Yuco

Posted by Edmund in Argentina, Fine Dining, Restaurants | 1 comment

Yuco
Eclectic, Fine Dining
Entrées run about $20-$25. My cost was about US$60-$70 for 3 courses, a glass of wine, and tax and tip.

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