Möoi

This may be the ultimate hotel breakfast of all hotel breakfasts. Because, attached to Hotel Clasico in Palermo Hollywood, is Möoi, a beautiful space, and the breakfast location for hotel guests. Here, you are presented with a full breakfast menu to order from, which is all included. That’s right. You order breakfast from the menu, and can mix and match different items. Amazing. On arrival, you receive a fresh cup of orange juice and a choice of tea or coffee – I always picked black tea, which was served in a delicate cast iron teapot, Japanese-style. My first food combination was the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon bagel. One thing about food here is that the portions are always huge, so clearly it was a mistake to get a two-part meal. The eggs were light, fluffy and cooked to perfection, to enjoy the maximum flavour. I particularly liked the addition of spring onion slices for extra bang. The bagel was fresh and dense, and of course the salmon was divine, although sadly I couldn’t eat more than a few mouthfuls. Luckily I stayed for a week so had plenty more chances to get it right!

Möoi, Costa Rica 5468, Buenos Aires 1414, Argentina, no website

La Cabrera

The final of #parillaweek is a big one – be sure to include this on any BA itinerary! I’d heard that La Cabrera, one of the top parillas in BA, had a special deal for ‘early’ diners (i.e. tourists) where everything was 40% off the menu if you arrived at their ‘annex restaurant’ before 7pm. I was there on my last night in BA, and enjoyed said discount thoroughly. A plate shaped like a cow with complimentary olives and slices of a tasty terrine was brought out after ordering, and I treated myself to a glass of malbec to accompany the meal. My first dish was the half serve of mollejas grilladas (usually ARS $344), which came out with three glass dishes full of condiments – pickles and olives, yum! Drizzled with lemon, the large sweetbreads were beautifully tender and perfectly cooked. Yum. Next was the bife de chorizo (400g, usually ARS $375), which came with another round of condiments (including a side of corn cheese bake) and had two plump pieces of beef on the platter. Of course it was way too much food, but each mouthful was too delicious to stop – the beef was nicely seasoned, just on medium-rare and super tender. The whole experience (including Gotan Project background music) ticked all the BA stereotype boxes, including top notch food. Highly recommended.

La Cabrera (annex store), Cabrera 5099, Palermo Buenos Aires, Argentina, http://lacabrera.com.ar/

Miranda

#parillaweek continues! Palermo is a foodie paradise, and on my first day in BA, I found what was one of my favourite restaurants of the whole trip – turns out it’s a favourite of my relatives there too! Parilla Miranda sits elegantly on a street corner, and is one of the few parillas with a sleek, modern interior. I had no idea about portion sizes, so ordered the mollejas (sweetbreads) as an entree – one of my favourite childhood treats. Oh. My. God. Firstly, the plate was HUGE, but secondly, they were by far the most delicious sweetbreads I’ve had in my life (sorry Dad). Slightly pan-seared to form a crust, and drizzled with fresh lemon, each creamy mouthful was heavenly. If you haven’t tried mollejas before, this serve would be a large but friendly introduction to this delicacy. Foolishly, I’d also ordered a main, a steak served with potatoes, roast capsicum with a baked egg inside, chimmichurri and a small salad. I was a long way from finishing it, but the beef was perfectly medium-rare, the capscium sweet and the potatoes rich. I dined here twice on my trip, and expect it will be my first stop should I be lucky enough to return. Go. Please, go.

Miranda, corner of Costa Rica y Fitz Roy, Palermo, Buenos Aires, http://parrillamiranda.com/

Peña

Happy 2017! In honour of friends moving to Argentina soon, it’s #parillaweek! What’s a parilla, I hear you ask? It’s an Argentine steakhouse, that’s what. So, here we go. Parilla Peña is billed as an authentic local steak experience, and it certainly lives up to that reputation. Staffed by all male waiters and with an unpretentious, giant grill by the door, I knew I was in for a treat. Of couse, I over-ordered for one, starting with a chorizo (ARS $40) and then picking the bife de chorizo (rump, ARS $220) as my main cut. Before my chorizo arrived, a cheese empanada was provided as a starter on the house, served cold. It was tasty, but I held back from that (and the bread) to save room for the main event. The chorizo was lovely, although not the best I’d have in BA, but the bife de chorizo was utterly divine. It was huge (larger than my hand), and cooked to perfection with the red blush of a true medium-rare steak. The meat just melted in my mouth, tender and so full of flavour you can’t even imagine. I did end up cutting off a fair amount of fat, but the portion was so large I left about a quarter uneaten (not for want of trying). I couldn’t believe the value – such a top quality steak for roughly AUD $20?! Unimaginable in Australia.

Pena, Rodríguez Pena 682, 1020 CABA, Argentina, http://www.parrillapenia.url.ph/

Ølsen

Ok, so one does not go to Argentina to eat Scandinavian food, but when the space is as lovely as Ølsen’s, I couldn’t not. The long block of land is elegantly presented, with garden walls either side drawing your eye to the vast glass frontage. I ordered from the set lunch menu (ARS 170), opting for the pumpkin soup with apple confit to start and grilled fish with potato, saffron and an olive tapenade for the main. To start, the waiter brought a stack of three huge bagels (I managed to nibble at one), before my pumpkin soup arrived. This is literally the best pumpkin soup I’ve ever had – the sweet confit apple added so much to the rich, creamy soup that I’m going to try making this at home. Yum, yum, yum. The main was huge too, with a large fillet (unfortunately I couldn’t determine what sort of fish it was) of tender, flakey fish (perhaps slightly overdone). I found the tapenade a bit strong for the other delicate flavours, but the potatoes were every foodie’s dream. Surely double or triple fried, with perfectly crisp skins and fluffy, soft insides, they were heavy but super tasty – I definitely over-ate, and would come back in a heartbeat for more of that soup.

Ølsen, Gorriti 5870 Palermo Buenos Aires, Argentina, no website

Steaks by Luis

‘Closed door’ restaurants (hosted in private homes) are hugely fashionable in Buenos Aires at the moment, so when my friend highly recommended Steaks by Luis, I booked right away ($79 USD for a set 5 course menu). The real fun is that it’s an asado (traditional Argentine BBQ), and you share the table with the whole restaurant (about 30 people). We started with an explanation of the cuts and the importance of salting the beef ahead of time. We then enjoyed empanadas, cut chorizo, salami and bread with a glass of sparkling to start, and had the chance to meet other beef-lovers. Next up was a fresh salad of lettuce, tomato, onion and apple – definitely needed ahead of the first hot course. The platter of assorted offal was delicious, with my childhood favourite of sweetbreads a highlight (so plump and tender), along with the intestine, pork and beef sausage, and ribs. If that wasn’t enough meat, then came our 350g bife de chorizo cut – mine was medium-rare, and it was perfection. Tender, incredibly tasty and very, very filling, this was a perfect introduction to Argentine cuisine. Finally, we managed to fit in a sliver of dulce de leche cheesecake, which was pure decadence. Every course was perfection – fasting ahead of time recommended!

Steaks by Luis, Palermo address provided after booking, https://steakbuenosaires.net/steak/

Chungo

Whilst I knew exactly where to get icecream in Santiago, it took me a while to realise that there was an heladeria across the road from my hotel in Buenos Aires. But I did realise, and in doing so ended up having one of the best icecreams of my trip. The icecream menu at Chungo is extensive, to the point where I had to ask for the staff’s recommendation to try and whittle the choice down. I finally went for the strawberry and mango (the recommendation) and a pear sorbet, served in a waffle cone. I was delighted to get a choice of toppings, and ended up choosing the candied almonds (why not? I was on holidays). The strawberry and mango sorbet was light and sweet, the mango flavour less prominent than I expected but still noticeable, but the magic flavour was undoubtedly the pear. I can’t describe this any other way – it was like biting into a sweet, ripe pear, except it was icecream. There was nothing artificial, nothing to distract you from the 100% pear-ness of it. I have no idea how they managed to get such an authentic flavour, but it was beautiful and I could have eaten a bucket of it. Luckily I was pretty full from the almonds on top, or else I might have… Definitely worth seeking out if you find yourself in BA.

Chungo, Humboldt 1906, Esquina Costa Rica, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires, Argentina, http://www.chungo.com.ar/