One Tasty Tango: A Culinary Swing Across Buenos Aires
Hotel Faena’s sultry Rojo Tango dance club. (Photo: Courtesy of Faena)
By David Kaufman
April marks the beginning of autumn in Argentina, when both the crowds and the temperatures retreat. Which means now is an ideal time to visit the nation’s vibrant capital, Buenos Aires.
Here are six places to eat and drink in South America’s tastiest town.
Guadalupe Garcia is the mind behind Casa Cavia. (Photo: Juan Hitters)
A former private villa in the posh Palermo Chico neighborhood, Casa Cavia includes a bakery, flower shop, inventive restaurant, and perfumerie Fueguia 1833 in a stunning space designed by local architecture firm Kallos Turin.
Pop in for a light lunch in the open courtyard for dishes such as quinoa and prawn salad with baba ghanoush or grilled beets with grapefruit and goat cheese.
Related: From the Pope’s Barbershop to Hip Fashion, an Insider’s Tour of Buenos Aires
(Photo: Guadalupe Ayaso)
Set in the chic boutique hotel Hub Porteno, restaurant Tarquino features futuristic takes on Argentina’s meaty tradition from El Bulli-alum, Dante Liporace.
Naturally, there are lots of foams and froths on Liporace’s seasonal, “molecular” menus — ranging from a gnocchi in ham broth with curry “granola” to lamb with mint pesto and lemon puree.
(Photo: Handout)
Peruvian super-chef Gaston Acurio’s global empire of fish-focused eateries has just landed on a stunningly picturesque corner of Buenos Aires’ Palermo neighborhood.
Here, in a former orphanage that will soon reopen as a hotel, Arequipa-born chef de cuisine Anthony Vasquez, shown above, dishes up Peruvian classics like ceviches, causas, and chifas.
All are tasty — though the must try is the “helado queso” dessert, a sort of frozen cheese beautifully presented with mint leaves and flower petals.
Related: An Artsy Wine Resort in Chile That Has to Be Seen to Be Believed
(Photo: Handout)
Alfajores are an Argentine icon — a decadent slab of dulce de leche nestled between chocolate-covered cookies.
Some 6 million are supposedly eaten each day in Argentina, including super-premium varieties from newish brand Cachafaz, which has recently opened an alfajor cafe in the Galerias Pacifico mall.
Along with rich cafe con leche, Cachafaz’s bijoux outpost offers their entire range of treats, including lower-calorie alfajores made from puffed rice.
(Photo: Courtesy of Faena)
Tango clubs may abound throughout town, but the Rojo Tango show at the futuristic Faena Hotel in the river-front Puerto Madero district takes the genre to sexy new levels.
Set to a live tango band with some dozen dancers on display, the show — which includes cocktails and Argentine cuisine — offers a cabaret-styled twist to this unrivaled art form.
(Photo: Alvear Palace Hotel)
The Alvear Palace opened in 1932 as Buenos Aires’ version of New York’s Plaza or London’s Ritz. Nearly a century later, it remains the city’s true grand dame — in no small part to its afternoon tea at the elegant salon, L’orangerie.
The tea service is an all-afternoon affair, featuring finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, chocolates, and the addictive, free-flowing local bubbly D.C. Catena.
As for the teas themselves, the Alvear Blend and the Imperial Darjeeling tea from the Himalayan Mountains are full-bodied must-tries.
Getting There: South America’s leading airline LAN flies daily between the U.S. and Argentina via Santiago and Lima. Their Premium Business class — particularly on their B-787 fleet — is among the best in the Americas. (Sample spring airfare from $1,264/RT)
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