Cuisine & Vins
La revista de la buena vida
May 2007, Page 92
© 2007 Dan Perlman
We know you came to the Gran
Manzana for some slabs of beef, pizza, and the café culture. If you’d have
wanted a bagel with a schmear, you’d have headed to the Big Apple. But then,
some of you are from the latter, and believe me, bagels are amongst the topics
that expats here talk about missing more than almost any other foodstuff. You
might just find yourself wandering around and thinking - “please, not one more
milanesa a la napolitana, just give me a deli sandwich...”. So for those of you
looking for a taste of home norteamericano style, we’ve searched out and sampled
what Buenos Aires has to offer.
Leaving aside the fast food joints, there are, of course, the reliable staple
chain places, like the Hard Rock Café, TGIF’s, or even a new Hooters (where,
according to friends who scoped the place out, the food isn’t bad but they
missed the raison d’etre that it exists when hiring the staff). There’s the next
step up that evolutionary chain as well - Kansas, which is a knockoff of the
Houston’s chain (right down to menus that list “Houston’s Barbecue Ribs”), and
Tucson, more of an Outback Steakhouse imposter (you can get a Bloomin’ Onion,
should you desire) - both good in their own right, but I wanted something a
little more specialized.
The first spot is one that nearly every ex-patriot norteamericano male in Buenos
Aires who is interested in the world of sports knows about. It’s a spot that
when you walk into it, you could be in any bar in the East Village (or, come to
think of it, the equivalent in any city in the U.S.)... Shoeless Joe’s Remember
The Alamo, more commonly referred to here, as simply, Alamo, located at Uruguay
1175, in Recoleta. It’s the ur-bar - wood wainscotting, mirrors on the walls, a
long bar, beer on tap, television screens showing football (not futbol),
basketball, baseball, hockey, you name it, if it’s in season up north of the
equator, it’s on display at Alamo - 24 hours a day. And, you can eat the food
that goes with sports - a quite tasty hamburger, reasonably spicy buffalo wings,
steak sandwiches, fries, onion rings, nachos, or for those with a bit more
elegant taste in mind, club sandwiches, or even a steak or grilled chicken
breast, and even a wine list that has some nice choices on it. Then, of course,
just like any pub doing that “we’re not just your average bar” thing - they
offer a couple of pastas and a couple of Thai dishes. Just to be different. Me?
I’ll just take a platter of wings with extra hot sauce, a beer, and a
Wolverine’s versus Buckeye’s game and enjoy the afternoon.
You can find bagels in Buenos Aires at nearly any café. I mean, a bagel is just
a bread roll shaped in the form of a ring, right? Not. We all know the
disappointment of one after another spot that seems to think that if they get
the shape right, more or less, that’s all it takes. We want the texture, we
want... the chew. So, we head out to Belgrano, to Big Mamma’s, at Juramento
2156, where, while no re-creation of the Second Avenue Deli, we can get a bagel
that could actually pass for the real thing in, say, Chelsea, if not the Lower
East Side. We can get it with lox (okay, smoked salmon, but they’re in the
ballpark) and cream cheese. We can get a pastrami sandwich on house-made rye
bread, with all the works - deli mustard, cole slaw - they even went for the
names - The Big Fresser’s Hot Pastrami on Rye, it makes your mouth water just to
think about it. We can get chopped liver, liverwurst, chicken soup, borscht...
It may not be quite like back home, but it’s at least a reminder.
Now, let’s face it, all of the above places pretty much cry out for a mug of
beer, frosty cold, and on tap. And, that’d be my choice at any of the above. At
the same time, I wanted to think about what sorts of wines would remind me of
“back home”. The obvious choice would be something like Zinfandel, and there are
one or two producers experimenting with the grape, but not with impressive
results yet. While not unique, by any stretch, to the U.S., in fact, pretty much
scattered all over the globe, I’d have to say that a really good, big, bold,
Cabernet Sauvignon would have to go at the top of my list. There are some truly
outstanding Cabernets available here. For a style that’s very elegant,
structured, and with a wide depth and breadth of flavor - or as some might put
it, layers - I’d have to opt for La Celia’s Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s
barrique aged for one year, in French oak, and comes out supple and velvety.
Harder to find, and worth seeking out, I think my true favorite is probably the
Chakana Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon. Bold, rich, and simply packed with intense
flavors, it’s a delight to find it on a wine list here. Both of these are on the
expensive side, but worth every centavo.