Buenos Aires: Beautiful city, great food and wine

Buenos Aires was the final destination of our Las Américas Trip. Some call it the Paris of South America. It is definitely that and more. It is after all the city of tango. The typical thing to do when you visit Buenos Aires is the touristy stuff -- we did some of that (San Telmo, Recoleta Cemetery, Peurto Madero, etc.). Overall, we just took our time to explore the city and did a lot of walking in the neighborhood where we stayed (Palermo Hollywood). The more we explored Palermo, the more great eateries we found.

Palermo Hollywood at night © Spaswinefood

Shortly after arriving we discovered that Palermo Viejo was in walking distance of our apartment.

Palermo Viejo © Spaswinefood

Hanging out in Palermo Viejo © Spaswinefood

Sidewalk dining in Palermo Viejo © Spaswinefood

Then walking back one day we discovered Goritti had lots of restaurants. On another day, coming back in a cab, we noticed the Fitz Roy and Honduras area and began to explore it. You might also want to check out a few of Buenos Aires' secret restaurants.

Loved the side walk cafes  © Spaswinefood

We were always welcomed at the neighborhood coffee shop © Spaswinefood

. . . for tea too © Spaswinefood

. . . wi-fi-ing ....  © Spaswinefood

Later taking a slightly different route to Fitz Roy we discovered the Fin Del Mundo Bodega and restaurant. Fin del Mundo is one of the Argentine wineries with a bodega in Buenos Aires. So if you happen to be in Buenos Aires and do not have enough time to tour the wine regions you may want to visit some of the vine bodegas.

Wine time © Spaswinefood

.... tasting  © Spaswinefood

. . . toasting  © Spaswinefood

My overall recommendation is beyond following the restaurant reviews in travel guides find yourself a good neighborhood in Buenos Aires – explore it and you are most likely to discover lots of great food and wine!!! No matter where you go you are most likely to experience wonderful tango, such as this Tango Argentina YouTube video.

San Telmo is known for tango  © Spaswinefood

. . . more San Telmo tango © Spaswinefood

Except that you need to be very careful when taking taxis in Buenos Aires the city is very welcoming. The neighborhoods are very pedestrian friendly. We felt quite safe walking the streets not only during the day but at night as well.

Side walk dining is common in Palermo © Spaswinefood

Throughout Argentina you will find that most restaurants do not start serving dinner until 9:00 pm. Also tango starts around mid-night. This makes for an exciting night life.

Waiting for dinner  © Spaswinefood

Time with Ecuadoran friends © Spaswinefood

As a vegetarian I had no problem finding great food at restaurants in Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires has some excellent vegetarian restaurants and we tried a few. One that we especially liked was Artemisia on José Antonio Cabrera 3877.

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

Just let me i-photo-ing  © Spaswinefood

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

Dining out in Buenos Aires © Spaswinefood

. . . now I can eat  © Spaswinefood

Also Argentine restaurants prepare lots of vegetable side dishes (squash, mushrooms, etc.) to go with all that meat. I just ordered lots of great vegetables. They also make some of the best pastas in the world.  Many of their freshly made pastas do not have meat in them, and since you select the sauce for your pasta it is no problem to select a vegetarian option. The empanadas were excellent. The salads were also quite good. No matter where I traveled in Argentina I got use to reading menus and asking for slight modifications. I have found that the restaurants were happy to do so.

I miss the wonderful Argentine wines, freshly prepared food, the charm of the side-walk cafes, the bakeries (especially the one where Juancho, the cat lives), weekend markets, neighborhood stores, seeing the “paseadores de perros” walking 6-8 dogs and much more.

Juancho  © Spaswinefood

Dog walkers are common in many Buenos Aires neighborhoods © Spaswinefood

I invite you to join me in my travels in Argentina and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.

Sharon

Tasting Memories from the Las Americas Trip

October 2010
© Spaswinefood

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A future posting of spaswinefood.blogspot.com will focus on day trips from Buenos Aires

San Antonio de Areco © Spaswinefood

What a great way to advertise a restaurant  © Spaswinefood

Dining, San Antonio de Areco  © Spaswinefood

Dessert time in San Antonio de Areco  © Spaswinefood