“And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down”…on the fourth day, it rained. Hard. All day. But since I have no idea when or if I’ll be in Buenos Aires again, I dragged myself out of my cozy bed and grabbed my trusty Juicy Couture umbrella. (Three years in torrential Boston rain, and it’s never flipped inside out.)
My first stop was a nearby parrilla (steakhouse) called Don Julio. I can’t believe it took me so long to make it to one; for a carnivore like myself, parrillas are as close as it gets to heaven. Dan from Casa Saltshaker last night told me that, in his opinion, Don Julio has the best ribeye (ojo de bife) in the city. Since that’s my favorite cut of meat, I was excited to try it, but I ended up a little disappointed. Traditionally, parrillas don’t marinate the meat or use seasonings, and it tasted a little bland to me–though it was much improved with just a dash of salt. The bigger problem was the quality of the beef; it was far too fatty and nearly impossible to saw through. For $10, though, it wasn’t bad.
After lunch, I grabbed a taxi (stepping in a giant puddle in the process) and went to the MALBA–the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. It was much smaller than I’d anticipated. The top floor was blocked off for some reason, so it was really just a handful of rooms. Nevertheless, there were some fantastic pieces. A bench created by Pablo Reinoso had wooden slats that extended on one side in a riotous heap of tangles that climbed the walls of the museum. And I loved Armando Reverón’s Mujer desnuda leyendo (Nude woman reading). Unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed, and I can’t find an image online, but it was a large canvas painted entirely in a flesh tone with just the hint of an outline of the figure–so subtle and lovely. If you’re interested, however, you can see some of Reverón’s other works here. White Landscape has a similar style.
Since it was still pouring when I left the museum, I walked quickly around the corner to the Paseo Alcorta mall, which is supposed to be one of the more upscale malls in the city. I believe that because the prices were a little steep by Argentine standards, but otherwise, I would have no idea. The best part about shopping in foreign countries is that you have no label preconceptions. In high school, I would never buy anything from Banana Republic because ALL of the other girls at my school shopped there. I could have been shopping quite contentedly at the BsAs equivalent, however; I certainly didn’t know the difference. It’s very freeing. It also means, though, that you have to go in almost every store…not such a hardship, on second thought. Argentines are teeny tiny (one person told me they come in second to Japan in the number of people with eating disorders), so pants were a definite no. But I did buy a magenta shrug embellished with something akin to leather paillettes on sale at Trosman and a camel sweater with topaz (my birthstone!)-colored stones sewn on the sleeves at Maria Cher. My mood always lifts when I feel the weight of shopping bags on my arms, and I was happy to go back to the hotel for a brief rest before dinner.
An hour or so later, I met Kate and Stacy, my new friends from the first night’s wine tasting, for dinner at Bereber, located just a few steps from my hotel and distinguished as the only Moroccan restaurant in Buenos Aires. It’s also one of the few places in the city that serves cocktails, and so I started with a Gazelle–strawberry, lime, vodka…and possibly some ingredients I couldn’t decipher. Notwithstanding my less than stellar language skills, it was delicious. We ordered two appetizers for the table: a sampler with hummus, tabouleh, etc. and an amazing sort of pastry stuffed with chicken, raisins, and spices. I wish I could remember its proper name because it was delicious. For the main course, I had the Habra, which was lamb with a chimichurri sauce on a bed of field greens with a roasted red pepper and feta salad and honey soaked crisps. Separately, it was all very good, but the flavors never coalesced. We shared two desserts: something advertised as a crispy chocolate cake that looked like a giant Ho-Ho and wasn’t very good and a much more successful almond filled pastry called the Snake with creamy ice cream to accompany it.
After dinner, we went to a birthday party at Antares, a little further down the street. The girls had started talking to the couple sitting next to them during a very lengthy dinner the night before. Their neighbors turned out to be a couple from New York who were working in BsAs for the next few months, and the guy invited them to his party. It was a good thing we went because most of his Argentine friends bailed on account of rain. But we had a great time chatting about expat life and sampling the house-made beers. I went back to the hotel around 2 A.M. with tentative plans to meet up with Stacy and Kate at the San Telmo market tomorrow if the rain stopped. Buenos Aires social network: check.
Tags: Antares Pub, Bereber, Buenos Aires, Don Julio, MALBA, Maria Cher, Paseo Alcorta, Trosman
