Bolívar 865,
Buenos Aires, Argentina

In recent years, molecular gastronomy has picked up quite the following throughout the world. Nowadays, it’s not just about quality, but rather about innovation, both in terms of flavor combinations and food presentation. Chefs will even go to the extent of chemically manipulating their foods, just to obtain special presentational effects. And, to my surprise, Argentina has begun its own “vanguard” culinary movement. I finally had the chance to learn experience that movement when I went for dinner to La Vineria de Gualtero  Bolivar, where I received one of the most interesting, and for me, most memorable dining experiences.

So what is entailed in this “vanguard” experience? Well, a chef that worked at El Bulli, the world’s highest ranked restaurant, cooks 11 or so courses and offers one of the best wine menus in town, with every wine on the rather large menu offered by the glass (that’s really the hook of the restaurant. So all you wine lovers, take note). Needless to say, I had some big expectations when I booked my reservation.

As I went to La Vineria, I really wasn’t all that impressed, though. The drive was horrible and went straight through one of the most ramshackle neighborhoods I’d ever seen in Argentina. The restaurant was so small I couldn’t even locate it for a while. Once I finally got inside, the ambience was far better, and I felt a little more at ease, but it’s just a shame that such an elegant, intimate restaurant, with only a few tables a night (probably about 20 seats maximum, if not less) is located in one of the trashiest areas of the city. And the fact that there was only one other couple that night, a Friday, really attests to that fact.

Don’t be fooled, though. The quality of the restaurant is top notch, even with the horrible location. This was one of those places where everything was perfectly thought through, very well executed, and service was spot on.

And I had quite a good time with the “all wines by the glass policy,” especially when I ordered a glass of the highest ranked Argentine iconic wine, the Las Perdices Tinamú Red 2005 (which has won a perfect score twice in international wine competitions). The waiter was hesitant at first. Ruining a bottle of wine just to give one cup to a customer, especially when that wine costs the restaurant about $100—that’s quite the loss and is a downright waste of a fabulous wine! And yet, it is restaurant policy, and all I had to do was act a little shocked and remind the waiter of his own restaurant’s standards. He not only went to get the wine afterward, but he even went through a whole 15 minute decanting process, complete with taste tests at various points and about 5 minutes of manual rotation of the wine in the decanter, just so that the Tinamú would be served perfectly. It was quite the show, and I think the waiter even got a real kick out of it—heck, the wine was so good he even thanked me for the chance to taste test the wine! Now that’s amiable service if I’ve ever seen it.

As for the food, I can’t say it was one of the best meals of my life in terms of quality, but it was rather inventive and some components were especially outstanding. The major complaint I had, as I have with many of these “vanguard” restaurants, is that there seems to be innovation merely for the sake of innovation, i.e. just to be trendy or different. Some of the concepts were taken too far at the cost of taste.

Overall, though, it was an interesting experiment and an unforgettable experience. Especially if you love wine or experimentation, this restaurant is very highly recommended.

What I had (favorites in bold):

1. Starter Trio
   • Cream of fried spinach: Perfectly fried and not too greasy. Decent.
   • Foie Gras:  Perfect, creamy, fatty. Nice fat element to the dish.
   • Salmon with Honey: Very good except for the saltiness. Nice texture—spongy but hard
2. Olive oil with bread sticks (olive oil is in the form of a spread)—Very odd texture, but the olive oil tastes great. Interesting experiment changing the shape of the olive oil to a semi-solid form—it really changes the feel of the dish, but the taste is exactly the same as olive oil.
3. Passion Fruit Liquor: A bit too bitter for me. Just some liquor.
4. Bread: amazingly fluffy, warm, and doughy.
5. Salad (Portobello, lettuce, etc.) with green sauce—Sauce (I don’t know what it is) made it outstanding. Nice vegetable flavor. Dish has a smooth creaminess that combines well with the freshness of the veggies.
6. Egg with truffle oil with bread and cream cheese—This is finger-licking good. The cheese, egg, and fried bread don’t seem to complement each other, but surprisingly they taste great together. The cheese was of special note—creamy, rich, flavorful.
7. “Mar y Montaña,” or “Sea and Mountain” (Scallop and Lamb combo), with a potato puree—d  The pumpkins are literally perfect. No need for mashed potatoes—this is one of the creamiest purees I’ve had in my life, with a satisfying richness to it. The flavor especially stands out, since pumpkin is such a distinct, strong taste. Both the scallops and lamb are extremely well cooked and delicious.
8. Black tea and hake—Has a slight watermelon flavor to it for some reason. Not bad, but a little bland, even though the hake is very well-cooked and moist.
9. Rabbet with apple foam and fennel jelly—Just exudes a fantastic aroma of apple. Interesting taste. The meat is very delicate and tasteful, but on the gamy side. It could have spiced a bit better to give it some more flavor, though. The foam is very unique and really makes the presentation outstanding—it tastes just like apple, but it really is pleasing to see. And interestingly enough, both the jelly and the foam really complement the meat and even make up for some of its lack of flavor
10. Fried lamb, egg roll style: Just an all-around odd dish. There is a strong pea flavor that isn’t necessarily bad, but just odd to find in an egg roll. On that same note, I would never think of really putting lamb in an egg roll or even frying lamb. The flavor combo just didn’t seem to match.
11. Ribeye with ravioli and Malbec reduction: Malbec reduction is excellent—raspberry and chocolate notes of Malbec really just pop out, and surprisingly, their boldness and strength helps to balance the strength of the greasy ribeye. The ribeye is well-cooked but its not really spiced. The meat is perfectly chewy and tender, but it’s really not the star here. That spot belongs to the wine, which really does make the dish with its honey, fruity wine taste. The ravioli is also rather good.
12. Bread with spices and pear, caramel in reduction, and caviar: Not mind blowing, but nice sweetness to it. It also has a refreshing cookie taste. The caviar is a bit off—the saltiness just doesn’t blend with the spices and the sweetness. It feels like this dish doesn’t know what it wants to be, since there are just so many clashing flavors—the salty, the sweet, the spice. The components aren’t necessarily too bad though, just not extraordinary.
13. Chocolate flan, chocolate moussa, and roca (“rock”) of yogurt: There is a nice, crunchy foam to the whole thing. The yogurt is unforgettably good and is the star here, though. The chocolate is rich, and the mousse has nice texture. Nothing stands out as exceptional other than the yogurt, however.
14. Chocolate pieces—Superb! Just eat them, even if you don’t like chocolate. This may convert you.

Scoring

Ambience: 1.3/5.0
Service: 4.6+/5.0
Wine Service: 5.0/5.0. ANY WINE ON THE MENU BY THE GLASS (including for US$100 bottles)!
Taste: 4.0/5.0
Value: 4.5/5.0. Nowhere will you find 11 courses for this low a price, or a wine menu that lets you get everything by the glass.
Verdict: 4.2+/5.0. For me personally, this deserves even better because it was such an unforgettable night, but that was more because of the company and the fantastic wine experience than the food. Still, this is the type of place you go to for an adventure.

R. Saenz Peña 3531 – Vistalba
Mendoza, Argentina

Very rarely do you find a restaurant that is considered almost unanimously the best in a nation. Yet Argentina does have just such a restaurant in La Bourgogne, which specializes in haute French cuisine. Now, that might sound a bit gimmicky—French cooking in Argentina? How much do Argentines know about French cooking? But actually, Argentina has always been very receptive to French influences in terms of everything from fashion to intellectual currents, especially during the first half of the 1900’s (but even today), as France was considered the center of cosmopolitanism and culture. Somehow, then, it seems fitting that the supposedly “best” restaurant would be French, given France’s influence on the growth of Argentine culture.  Moreover, La Bourgogne is run by a true Frenchman and is given accolades for its unmatched quality of food year after year, so it has a reputation for consistent excellence. And best of all, for this unforgettable experience, it costs just about $45, extremely expensive by Argentine standards but a steal for any American foodie, who’s no doubt experienced how expensive high-end French cuisine can be in the US.

La Bourgogne has two locations—one in Mendoza and one in Buenos Aires—but I imagine I went to the better of the two, the one in Mendoza, since it has about as ideal a location as possible: right in the middle of the gorgeous Vistalba winery estate. Thus, not only do you get a phenomenal dinner, but as an added bonus, you can take a tour of the winery and engage in a wine tasting before or after your meal, which is quite the treat because the Vistalba winery itself is just stunning. It’s modern with a classic, colonial vibe to it, but it’s carved out of rock.

That type of modern grandiosity also translates into quite a chic, spacious restaurant within the winery. The restaurant is small and intimate, yet you still do get a sense of the grandiose because both the chairs and couches are incredibly large and have tons of open space among them to give people a sense of privacy. You also get a modern vibe from a lot of small touches, like the fact that there are couches instead of chairs for certain spaces and that bohemian music plays in the background (a very nice touch). Yet, it never seems as empty as the minimalist decorative scheme would imply, since the natural light that flows into the restaurant really makes it feel much more cheery and welcoming.

The service was equally exceptional, as it excelled in nearly every way, from the promptness to the professionalism to the friendliness and finally to the care taken to guarantee that everything was going well.

Finally, the food did not fail in any regard. The restaurant had consistently beautiful presentation on all dishes, which were very organized and integrated a wide variety of colors and ingredients but not cluttered at all. Not only did I enjoy each and every dish, each was outstanding, which is all the more surprising because each is so unique and is inspired by a different cuisine, really showing the depth of the restaurant’s culinary expertise. Nothing felt tacked on or gimmicky, though, because it was all executed properly. La Bourgogne does not have the largest menu, but it doesn’t have to, because everything is excellently prepared and presented.

There was only one problem: La Bourgogne only offer a couple wines from the youngest line of the winery by the glass, and the only bottles of wines the restaurant provides are those of the winery. This not only limits people drinking by the glass to lower-quality wines, it also limits all to Vistalba’s own wines. Considering that you can get a fantastic bottle or glass of wine in almost any high-rated restaurant in Mendoza, it just seems Vistalba’s wine list cannot compare at all to the standard for restaurants in the region, which is a shame, because it excels in all other regards.

It doesn’t matter, though, because I loved this restaurant. It’s outstanding on all accounts, be it food, service, or ambience, and it provides you both with maximum comfort and incredible food. If you want the best dining experience in Argentina, this is it.

What I had (in order):

1. (Complementary) Pita strips with butter and hummus: The pita could be better, but the hummus is a very nice surprise, adding a cosmopolitan touch from the start to the restaurant. It’s creamy, rich, and bold.
2. Bread and olive oil: The nut/wheat/grain bread has a wholesome feel to it, with a great texture that’s not too rough or too soft. The white bread also has a good chew and fluff to it, but it’s bland and lukewarm. Moreover, the olive oil is notable for being produced in-house (the winery also sells olive oil), but it’s a bit strong, bitter, and dull, actually detracting from the bread in my opinion.
3. (Complementary) Beet Soup—Nice touch as a free start. Spicy, bold, strong flavor. Beet really comes through, but not overpowering. Perfectly balanced in almost all regards. Just a fantastic soup, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. 4.8/5.0
4. Appetizer: Prawn tortilla/omelette (cheese is melted in the omelette, and sauce is provided on top): Beautiful presentation. It tastes very fresh, and all the flavors seem to really balance each other, even though I’d never have thought prawns and potatoes could work together. The prawns are juicy and tender. The tortilla is hot, well-cooked, and supplemented by a tomato-based sauce that really adds a lot of flavor to what would otherwise be too starchy and one-dimensional. Inventive and fresh-tasting. 4.0/5.0
5. Entrée: Rabbit marinated in carrot curry with eggplant crumble and carrot juice—This dish is near flawless. The presentation is beautiful, with all the different components compartmentalized in separate areas to balance the use of space on the plate. As for the taste, it’s irresistible. There is not too much meat, but it is not necessary, because everything on the plate has so much flavor. Meat is extraordinarily tender and cooked to perfect crispness, with just the right amount of fattiness to be satisfying but not too much. It blends surprisingly very well with the carrot curry, which balances some of the slightly gamy taste. The eggplant crumble is inventive and delicious, like a sweet vegetable-cake. It actually reminds me somewhat of the taste of strudel—it’s that good. Inventive, perfectly cooked, delicious, and good rapport among elements. Nearly perfect. 4.9/5.0
6. Dessert: Croquant cake with banana and coffee flavoring, alongside a banana drink/milkshake: The flavors are bold and very good, though they aren’t perfect. The cake is especially notable. It’s icy, like a snow cone cake, and it is surprisingly refreshing, especially on a hot day. The coffee comes through strong, but it’s not overpowering. The crust of the cake is phenomenal—like honey, halva, and coffee all mixed in. Coffee beans are provided on the side and are a nice touch. So is the syrup that is provided, and the whole banana piece placed inside is okay, though not great. The banana drink is also fantastic—light, foamy, and fruity. 4.0/5.0
7. Petit 4s: The cookies were particularly fantastic.

Scoring:

Ambience: 4.8/5.0
Service: 4.5/5.0
Taste: 4.5/5.0. Add a tenth or two if you enjoy beautiful presentation.
Value: 4.5/5.0. This is the finest, most perfect dining experience in Argentina, and it fully merits the price it commands.
Verdict: 4.6/5.0. Best meal I had in all of Argentina. This is a superb restaurant in almost every single way.

Bustillo Av.
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Argentina has some pretty interesting towns, but nowhere is quite as unique as Bariloche, the land of chocolate. That’s right—Argentina has a whole city devoted to chocolate (and of very good quality, too—the chocolate was brought over by Swiss immigrants). The problem with Bariloche, as with any fanatically chocolate-producing town, is that you really get sick of chocolate after a while, and you start to crave some real food. And that’s exactly what happened to me the very first day I got there. After gorging on chocolate from about 4 producers (while on a tour, no less), I really needed to get something substantive into my system. And Bariloche has its fair share of gourmet dining experiences to really fill that gap, though most are located outside the city itself on the way to the harbor. So on the way back from my tour, I decided to stop by Yuco, praised as one of the best dining experiences in the city.

There are two things for which Yuco is particularly known. First, the view is the best of any restaurant in the city, as it is situated high on a hill in the middle of a very natural setting (the land is almost untouched except for the road to the harbor). You can get a panoramic, almost 360 degree view from the restaurant (not from each table, but the restaurant is set up in a circle such that if you go along the circumference you can always get a full view of pretty much the whole surrounding area). The view would have been gorgeous, too, had it not been an awfully dark night with little to no visibility on the day I went. The other key factor is the presentation and innovation of the food. Everything is served as a mini-degustation—that is, every dish is actually a tasting of 3 to 4 miniature dishes, all utilizing a common ingredient, and every course is served accordingly. So what you really get is a tasting of about 10 or so dishes, which is, in theory, a very nice option, especially for people who love to taste a variety of flavors. In practice, though, the restaurant doesn’t quite manage to obtain the desired effect.

But first, the positives. The restaurant really shines at aesthetics. The ambience, and the view in particular, is fantastic. The restaurant interior is reminiscent of a comfortable, cozy lounge, with modern touches, like the circular design and full glass windows set for walls (all in order to give you the better view). The service is also spot on, with an amiable waiter who makes some good recommendations and explains the menu options very well. And the dishes all look fantastic. Served as neat little mini-dishes, they really show off an array of colors and ingredients, and each is always presented nicely side-by-side for contrast.

The fundamental problem , though, is that the restaurant is too concerned with appearance and is too “vanguard” at the cost of ignoring the fundamentals. While the mini-degustations are welcome, too often will each mini-dish be hit or miss, and you’ll probably truly like about only half of the whole course. If that’s the case, then it might be better to allow people to have a specific dish that they will enjoy fully, rather than one with components that are weak. This is especially a shame because the quality of the food at this restaurant is excellent, in terms of both how the food is prepared and how creative it is. As a result, what tastes good is truly memorable, but that is overshadowed at times by the chef’s failed experiments.

Overall, it was a cool experience, but if the food doesn’t match the appearance, then why pay so much in Argentina?

What I had:

1. (Complementary ) Salted breadsticks and pumpkin soup spiced with chili: The soup is fantastic—thick, but not too much, with a refreshingly gritty texture and subtle spiciness that really adds to the richness of the pumpkin. The breadsticks are rather good and nicely presented.
2. Bread: Hand-made, fresh, and hot, in 3 varieties. The wheat was especially good, but none were spectacular.
3. Flight of Salmon and Trout. 2.2+
   • Sashimi with sesame and citrus: Fish is great—nice cut, tender. But it is overshadowed completely by the citrus and oil, ruining the taste. This is not real sashimi.
   • Ceviche: Again, the cuts of meat are fantastic. This time, though, the flavors complement it a bit better and are far more subtle. Controlled citrus, with a nice vegetable mix only adds to the freshness of the fish. Very simple, but good.
   • Smoked salmon and trout with tomatoes, onions, chives, and some sauce: Very simple. Very direct, pronounced flavors, which are for once integrated well. Great meat, great blend, great dish, period.
   • Salmon and Trout with Thai curry: Odd combo but nice. Rich, flavorful sauce. Just feels forced.
4. 6 Cuts of Lamb (w/ broccoli and potato pure): Phenomenal dish in terms of concept, especially considering that lamb is the specialty of Patagonian cuisine, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the end-all-and-be-all of lamb dishes. All the cooks were extremely well cooked and seasoned, though, and it was a very interesting experience to taste so many parts of the lamb, each with its own texture and flavor—some with bone, some fatty, some leaner. Cuts included kidneys, ribs, and liver. The gravy on top of some cuts was a little salty, but it was acceptable. The broccoli and potato pure wasn’t a great combination but it was inventive. 3.7+/5.0 (4.0 for concept and inventiveness)
5. Dessert degustation. This is quite the mixed bag of treats, ranging from good to just bad. 1.5/5.0
   • Crème brulee with rum and an almond wafer: The wafer was a nice component for presentation but added very little to the dish itself in terms of taste. The crème brulee, though, was extremely good. It was sweet, but not overwhelming at all, and it was hot and creamy. Fantastic way to start the tasting.
   • Flambéed bananas (with blueberries): The blueberries serve almost no purpose, but the flambé is nice. It has a nice caramel flavor to it—balanced but bold. Still, nothing I’d say was special.
   • Dulce de leche soufflé: I really love the idea behind this—taking what is perhaps the most Argentine of all sweets and substituting it into the most typical of all desserts, the chocolate soufflé (especially ironic because it is occurring in Argentina’s key chocolate producing town, Bariloche). But the execution is horrible—it’s just way too sweet, as are most dulce de leche desserts. The thickness and the crust of the soufflé are just right, but really the sweetness overshadows everything.

Ambience: 4.5/5.0
Service: 4.0/5.0
Taste: 2.5/5.0
Value: 2.0/5.0
Overall Score: 2.7+/5.0

Campichuelo 568
Bariloche, Argentina

It was another day in Bariloche, and I was tired from a long day of hiking through mountains and forests, trekking to waterfalls and glaciers, and riding hours on buses. I really needed to recuperate with some great food that night, so I did something a little insane and decided it was a good idea to have 2 dinners. I’d done it once before with horrible results, at El Boliche de Alberto, but I hadn’t learned my lesson apparently. I was so hungry, though, that I really could fit it in, so I headed over to Naan that on a recommendation from Frommer’s that night for my 2^nd stop.

If Naan sounds like an odd name for an Argentine restaurant, it is, since I saw almost no Indian food at all during my four months there. But, it’s fitting, because Naan is just so odd in so many different ways.

First, it was located in someone’s home in the middle of nowhere and was extraordinarily difficult to locate, especially at night. There were only five tables, so it was rather small and intimate. Yet the service was still incredibly slow, since it was really run by only 2 people—1 cooking primarily and 1 serving primarily, but each involved in both aspects. They even used child labor, having their children serve dishes and clean the tables at times. Imagine being served by an 8-year-old child! I’m not going to sit here and judge that as some type of culinary sin, nor am I one to really care that the service wasn’t perfect, but it really does something to the vibe of the place when you get served by little kids. On the one hand, it’s surprisingly adorable. On the other, you just wonder where the hell you are—really? 8-year-old children? You can do that? Shoot, if I could use kids as waiters and not pay them, I’d open my own restaurant and get an army of children—talk about cutting cost! Needless to say, never have I had the odd pleasure/annoyance of being served by a child, and it just felt like I wasn’t even in a restaurant (not in a bad way, just in a disorienting one). Regardless, though, if your service is as slow as that of Naan’s even when you have your kids serving people, then you should consider getting some extra help.

As for the interior, though, it’s actually quite nice. As I said, it’s in the middle of nowhere, in a residential neighborhood, boding rather ill for the restaurant. But once you get inside, it’s a complete change of heart. While it’s just a home, it’s rather spacious, and the small number of tables gives you a nice feeling of intimacy and privacy, with a rather nice view of the surrounding lake and of Bariloche. You also get the homey vibe from it, so it’s pretty comfortable. Very simple, but very clean and well-organized.

Finally, the strangeness continues with the food. It’s an eclectic restaurant, drawing on the experiences of the owners, who have traveled the world and tried out numerous different cuisines. Thus there’s a very interesting variety of foods that you typically don’t find in Argentina—quesadillas and guacamole, Vietnamese spring rolls, Moroccan rice, stews, sautéed king crab, etc. If this variety had been executed properly, it would have been very nice, given Argentina’s monotonous cuisine, but unfortunately in Naan’s case, it takes a turn for the worst.  It’s definitely inventive but it fails too often because of an overabundance of flavors and ingredients that just don’t do much or even clash. The portions are gigantic, with numerous flavors, but the components just aren’t integrated all that well. Moreover, some very simple things are done very poorly. While the sautéed king crab was great, for example, it just shouldn’t be matched with overly salty spinach and tough rice. If you can’t even cook rice the right way, that really reflects poorly on the restaurant’s quality.

Overall, Naan, for all its recommendations, was a huge disappointment. Variety is not always better, and Naan is the perfect example of that.

Unfortunately, I don’t have detailed notes of exactly what I ate, but here are my recommendations on what to eat and what to avoid:

Hits (Recommendations): Sautéed king crag; bread with olive oil, cheese, olives, and crab; potatoes in general; the guacamole

Misses (Things to Avoid): Chocolate mousse (the whole dessert was a wreck and lacked flavor), quesadillas, rice, spinach

Ambience: 3.0/5.0
Service: 1.0/5.0
Taste: 1.0/5.0
Value: 0.0/5.0. You can get most of this food for just as cheap or almost as cheap in the US with better quality.
Overall Score: 1.0/5.0. Overpriced and subpar.

Awhile back I put up a review of El Boliche de Alberto, the one highly recommended steakhouse within the actual city of Bariloche. Well, that experience had left a very bitter taste in my mouth. Steak is Argentina’s national food! How an Argentine parrilla could fail so badly was beyond me.

I was positive I could find some good meat near Bariloche, even if I had to travel a distance for it. And that’s where El Patacón comes in.

12►

Bariloche’s best restaurants, oddly enough, are not actually located within the city with all of its famous chocolatiers, but rather outside the city center on a 26-mile route that takes you all the way to the harbor. That routes includes just about every good restaurant I ate at in Bariloche, including El Patacón.

El Patacón is very special, though. Although it may seem like a traditional (if not exceptional) parrilla, it claims the unique honor that it was the site of a presidential dinner between Bill Clinton and Argentina’s Carlos Ménem, while Clinton was visiting Argentina for a presidential summit. Though I’m not a fanatic lover of Bill Clinton, I was rather curious—if this place was good enough for Argentina’s own president to bring Clinton here, it must at least be good, right?

And, for once, this kind of celebrity hype actually panned out, in nearly every way.

First, in terms of ambience. The restaurant is constructed like a log cabin and so has the nice log cabin coziness to it. It’s an Argentine steakhouse, combining the down-home feel of a parrilla with a little bit of an upscale quality, e.g. the very nice polished wood for the tables and the crooked pillars made from contorted branches and trunks . But don’t let the upscale features fool you—this is a traditional steakhouse at its finest, to the point of being touristy, both for Americans and Argentines. In fact, the signature dish is even named Martín Fierro after the quintessential Argentine gaucho (cowboy) who was the protagonist of perhaps Argentina’s most famous epic poem (which was also named Martín Fierro after the hero). It’s a nice place for groups, as with most steakhouses, but classy enough to bring a business associate for a relaxed evening. The service adds to the experience, as my waiter was not only amiable but had an energetic, cheery attitude that really suited the coziness of the restaurant and made me feel welcome.

And, while the food wasn’t the best I’ve had at a parrilla, it really was quite good. In contrast to El Boliche de Alberto, which ruined nearly every dish, here I can’t really complain about much at all, except maybe the bread. And the steak, the key part of the meal, was cooked perfectly, which is all you can ask for from a parrilla.

All in all, then, this was a great food experience, and it is the perfect place to come to for a steak if you need one in Bariloche.

What I had:

1. Bread and beef paté (butter substitute): Very innovative touch, replacing the butter. Very Argentine, considering how much beef Argentines eat. Bread is dull and cold, though. 1.0/5.0
2. Trout in escabeche (pickling brine): Very typical regional cuisine. I’m not a big fan of pickling brine or cold cuts, but it actually tasted quite fresh, the meat was tender, and there was a good tangy, oiliness to the dish that really suited the fish. 3.0+/5.0
3. Martín Fierro (Ribeye with veggies and chimichurri)—The ribeye is perfectly cooked and incredibly succulent. It’s so thick you can’t even fit it in your mouth. It’s served with roasted red peppers, onions, and other veggies that really give a nice smoky freshness to the dish. This is especially nice because Argentines typically serve nothing with their meat, so this dish really has some added flavor you don’t get at most steakhouses. The potatoes are extraneous and dull, as is the chimichurri, but the overall dish is fantastic regardless. 4.0/5.0
4. Chocolate suicidio (Chocolate suicide—Chocolate brownie topped with chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce): Finally a chocolate brownie with nuts in Argentina that is worth eating! This is a pretty standard American dish, but even by our standards, it was quite good, and every component added another layer of chocolate flavor that really made this a true chocolate suicide. The chocolate ice cream, as expected of Argentine ice cream, was rather smooth, creamy, and sweet, and the chocolate brownie was dense and rich. Again, standard, but good. 3.3/5.0

Ambience: 3.5/5.0
Service: 3.0/5.0
Taste: 3.5/5.0. 4.0/5.0 in terms of steak.
Value: 4.0/5.0
Overall Score: 3.6+/5.0

Villegas 347
Bariloche, Argentina

Argentina’s Bariloche has some of the best food in the country. Unfortunately, on my first day, that wasn’t the case, as can be seen by my review of Yuco, the first restaurant I went to. In fact, the meal was just so disappointing, for all the hype the restaurant had received, that I started to really crave a good old-fashioned Argentine parrilla, or steakhouses.  I just wanted a nice slice of meat, plain and simple, with none of the frills of all this fine dining garbage. So, against my better reason, I decided to head over for a second dinner that night, and this time, at just one of the normal cheap eats within the city itself.

Unfortunately, unlike the rest of Argentina, most of Bariloche’s cuisine doesn’t revolve around steakhouses, and I could only find one that was really recommended—El Boliche de Alberto. I headed there without a second thought, since, to my knowledge, just about any parrilla in Argentina would have excellent food, especially meat.

Boy was I wrong! This has got to be the first steakhouse I went to in Argentina that has cooked a steak badly—and that’s quite an insult, considering the cheap hole-in-the-wall steak stands (No, that’s not a typo. Argentina has mini steak joints just about everywhere!) have great meat. I had the sirloin rump steak, an Argentine specialty, and it wasn’t really succulent, nor did it have much flavor to it. And the food nightmare didn’t end there, either. The French Fries tasted like mush, and the empanadas were dull and flavorless. The one redeeming quality was the ice cream sundae, but really, I could’ve probably gotten a better sundae at a parlor.

And the restaurant only makes it worse with its fake, touristy gaudiness. It’s not that the ambience is all that bad—it’s much cleaner and spacious than the lower-end steakhouses, it’s a great place for groups, and you can be as loud as you want. And it does have a nice log cabin feel to it. But it’s still very much a tourist joint, and you’re reminded of that by flamboyance, the showiness of everything, from the humungous portions to the huge open bbq-pit area where you can see all the gigantic cuts of meat cooking, to the noise and music. Some might like it, and it’s definitely a great place to hang out with friends, but, having lived in the country, I can’t really get as much of a kick out of it.

All in all, El Boliche de Alberto fails as a steakhouse. I’d do a detailed review, but it’s really not necessary. The restaurant is a casual, overpopular, noisy steakhouse with low-quality food. Don’t go there expecting anything else. Go only for a cheap eat (and trust me, you will leave full).

Ambience: 1.0/5.0
Service: 2.5/5.0
Taste: 0.0/5.0
Value: 2.0/5.0. Very cheap compared to most places, but quality is still horrible.
Overall Score: 0.8/5.0

It was my last day in Mendoza, and I had one wine region left to visit, the Uco Valley. The Uco Valley is known mostly for its white wines, since the higher altitude helps the grapes for those varietals to retain more acidity. The region is very difficult to traverse, though, since it is an hour and a half outside Mendoza city and very expansive, so has very little infrastructure in comparison to the more popular wine tasting regions of Maipu and Luján.  It’s just that very spaciousness of the region, though, that allows it to have some of the most ridiculously, needlessly grandiose wineries in all of Argentina. And I was lucky enough to dine in one of those grand wineries, O’Fournier, although, to be fair, there aren’t many options to choose from while in Uco (and even if there were, the tours would choose for you).

Before dining in O’Fournier, I had the chance to tour the winery, of course, and I have to admit, it really sets the mood for a magnificent lunch. Everything, from the winery to the restaurant, is just plain beautiful. The architecture is done in a very modern style, so throughout the winery you’ll notice a very simple, clean style emphasizing odd, unique geometric shapes, like a building composed of a cylindrical center and sandwiched between a large rectangular base and roof, or a wine cellar that has windows to reflect a large crux (a cross), the symbol of the winery, across the humungous, dark cellar. It really is eye candy, pure and simple, and O’Fournier really does a good job at wowing the tourist with excessive pomp and splendor.

The dining room itself impresses no less. It’s gigantic, with a PHENOMENAL view of the surrounding wilderness through the large windows that serve as the walls of the restaurant—and I mean real wilderness here, with a large lake, mountains, and a forest in site. It is about as gorgeous a view as you can have, especially on a sunny day. The restaurant itself is not too cluttered, but it has a refined elegance to it that you don’t see in most places, with chairs that have extremely high backs and are very comfortable, simple stone walls, and a very high ceiling, all of which combine with the view to give you, again, a sense of grandeur and spaciousness that tries to hold you in awe more than anything else—and it easily succeeds.

And the meal is superb, on all accounts. It is notable for two reasons chiefly. First, every course is paired with one of the whole range of wines of the vineyard, from the lowest to the highest. O’Fournier, moreover, happens to be one of the best wineries in all of Argentina, so this meal really comes with some of the best wine you’ll have if you visit the country, and it is quite the wine pairing. While I won’t comment on the wines or the wine pairings in my notes on the food (see my wines section instead), it’s enough to say that the winery did a superb job of accentuating its wines with an eclectic and interesting mix of foods, ranging from meat and yogurt, to potatoes, to veal. At the same time, though, the food felt complete in itself, without relying on the wine to compensate for its mediocrity.

The second notable regard is that this is true, home-style, fresh cooking, as the main chef is O’Fournier’s own wife. I’m not sure whether she has any professional training, but I’m inclined to say no, and even so cooks better, simpler, and much more flavorful food than what you’ll get throughout most of Argentina. What is remarkable is, again, just the range of foods, spanning Middle Eastern, Spanish, Argentine, and other cuisines. It’s really a tasting of the world, without feeling too contrived, and it really does suit such a cosmopolitan winery.

To top it off, the service was outstanding, with amiable waiters, a chance to meet the chef, proper decanting of the wines, and a degree of formality you will see in very few places, even in Mendoza.

Overall, then, this was a phenomenal experience, giving me the chance to both taste a very well-crafted, professional tasting menu along with a whole range of fantastic wines, in a setting that was magnificent. This is a must if you are ever wine tasting in Mendoza!

What I had:

1. Kebab with yogurt sauce and mint: Beautiful presentation, with tons of color—the yogurt white, mint green all over. Great components in general. Inventive yogurt infusion—very Middle Eastern in flavor, so it was right at home for me. The meat wasn’t the best, though. It was fried, and the oily crunch really didn’t suit the yogurt as well as just a normal grilled kebab. 3.5/5.0
2. Spanish potato pie wrapped in red pepper: Good concept, but the potato was a bit muddy and very dull in terms of flavor. 2.5/5.0
3. Pumpkin soup with ginger, coconut, toasted almond, and chard: Phenomenal! Rich, creamy, and with BIG flavors. Every components comes through well and adds a new level of nuance—the slight ginger spice, the sweet coconut, the roasted nuttiness, and the rich pumpkin. The roasted nuttiness especially just bursts in your mouth. 5.0/5.0. This is simply perfect!
4. Mixed ragout of veal and lamb with polenta and white truffle oil: Beautiful dish! With a fantastic wine pairing (the highest wine of the bodega, the A Crux). The meat is tender, melting in your mouth. There potato mash is soft, rich, and decadent. Extremely flavorful for normal potatoes, and very good with the meat. The gravy is a bit salty, but adds even more of a rich savory quality to the dish. This is like a simple, classic American steak and potato dinner, but done unusually well. And the big flavors find an equally strong-flavored wine to complement it. 4.3/5.0
5. Torrontes sorbet: Amazingly good. I’ve never liked the Torrontes wines that Argentina is known for producing, but this was an unusually unique, interesting, and very Argentine take on dessert, combining the flavor and lightness  of the Torrontes wine with the sweetness of a dessert. And it actually tasted like Torrontes! 4.7/5.0, particularly for the creativity.
6. Philo pastry tower with dulce de leche ice cream: Phenomenal! The ice cream doesn’t even feel like ice cream—it’s more like a mix of mousse and whipped cream. It was fantastically light and flavorful. And it’s not too sweet, which is always a problem with dulce de leche desserts. The pastry is not necessary, but adds some interesting balance and nice flavor. 4.5/5.0

Ambience: 4.8/5.0. Just gorgeous.
Service: 4.5/5.0
Taste: 4.3/5.0
Wine Pairing: 4.5/5.0.
Value: 4.5+/5.0. If the price I read is accurate, this is one of the best deals in Mendoza, particularly considering that every course is matched with the whole range of wines of the vineyard, and the wines are some of the best in Argentina.
Overall Score: 4.5+/5.0. 2^nd best meal I had in Argentina, and probably the best winery lunch/wine pairing experience you can have in Mendoza.

Ruta Provincial 60
Mendoza, Argentina

During my trip through Mendoza, I decided to take a day off from the guided wine tastings and to rough it through Maipu, the nearest wine-producing region. Maipu has much more infrastructure than the other regions and so can be navigated on bike, and almost all the major wineries line up in an 11 mile wine route, making for a nice ride, if you can manage it (Try riding a bike after having a couple too many cups of wine—it’s a little risky, to say the least. Trust me!). Anyway, I needed to refuel at around 1:00 pm with some lunch, so I headed over to Club Tapiz for what was supposedly the best dining experience in Maipu. What I got, though, was not only far inferior to the general quality of meals in Mendoza, it was a downright horrible meal.

The restaurant itself doesn’t seem too bad at first. It has a nice setting—small and intimate, with a more modern vibe/decorations to it. It’s very much lower-key compared to other winery-based restaurants, which is a shame on the one hand, but at the same time it can be refreshing after seeing too much extravagance. This is much more of a place to relax. The service is good, but not really much to note.

As for the food, it really is unexpectedly bad, especially for a restaurant that commands top dollar. Not one dish caught my eye, and I really wouldn’t pay for any of those dishes ever again—I just didn’t care for any of them whatsoever. The wine menu was even lacking—while it was quite good compared to a normal restaurant, it wasn’t quite comparable to the norm for fine restaurants in Mendoza.

Overall, then, this is a subpar restaurant that should be avoided at all costs. There are so many better experiences in Mendoza.

What I had:

1. Bread—many varieties, great taste, fluffy, and crispy
2. Complementary bruschetta—nice touch, but not great in terms of flavors.
3. Appetizer: Shrimp skewers with Turkish lentils—Simple and direct. Nice smoky bbq flavor, but boring. Sauces are not terribly good at all. Lentils are salty but flavorful. 1.7/5.0
4. Entrée: Lamb Ravioli—Nothing special. Very unique combo—cherry tomatoes, nuts, pasta. Still, it’s a poor mix, with clashing flavors. Has no sauce so it’s kind of dry. Very dull—just meat and pasta, without even great flavors to compensate. 1.7/5.0
5. Warm apple pie and lavender ice cream: Sounds like an interesting combo, but it’s really not all that impressive. Ice cream is sub-par, especially by Argentine standards. It’s too frosty and lacks the creaminess I’d expect. Pie is okay, but isn’t flavorful enough on its own. The classic apple pie a la mode combo really breaks down.  1.0

Ambience: 2.5/5.0
Service: 2.5/5.0
Taste: 1.4/5.0
Value: 1.5/5.0. It’s very cheaply priced, especially for a winery restaurant, but you can find much better food at this price throughout the country.
Overall Score: 1.7/5.0

Below Avenida Bustillo KM 7.9
Bariloche, Argentina

Bariloche in Argentina is somewhat of an odd scene. Known for the fantastic ski slopes and the chocolate, you really wouldn’t think this small town would also have some of the best dining in Argentina, yet it has a large quantity of higher-end restaurants that cater to the largely transient population that comes in every year to get on the slopes or to tour the beautiful natural scenery. It seems, moreover, that this concentration of high-end restaurants is a recent phenomenon, as a few years back you really wouldn’t get restaurants that specialized in long multi-course meals or unique takes on Argentina cuisine, and now they’re all over the place. One example of that is the relatively new Butterfly, a restaurant opened a couple years back, that presents a 7-course meal that truly is one of the best meals you can get in Argentina.

Butterfly is somewhat of an odd place. It’s located in a very odd neighborhood in what would otherwise be just a normal log cabin in the middle of nowhere, in an old house. It’s so desolate that I couldn’t even find the restaurant for 5 minutes in the pitch black darkness of the night.

But once you enter, everything immediately changes. The interior is immediately inviting and cozy, giving off the atmosphere of a full-on log cabin, complete with a fireplace.

The strangeness continues with the menu itself and the staff. The restaurant is owned by three friends—an Argentine, a German, and an Irishmen (the main chef)—and the menu is not the typical Argentine fare, but rather an eclectic mix of foods drawing on the culinary backgrounds of all three. So this isn’t cooking by Argentines for Argentines. Rather, my waiter, Sebi (the German), even admitted to me that the intent of the restaurant is to cater to a largely foreign population,  since 7-course meals don’t really appeal to Argentines, who prefer both simpler cuisine and don’t have the money to dish out for higher-end dining. As such, you’ll find some rather nice surprises on the prix fixe menu, like true German apple strudel or goulash. The wine menu is also phenomenal, and this is quite possibly the only place in Argentina where I saw a large, predominantly foreign selection of wines, often from France, Germany, and the USA.

That said, I do have to admit that the trio not only presents a quality, both in food and service, that you just don’t find in more traditional Argentine restaurants, including the fine ones. The service was superb. Sebi was not only amiable, but he was also very knowledgeable and interesting, giving some interesting stories about the restaurant industry in Argentina and Bariloche, about his experiences in general and the inspiration of the restaurant, etc. And he speaks just numerous languages, including German and English fluently, so it’s very easy to get by even if you’re not fluent in Spanish, unlike in many Argentine restaurants. Moreover, the service was extremely prompt, and the pacing was perfect. After every course, he’d check in to see if everything was all right, bread crumbs would constantly be cleaned, drinks refilled, wine choices constantly given, etc. To top it all off, he was a great sommelier, with extensive knowledge of wines from around the world. Overall, he was very well-trained, and probably the best professional waiter I’ve had in Argentina.

Most importantly, the food lived up to the standard of excellence the restaurant set for itself. 7 courses is a tough sell, but this was 7 courses done right. The presentation of the food was especially notable—beautiful organization, lots of interesting ingredients on the plate, etc. The taste was also exceptional and consistently good. The diversity of courses really was amazing, as I went from foie gras to boar to fish to strudel all in one night, really giving me a taste of a variety of cuisines.

My one complaint was that they weren’t willing to provide a true degustation of wines (didn’t want to open the bottles for 1 person) because it was the last day of the season, which would have been quite the problem if the sommelier hadn’t been able to provide at least a couple good wine pairings.

That’s just a minor complaint, though. This restaurant gave me an exceptional meal, and it is by far the most cosmopolitan I have seen in Argentina. Best meal I had in Bariloche!

What I had:

1. Pumpkin seeds and German style mini-cakes (Pfankuchen): The pancakes were nice, fluffy, and salty. Well-seasoned and oiled, but just decent. The pumpkin seeds, however, were irresistible! Crunchy, salty, sweet, roasted. Like gourmet potato chips. I never would’ve thought that pumpkin seeds could be so delicious, but before I had realized it, I’d finished the whole cup. 4.8/5.0 for the seeds. 2.0 for the kuchen.
2. Bread and salted better: The bread was hot, fluffy, smooth, and delicious—practically perfect. The butter was presented like the folds of a blanket—very nice presentation.
3. Amuse bouche (Fish and chips, shrimp bisque, tartlet of Brie): A mixed bag, ranging from decent to excellent. 3.0/5.0
   • The bisque was very light and fresh, with a strong, smooth shrimp taste
   • The fish and chips weren’t outstanding. Good potatoes and well-cooked fish, but it was overall bland
   • Brie with jelly fish: I cannot stand Brie at all, and yet I thought this was delicious. Great balance, and the Brie was very tame. Fantastic start.
4. Foie Gras with tomato and peach chutney, onion chutney, and brioche: Foie gras was imported from France and was given in a large mound. It was absolutely delicious on its own—oily, rich, a little bitter, and extremely fatty. The tomato chutney was great, helping to balance the foie gras with its fruitiness. Internally, the chutney had a nice balance of sweet and sour, creating a great play of flavors in the mouth. The onion chutney was also superb and providing a completely different experience. The onions were caramelized to perfect. The brioche, finally, was fluffy, smooth, and baked perfectly. The mixture worked very well. This was one of the highlights of the night. Good wine pairing too. 4.5/5.0
5. Wild boar goulash with pasta: Well-cooked all around. The boar was a little salty. Odd combination, since the boar was on the bitter side and didn’t really complement the pasta too well. The dish was a little uninspired, but it was decent. The meat was especially nice, as it was so tender that it practically melted in your mouth. 2.5/5.0
6. White sea bass au papillot (cooked in paper) with fennel and saffron (and served alongside pasta): Very delicious. This time around the pasta works fantastically with the fish, which melts in your mouth and has the right amount of seasoning and pepper.  Good wine pairing too. 4.2/5.0
7. Osso bucco  of veal with mashed potatoes, garlic confit, and black olives: The veal was amazing. The skin was crispy, crackling and practically falling off. The meat was so tender that it just melted in my mouth. The mashed potatoes were also very interesting. They were cooked in olive oil without milk, so they were a bit chunky, but in a good way. Their texture really complemented the tenderness of the lamb. And the olives, peppers, and everything on the dish was delicious. Great wine match, on top of it all. The best part of the evening, hands down. 4.8/5.0 (and I’m not even a veal lover)
8. Apple strudel with Madagascar vanilla ice cream: Nice presentation overall, with swirls of chocolate around the cake and vanilla. The vanilla is simple and safe, but good—rich, creamy, and smooth. The apple strudel, moreover, is so good that it reminds me of my time in Germany. It’s a nice change of pace from all the overly sweet dulce de leche and chocolate desserts found throughout Argentina, especially in Bariloche. 4.3+/5.0
9. Ice cream praline: Good, but not great for an end. Nice quality of chocolate. 2.0/5.0
10. Petit Fours: Nice end, though nothing stood out. Kind of unspectacular. Just a good palate change. 2.0/5.0

Ambience: 4.0/5.0
Service: 4.8/5.0
Food: 4.3/5.0. Add a couple tenths if you really love variety and/or presentation.
Value: 4.0/5.0. Great price (around $60-$80), considering the quality.

Overall Score: 4.4/5.0. Excellent food and service. One of the best restaurants (if not the best) in Bariloche.

One of the greatest oddities of the Argentine culinary world is that a guy can not only open a restaurant in his house, but it can be one of the best in the entire city. And that is exactly the case with Casa Coupage, a private residence that hosts two dinners every week with a maximum of 15 diners and 4 tables each night. During the other days, it engages in private catering and wine tasting classes. It has a special reputation for the latter, as both the sommelier and the wine list are supposed to some of the best in the entire city.

I do have to admit that Casa Coupage really was quite the experience if for nothing else than the quality of the ambience and the service. It’s located in an elegant (read: wealthy) home with great art on the walls, nice tables with tons of spacing among them, and even lights in the tables that can be turned on in order to look at the color of the red wine. Given that there are only 4 tables, it is an extraordinarily intimate experience. In addition, since it’s located in someone’s home, it has a nice coziness to it.

The service only further added to the experience. The waiter/sommelier actually owns the home and was just as much a gracious host as a waiter, as he really tryied to make the customer feel at ease in his home. This was especially nice since I had decided to go with 4 friends, 2 of whom were loud, rambunctious American males like myself. You know how it is with Americans. We tend to sometimes get into trouble while abroad. So even when my friend with ADD started playing with the lights in the tables and annoyed the waiter a bit (as he should have, considering it was the waiter’s house), the waiter handled it very well and just respectfully asked my friend to save the lights for the red wine. In general, the waiter was pleasant, prompt, and especially hospitable, without being intrusive at all, and he made rather good recommendations, especially with the wine.

As for the food, it’s not phenomenal, but it’s extremely creative and innovative, especially for Argentina. It’s definitely not a must, but everything is presented and prepared so well that it’s hard not to like it. Still, it is perhaps the weakest link, other than extraordinary price. As such, while I would recommend Casa Coupage very highly, it would be more for the experience of the wine and the ambience of the restaurant than for the food.

What I had, in the order it was presented:

1. Viognier Sour: Odd to find viognier used instead of pisco, but the viognier makes it a bit lighter and more fruity, with a lot less alcohol. Much better as a start. Plus, it’s creative.
2. Trout with apples and sauce: Fantastic. Well-balanced components. The trout is perfectly cooked and bursting with flavor. A little simple, but great nonetheless. 3.5.
3. Bread: Great, soft, and fluffy. The raisin and nut bread is amazing—intense flavor and rich nutty and fruity sweetness makes it great.
4. Sirloin steak with thick cheddar sauce, faina (like a mini-cake made of garbanzo beans), and beet carpaccio: Beautiful presentation, with lots of different colors, from the yellow of the cheddar and the faina, to the nice red of the beets, to the dark, smoky brown/black of the steak. Very good synergy among the elements, and the taste is interesting.  The meat is very well-cooked, but it’s a bit bland, even with the sauce. 3.0/5.0
5. Degustation of cheeses: Good concept. I always love a nice cheese plate. Still, the cheeses selected, particularly the one from Argentine, were not good. In fact, Argentina’s cheese in general is horrible in my experience. 1.5/5.0
6. Pre-dessert (palate changer), a sorbet with brown sugar: Phenomenal flavor. Fruity, sweet, light, and serves its purpose well. 4.4
7. Ice cream popsicle covered in nuts, served with a nut praline and nutella mousse, and topped with coconut strips: Very unique dessert, and kind of a fun dessert for an American. The ice cream isn’t fantastic, especially by Argentine standards, but it has a fantastic synergy with the rest of the elements. The praline especially stands out as excellent. The mousse is rich, creamy, and tastes just like nutella. The strips really don’t add anything, but I don’t like coconut. 4.0

Ambience: 4.8/5.0. Almost perfect, and about as intimate and warm as it can get.
Service: 4.5/5.0. Sommelier is one of the best I’ve ever had.
Taste: 3.3/5.0
Wine List: 4.5/5.0
Value: 3.0/5.0. Very expensive, but this is an experience you won’t get anywhere else.
Overall Score: 3.8/5.0. Recommended for wine lovers.