2018-09-30 22:08
As usual, a grab-bag of one-offs…. overall, this month, September, has been one of the more disappointing dining out ones in my time here in BA. There have been a few good meals &ndas&hell…Read More
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Saltshaker Blog
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Casting a little flavor (and a few aspersions) on the world of food, drink, and life
2018-09-28 14:17
We used to go to the Las Cañitas neighborhood to eat quite regularly. It had some cool spots, interesting things going on, and people filling the tables, day and night. I hadn’t… Read More
2018-09-24 18:35
Curious to see if there were Peruvian restaurants of note on the far south side of Buenos Aires, I picked the Nueva Pompeya barrio and did a google, yelp, and foursquare search. Three spots… Read More
2018-09-23 13:26
Menu #40
September 20-22 – 2018 – 20-22 de Septiembre
Plates of the week / Platos de la semana
Here’s something I’ll bet most of you didn’t know. Quinua, bee… Read More
2018-09-20 13:59
I turned 60 yesterday, hard as it is for me to believe! Honestly, 20 years ago, I never thought I’d see it, in fact I was quite assured that I never would, that 40 might well be my la… Read More
2018-09-16 13:38
Menu #39
September 13-15 – 2018 – 13-15 de Septiembre
The best plates of the week! / Los mejores platos de la semana!
Apparently, the caramelle pasta shape are the in thi… Read More
2018-09-13 12:52
Chiclayo is the principal city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located 13 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast and 770 kilometers from the nation’s capital, Lima… Read More
2018-09-12 14:48
I decided to try my hand, literally, at making a video of one of our step-by-step recipes. Phone in one hand, stirring spoons in the other. It wasn’t the best approach, I suppose if I… Read More
2018-09-11 20:29
Menu #38
September 6-8 – 2018 – 6-8 de Septiembre
I’ve been experimenting with different kimchis, and one that came up in a video was a garlic chive, or buchu k… Read More
2018-09-10 12:24
A little mix of a lot of things this time around. Let’s start simple, yet… important.
The LC
Those of you who’ve been around Buenos Aires for awhile may well have pined… Read More
2018-09-04 15:12
It’s been almost six months, and scattered between all the mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, and history books I’ve read in that time, I’ve managed another ten related to food and… Read More
2018-09-02 13:51
Menu #37
August 30-September 1 – 2018 – 30 de Agosto-1 de Septiembre
Standout Plates – Platos Destacados
“Elves and Dragons! Cabbages and potatoes are better for me… Read More
2018-08-29 13:53
Keeping it casual…
Burger Box is apparently a relatively new burger stand in the courtyard at Distrito Arcos, the open air shopping mall at Santa Fé and Juan B. Justo. A… Read More
2018-08-27 11:45
Menu #36
August 23-25 – 2018 – 23-25 de Agosto
What…? What is that? Cookie dough?
Que…? Que es eso…? Masa de galletita?
Oh fine, stretch it out… b… Read More
2018-08-24 13:27
When Dave set out with his wife from Washington DC a couple of years ago, they were headed to El Salvador, from where she hailed. But that was not to be the end of the road trip, which cont… Read More
2018-08-20 12:59
There is a concept in Korean tradition called obangsaek, that refers to the “five classic colors”, each of which is also associated with a cardinal direction and an element… Read More
2018-08-19 14:58
Menu #35
August 17-18 – 2018 – 17-18 de Agosto
One dish stood out this week – we actually began the week on the 16th with a different causa, a traditional Peruvian po… Read More
2018-08-17 13:08
The Roving Ravenous Horde hit its one year anniversary, and it seemed as good as any time to pick a spot that focused on local cuisine, much as we did for the very first outing, last A… Read More
2018-08-14 20:19
Menu #34
August 9-11 – 2018 – 9-11 de Agosto
Standout Plates / Platos Destacados
Ceviche – queenfish cut in cubes and marinated for 30 minutes with red onions, black toma… Read More
2018-08-12 12:32
I don’t spend much time in Italian restaurants in Buenos Aires, despite their ubiquity. Mostly it’s that Italian cooking is what I first trained professionally in, and what I s… Read More
2018-08-10 18:53
A short little special Bite Marks focusing on what I’m going to call the orphan latin american cuisines in Buenos Aires. For those who live here, or visit regularly, you know… Read More
2018-08-08 14:49
An all sushi special. And (nearly) an all sushi special at places that don’t subscribe to this bizarre porteño belief that anything is made better by the addition of chees… Read More
2018-08-07 12:15
From Menu #33
August 2-4 – 2018 – 2-4 de Agosto
Oh no he didn’t… I can hear it now. He didn’t mix squid and dark chocolate…. No, I didn’t, even th… Read More
2018-08-02 11:49
One of the things I get asked about, probably more than anything, is how I come up with new dishes, given that we change our menu every week, and it does seem like I go out to eat a fair amo… Read More
2018-07-31 11:07
I’d forgotten how much more expensive things are here than back home. I mean, I know that Uruguay has always been pricier than in Argentina on past visits, but the difference seems pre… Read More
2018-07-29 11:46
Just a long weekend break in Montevideo – Henry’s up visiting his family and also working with a dance troupe in Peru for a week and a half, and I decided to head across the rive… Read More
2018-07-27 14:46
Taking over the space vacated earlier this year by the mediocre Dody Döner Kebab…
…is A’kefk, at Rodriguez Peña 1136, here in Recoleta. The space… Read More
2018-07-26 14:39
Time for outing #33 of the Roving Ravenous Horde! We’re certainly getting around town, and we’ve been on a hot streak of some really good places recently. This time, it was… Read More
2018-07-24 13:07
From Menu #32
July 19-21 – 2018 – 19-21 de Julio
Grilled eggplant; salmon poached in soy sauce and ginger; croutons; radishes pickled in rice vinegar with coriander seed and bl… Read More
2018-07-17 13:59
I like to see friends succeed, even those who are not close friends. And, Aldo Graziani (who rose to local prominence as the head sommelier for the Faena Hotel + Universe) and I ha… Read More
2018-07-16 15:30
July 11-13 – 2018 – 11-13 de Julio
A new version of a dish we’ve done before, and much more interesting, and more our style too. Risotto made with sushi rice and kombu (s… Read More
2018-07-15 14:18
What do we have this time around?
It’s another outing with Bald Charlie. You remember him, the imaginary ghost of a lawyer and politician of the past, Carlos Calvo, with whom I get t… Read More
2018-07-10 13:53
We’re halfway through winter here and I hadn’t even thought about either The Bread & Soup Project or The L (Locro) Word project. I’ve been making plenty of soups… Read More
2018-07-09 13:56
July 5-7 – 2018 – 5-7 de Julio2018 Menu #31
It was a dessert challenge on one of the recent episodes of Masterchef Australia that got me thinking about the flavor combinati… Read More
2018-07-08 15:36
I can’t get the B52’s song Love Shack out of my head. There’s a new Chinese restaurant in town, Caracol de Amor (Love Snail, Snail of Love), and my brain has mad… Read More
2018-07-07 13:27
Posting the entire menu each week has begun to feel a bit repetitive, so I’m going to just post one or two new standout dishes each week.
Publicando el menú completo cada semana… Read More
2018-07-04 12:51
It has to stop, doesn’t it? Everywhere I turn there’s another “gourmet burger” place popping up. A half a dozen have opened up in our neighborhood in the last few mon… Read More
2018-06-30 14:36
This was not what I expected when we set out on the Roving Ravenous Horde’s 31st outing. I’d heard about this place from one of my regular readers (waving vaguely in the di… Read More
2018-06-28 14:07
So this is going to be a little different from the two previous Carbonara Confessions. I didn’t go to any restaurants, I didn’t suffer through badly made carbonaras, laden… Read More
2018-06-27 14:57
One of my favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires is Mishiguene, the modern Israeli creation from chef Tomás Kalika. Styled as “cocina de inmigrantes”, or immigrant cook… Read More
2018-06-26 16:03
June 22-24 – 2018 – 22-24 de Junio
A simple ceviche with an extra ingredient! Sole, cured in a mix of lime juice, tamarillo, rocoto, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper; cilantro… Read More
2018-06-25 12:50
I can’t say that the garment district in Floresta is a place that I’d generally want to head to at night. I suppose with cabs or ubers that it’s not that big of a deal, it… Read More
2018-06-24 19:13
Let’s have a little music with our review today. The Impressions live in 2012 with their hit song Gypsy Woman from 1961.
It was outing number thirty for the Roving Ra… Read More
2018-06-23 13:58
June 14-16 – 2018 – 14-16 de Junio
Trying out a new causa presentation based on one from one of our favorite Peruvian restaurants in town, Quechua. A layer of potato flavo… Read More
2018-06-21 12:34
Let’s continue (like it or not) on yesterday’s post… moving on to the places that came in in the actual top 50 spots on this year’s list. Two that I’m not goin… Read More
2018-06-20 13:36
It’s that time of year again, the annual, over-hyped, San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. You know, the 50 best list with 100 on the list. You’d think by now… Read More
2018-06-18 13:50
Wow, up to 60 of these mini-review posts!!!
It’s been awhile, so let’s start with a round of pizzerias….
San Antonio, Av. Juan de Garay 3602, Boedo – often to… Read More
2018-06-15 12:21
June 7-9 – 2018 – 7-9 de Junio
It’s artichoke season here, for a short while, and we like to take take advantage of seasonal vegetables. One of our savory cheesecakes, wi… Read More
2018-06-13 14:05
Now, those don’t look all that “peculiar”, do they? I mean, half-moon ravioli aren’t out of the ordinary. But… the color of them is different than the usual p… Read More
2018-06-12 12:20
Three different ways with meat….
Byggvir, Laprida 1805, Recoleta. Last year, when this place opened, I gave it a thumbs up for their short craft beer selection and decent empanadas… Read More
2018-06-11 13:07
June 4 – 2018 – 4 de Junio
Private dinner / Cena particulár
I was in the market and there were fresh tamarillos, a fruit we don’t see for more than about a week… Read More
2018-06-07 14:56
Having more or less given up on my carbonara quest due to the over use of cream and under use of seasoning, the over cooking of pasta and the under cooking of bacon, I felt the need to… Read More
2018-06-06 13:31
May 31-June 2 – 2018 – 28 de Mayo-2 de Junio
We began the evenings with a tangy ceviche of sole, cured in a “tiger’s milk” of lime and lemon juices, rocoto ch… Read More
2018-06-02 13:12
Delivery burger. Delivery sushi. And a Roving Ravenous Horde outing to a reincarnation of a French bistro into a full fledged restaurant. Variety is the spice of life, no?
I didn&rsqu&hell…Read More
2018-06-01 14:45
May 24-26 – 2018 – 24-26 de Mayo
Roasted Beet Causa – mashed potato flavored with olive oil, yellow chili, lemon juice, salt; roasted diced beets tossed with w… Read More
2018-05-31 11:04
In yet another stunning confession… I’ve played around with pasta alla carbonara myself, doing strange things to it. I admit it. And I’ve even called it a carbon… Read More
2018-05-30 13:35
A couple of years ago, in the midst of RamenQuest, I included a then brand spanking new spot that had just opened above a likewise new Japanese supermarket. Not due to anything I may ha… Read More
2018-05-26 16:50
This has to be one of the more unusual pastas I’ve encountered. It’s a very old traditional pasta from Sardinia, called Lunas de Serramanna. The pasta itself is just called… Read More
2018-05-25 12:38
May 17-19 – 2018 – 17-19 de Mayo
Sole Ceviche with Guacamole Puree – sole cured in lime juice, mirin, soy sauce, gochugaru; puree of avocado, serrano chili, cilantro, lim… Read More
2018-05-24 13:16
It was slightly over a dozen years ago that I first set foot in Iñaki, Moreno 1341, Monserrat. I think I set foot in there a second time maybe a year later, when a friend was vi… Read More
2018-05-23 11:54
The hot new thing in BA is Asian street food. Actually, street food of any sort, though Asian seems to be leading the pack. And, not served on the street, because the local government still… Read More
2018-05-22 12:07
May 15 – 2018 – 15 de Mayo
Private Dinner, Harvard Business School /
Cena Particular, Escuela de Negocios, Harvard
Chicken & Bacon Causa – chilled mashed potato flavo… Read More
2018-05-21 13:32
This is Henry’s favorite pasta that I make. It started, way back, when I wanted to make a good whole wheat pasta for a class. A bit of online research at the time led me to a Mario Ba… Read More
2018-05-17 16:27
May 10-12 – 2018 – 10-12 de Mayo
Eggplant & Zucchini Tonnato – broiled rounds of spiced eggplant and zucchini; sauce of mayonnaise, tuna, anchovy, capers, gochujang;… Read More
2018-05-11 15:21
There are two takeaways from the Roving Ravenous Horde’s 26th outing. First, we’ve likely found the best Middle Eastern food in the city of Buenos Aires, period. In fact, s… Read More
2018-05-10 14:24
May 3-5 – 2018 – 3-5 de Mayo
Roasted Beet Causa – mashed potato flavored with olive oil, yellow chili, lemon juice, salt; roasted diced beets tossed with white onion, cum… Read More
2018-05-08 22:59
I love a good carbonara sauce. That’s it, that’s the whole confession.
Now, the rub is, it’s rare to find a good one. It’s a sauce I almost never order on pastas… Read More
2018-05-07 12:41
Some random Peruvian spots, as we continue to work our way through the 200+ Peruvian restaurants in town.
Naomi Resto Sushi Bar, Laprida 1910, Recoleta – This place is the lobby re… Read More
2018-05-02 17:20
April 26-28 – 2018 – 26-28 de Abríl
Sole & Prawn Aguachile – sole and prawns cured in lime juice, onion, cucumber, garlic, green chili, cilantro, mint, salt; s… Read More
2018-04-27 14:56
“I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept people like me as a member.” – Groucho Marx (one of several variants of the quote reported over the years)
I am… Read More
2018-04-25 13:00
April 19-21 – 2018 – 19-21 de Abríl
Cherry Tomato Chojang Tarte Tatin – cherry tomatoes and shallots caramelized in butter, gojuchang, cumin, honey, sesame oil, mi… Read More
2018-04-23 19:20
We may have actually reached the end of the Koreatown overview of Korean restaurants, out in Bajo Flores. I think we’ve hit them all. There are still a couple of sushi bars, but I hav… Read More
2018-04-22 13:35
April 15 – 2018 – 15 de Abríl
Private Dinner, Dairy Free / Cena Particulár, Libre de Lacteos
Potato puree flavored with lime juice, green limo chili, and green on… Read More
2018-04-19 12:12
Time really has flown. It’s really hard for me to believe that I’ve been here for close on 13 years. I mean, I spent 23 years in New York City and surrounds, following college, a… Read More
2018-04-18 13:28
April 12-14 – 2018 – 12-14 de Abríl
Calamari, prawns, and mussels, briefly poached in salted water and then cured in an emulsification of lemon and lime juices, rocoto c… Read More
2018-04-13 14:06
April 5-7 – 2018 – 5-7 de Abril
Potato puree flavored with olive oil, lime juice, green onion, yellow limo chili; salad of poached chicken breast, crispy bacon, green tomatoes… Read More
2018-04-10 14:15
Sometimes, I get things confused. And, I feel the need to send out at least a minor apology to the Roving Ravenous Horde for our 22nd outing. I got two restaurants backwards. You see… Read More
2018-04-09 13:23
I have, over the years here, visited the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur many a time, and written it up twice – here and here. It’s a lovely way to spend a good part… Read More
2018-04-08 13:49
March 29 & 31 – 2018 – 29 & 31 de Marzo
Prawns, calamari, and cockles, cured in an emulsified “cream” of red rocotos, lemon and lime juices, olive oil, salt… Read More
2018-04-05 12:41
A little something different, with a solo night out before Henry got back from Peru. I spotted a listing for this quintet, Damian Bolotin + Cumpas playing at a small venue on Av. C&oac&helli…Read More
2018-04-04 13:08
Whose recipe is the right one? This is always an issue with older recipes in particular, but I find it time and again when I’m researching various unusual pastas. Who has the right inf… Read More
2018-04-03 12:55
March 30 – 2018 – 30 de Marzo
Private dinner – vegetarian, gluten and mushroom free / Cena particulár – vegetariana, libre de glutena y hongos
Salad of roast… Read More
2018-04-02 12:57
It’s been over three years since my last foray into sandwiches, at least with any concentration. There have been numerous sandwiches on The Great Sandwich Hunt during that time, just n… Read More
2018-03-27 12:40
March 22-24 – 2018 – 22-24 de Marzo
Sole & Calamari Ceviche – sole and calamari in an emulsified cure of grapefruit, lemon, and lime juices, olive oil, yellow chili… Read More
2018-03-23 14:14
Recently off the reading stack!
Pasión a fuego lento. Erotismo en la cocina mexicana by José N. Iturriaga
A fascinating look at sex, mores, and eroticism in Mexican culture aga… Read More
2018-03-21 10:45
March 16 – 2018 – 16 de Marzo
A couple of new dishes inspired by my trip this last couple of weeks in Peru. Apologies for the photos – I realized at last minute my regular… Read More
2018-03-19 12:32
A couple of spots that were in the hopper from before I left on vacation, and a couple tried since returning…. We’ve got vegetarian sandwiches, burgers, a fantastic mustard sauc… Read More
2018-03-15 12:13
It’s a house on a side street in Floresta. There’s no real sign, there’s a lampshade above the door with the Korean characters Kil Jung, the name of the place at Camp… Read More
2018-03-13 19:51
Just an overload on fusion cooking, at two top nikkei sushi joints, and I finally found a place serving Italian-Peruvian fusion cooking! And a quick market visit, of course. I’m g… Read More
2018-03-12 12:16
Now, I hadn’t planned on spending a week in Trujillo. About four, maybe five days, is about as much as I’m usually willing to deal with, between the various family issues, and th… Read More
2018-03-09 13:19
?
While Trujillo has a public transit system of small buses and vans, it’s not a coordinated effort. Pretty much every vehicle is individually owned (Henry’s older sister owned o… Read More
2018-03-07 14:07
Each morning here starts with coffee in the kitchen, and fresh bread. There’s a woman who lives somewhere here in the neighborhood, who stays up all night baking slightly sweet bread… Read More
2018-03-06 14:18
According to Google Maps, all the streets around here have names, and the buildings have addresses. That would be a surprise to anyone who lives here, there certainly aren’t street s… Read More
2018-03-05 13:10
Not much of a walking day, other than a few km trek from lunch back to the hotel. The day was planned around a couple of museum visits, and checking off another couple of restaurants from t… Read More
2018-03-03 13:30
I think I may have overdone it on photos this time, but hey, I find it interesting, so therefore, so should you, right? I can’t really tell, I’m not getting many comments either… Read More
2018-03-02 13:31
Yesterday’s venture, a hike north through San Isidro (the other kind of ritzy area), and on up to one of the markets just past it. And food, no doubt, food. And a reasonably respectab… Read More
2018-03-01 13:04
Now there’s a real walk – roughly 15 km for the day.
Started out heading down to Barranco, a neighborhood that’s a favorite, and one I’ve wandered a bit on past… Read More
2018-02-28 13:33
A bit less walking on day 2 in Lima (light blue is walking, dark blue is in a vehicle – Google maps lets you know). Not as little as it may appear, as this covers a much bigger swathe… Read More
2018-02-27 13:12
First there was the flight to Lima…. We were faster than that airplane seen in the distance… Passed him right up. The food was terrible. I mean, it always is on flights, but w… Read More
2018-02-26 20:10
One last menu before vacation in Peru! Un último menú antes de vacaciones en Perú!
February 22-24 – 2018 – 22-24 de Febrero
Grouper Ceviche with Yellow Ch… Read More
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