Source: Jueves a la Mesa
All the expats that have been living here for more than a few years, the ones that were in the trenches when the BA food landscape was a lot cheese and bread, raise your glass! Food in Buenos Aires has evolved significantly and quickly, and one of our favorite parts is the explosion of the puerta cerrada concept. But although there are some 50 active projects, it remains a bit of an anomaly. To simplify your search, here are five menus that make us very very happy.
Jueves a la Mesa
Source: Jueves a la Mesa
La Onda
Jueves a la mesa is the product of happenstance and lucky for us those stars aligned. Meghan Lewis saw Sofi Madriz at a café and something in in her gut told her that they needed to be friends. They did. They immediately bonded over food, and now in addition to their work at Buena Onda Yoga they run an intimate weekly vegetarian supper club. The dinner is a mix of tourists, expats and locals looking for a meal that is both hearty and healthy.
The Menu
This week’s menu is inspired by Central American dishes. The meal comes with an appetizer, main dishes and local organic wine, and is topped off with the Jueves signature: homemade dark chocolate. Just let that marinate for a second. I will repeat, HOMEMADE. DARK. CHOCOLATE. And to help get it all down a hot cup of ginger tea.
The Essentials
Dinners are held on Thursday nights at 8:30 in San Telmo. The meal costs 200ARS, cash only, and includes a glass of organic wine. Make a reservation by emailing juevesalamesa@gmail.com, or calling 156 200 0004.
El Paladar
La Onda
Let’s get fancy tonight. Chef Pablo Abramovsky and sommelier Ivana Piñar open their Villa Crespo apartment three times a week to treat up to 16 diners to a meal that feels as sexy as the space itself. With warmly painted walls and low lighting, this is the perfect place to impress a date (the wine pairings with each of the five courses doesn’t hurt either).
The Menu
Menus change every month depending on freshness and availability of seasonal ingredients. Expect brand new approaches to traditional porteño dishes. This week the five course meal includes white fish meatballs, humita and chorizo rolls with a fresh green salad, your choice of braised veal shanks or capresse sorrentinos, and TWO desserts, a mandarin and mint sorbet and a mini crème brulee.
The Essentials
Dinners are held Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in Villa Crespo. You can choose a menu without wine pairings (but, why?) for 225ARS or the five wine pairings for 325ARS. Make a reservation via email, reservas@paladarbuenosaires.com.ar, or call 155 797 7267.
Broeders Beer Night
The Onda
Chef Liza Puglia has become a personal favorite in the closed door and pop-up scene. From her beginnings doing both Southern and Mexican style pop-ups at the now defunct The Office and Tout le monde respectively to her fantastic four course Mexican-Creole meal, she has risen in the ranks quickly. Respect. But it’s her Thursday night beer night that we can’t stop talking about. Puglia has created a laid-back party atmosphere, with friendly service, scrumptious down home cooking and great music. Perfect spot for a night out with a good group of friends.
The Menu
Once a week, NOLA restaurant hooks up with the Caballito-based brewery Broeders Beer to offer a three course Southern meal with beer pairings. We’re talking spicy fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and homemade biscuits. There’s nothing more to be said except RUN TO BROEDERS BEER NIGHT.
The Essentials
Dinners are held every Thursday nights in Palermo Viejo. Meal costs 250ARS, cash only, and includes three pints of beer. Make a reservation via email, info@nolabuenosaires.com, or by calling 155 348 4509.
Almancen Secreto
The Onda
Cintia and Maria are the hosts at Almacen Secreto Club, a multi-functional space that serves as reservation only restaurant, art gallery and music venue. There Colegiales home is a thing of dreams mostly because of their large garden space. The space feels more like a restaurant than a closed door, with a large menu to choose from and private tables.
The Menu
Almacen Secreto features an expansive menu that allows you to travel all over Argentina with food from North, South and Central Argentina. With this cold weather we are particularly ecstatic about the Northern cuisine and the Locro, Humita and Cazuela offerings. This is hearty traditional food, great for anyone that wants to explore the diversity of traditional Argentine foods.
The Essentials
The restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday beginning at 7pm in Colegiales. Cost depends entirely on what you order, with a main dish and wine ranging anywhere from 100 to 200ARS. Make a reservation via email, almacensecretoclub@gmail.com, or by calling Cintia at 155 827 9093.
The Argentine Experience
Source: The Argentine Experience
The Onda
The Argentine Experience definitely lives up to its name. Led by an international team of guides, the evening is a hands-on experience. Our favorite part (besides an excellent steak dinner): learning how to make our own empanadas with gourmet Argentine ingredients not normally combined in the traditional empanada. The evening is very familial, with excellent and fun service from the crew and flowing wine. It’s geared mostly towards tourist interested in learning about Argentine food culture who aren’t in town long enough to attend that famed family asado.
The Menu
The evening begins with empanadas (made by you!), followed by steak, mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables and topped off with homemade alfajores. The meal ends with a tutorial on how to make the perfect mate.
The Essentials
You can book a space for lunch or dinner any day of the week at their Palermo space. Meal costs 85USD via paypal. You can make a reservation here.
Kevin Vaughn is the founder and head chef of his own closed door restaurant, MASA, a weekly dinner party (emphasis on party) with a constantly changing Mexican and American menu.