Buenos Aires, Round Dos

Our second tour of Buenos Aires has been on the ‘chill’ tip. Brianna and I quickly got back into our routine of staying up late, sleeping in, eating lunch, hitting the pool, running, eating dinner, going out, repeat.

We had a relative coup at the local Disco on Monday (this is one of the grocery chains here). We found great produce, healthy bread and get this…..PEANUT BUTTER (this is a tough find out of the states). This has enabled us to 1) get some fiber in our diet; 2) avoid eating beef and white bread for breakfast and 3) watch several episodes of Los Simpson dubbed in Spanish. We love the Disco!

Since we have not done much in the exploration department, I will report on the MANY restaurants we have tried in our second tour (all in Palermo Soho/Hollywood):

Green Bamboo – Who knew you could get good Vietnamese food in BA? Brianna had a chicken dish and I had fish and even the dessert was awesome. As a side note, the waitresses at this place are gorgeous.
Xalapa – Jonesing for Mexican food, we made a return to this spot. This time we sat inside and the experience was not nearly as rewarding as the first. The food was still good, but doesn’t hold a candle to the real deal.
Rave – We both had pasta in very heavy sauces. It’s more about sitting outside and checking out folks strolling by….. and seeing if the cop stationed at the corner is going to shoot anyone.
Casa Cruz - This is THE see and be seen place where the beautiful people dine. By far our fanciest and most expensive meal (still under USD$100 for 2). Nice space, tasty food.
Mark’s – Great lunch space with sandwiches and salads – very fresh ingredients. We sat next to a bonafide TV celebrity………….in Australia. Chris Taylor of the Daily Show-style Aussie comedy “The Chaser’s War on Everything” sat right next to us. You can take pictures of the hand I used to shake his when I get back!!!!! Actually, he was a really nice dude and had a beautiful girlfriend that looked like a young Naomi Watts.
Bar 6 – Although I had read mixed reviews, we really enjoyed our meal here. Not the best cut of meat, but the best preparation of steak I had in BA. Brianna had a wok chicken/vegetable combo that was delicious.
Cafe Tortoni - Ok, this is not a restaurant, but a cafe that has been around since 1858. Avoid at all costs - this is a tourist trap and there is absolutely nothing special about it.... there was very sleepy dog outside when we were there (see above).
Mott – Tries too hard, we were not blown away by anything we ordered here. Certainly nothing to write home about. Or if you did write home, it would go something like this:

Dear Mom and Dad,
Just wanted to let you know that I had a mediocre meal at this place called Mott. If you are ever in Buenos Aires, I would recommend that you eat dinner somewhere else. If you are forced to eat at Mott, maybe you should just go for the apple crumble, which ironically (for a place called Mott… you know, the applesauce?), is pretty good.

Your loving son,
Michael

After 16 days spent in BA, we are definitely ready for Peru. The Lonely Planet book does a wonderful job of getting one excited about the country. A few snippets:
“While you are unlikely to be physically hurt, travelers do regularly have their belongings stolen and muggings can happen”
“Taxis don’t have meters. You will need to negotiate the fare with them….foreigners will pay more”
“You will likely obtain an infections disease while in Peru. This is normal and you should see symptoms dissipate after 6-9 months”

Awesome. Looking forward to that. Stay sexy.