree along Av. Santa Fe, one of the best streets for shopping in Buenos Aires, where some bargains are to be found
• Karine has a nice post about Buenos Aires Zoo in Palermo, with lots of lovely cute animal photos

Buenos Aires Info, News & General Comments

• The Greek in Argentina penned an interesting blog post to help with understanding Buenos Aires women, with a nod to Christina Kirchner who may well be the next president of Argentina, following on from her husband Nestor, just as Isabel Peron did when she became the first female head of state in the western hemisphere back in 1974, after the death of her husband Juan (he of the rather famous earlier wife, Evita). Nestor, if you’re thinking what I am, I hope for your sake that lightning doesn’t strike twice!
• In other news, last week it rained like crazy, and Diva explains how this brings out the worst in some Buenos Aires residents

Buenos Aires Restaurants, Food & Drink

• Saltshaker is more than making up for lost time after his time apart from the Buenos Aires restaurant scene, this week giving his expert review treatment to Sette Bacco, a good, romantic, upscale Italian restaurant in Recoleta, Chan Chan, a decent Peruvian restaurant in Congreso, and finally the Recoleta outlet of Romario, a pretty good Pizza chain which has a few restaurants around Buenos Aires
• I also got in on the Pizza reviewing act (again!), this time with my thoughts on the fantastic pizza a la parrilla (a thin crust pizza cooked over a grill) on offer at Morelia in Palermo Hollywood
• Often mentioned as one of the best places to eat steak in the whole world, Cabaña Las Lilas also happens to be one of the most expensive places to eat steak in Buenos Aires, and therefore way outside of my meager review budget. Luckily, for you the inquiring reader, somebody over at Argentina’s Travel Blog had the cash to flash at this fancy Puerto Madero Steakhouse. And yes, I’m jealous!
• There are of course, many cheaper food options available in Buenos Aires. And as Ken kindly points out, almost everywhere delivers here
• Back to Saltshaker again – Dan has put together a useful Spanish to English food dictionary in eBook format, at a bargain price of US$10, which is bound to come in useful for visitors to Buenos Aires trying to get their heads round the menus here for the first time

Funny or Odd Stuff in Buenos Aires

• When it comes to driving, porteños are downright weird, fast and crazy. Ken has some words on the subject, in his paean to porteños behind the wheel. Just make sure you are careful crossing the road when in Buenos Aires, folks!
• And Ken has also vowed to take his camera with him wherever he goes in Buenos Aires from now, because you never know when something crazy is going to happen here, like a sidewalk collapsing and almost swallowing up a news-stand. Just another day in Buenos Aires!

That’s your lot for this week. Some great posts there to keep you reading for a while. I’m going for a lie down… well-earned I think!