Gaucho style round up

There is much to catch up on, from authentic porteno to river fish to the ever present parilla.

Many of the restaurants in Palermo Viejo are hip places that could be relatively easily transported to any cosmopolitan city across the world. Club Eros is not one of those places, something I am quite thankful for. Club Eros is a little indoor soccer club with a restaurant attached. The entire menu fits on a small card, and consists of a couple pastas, and three grilled options along with potatoes down a handful of ways. The place is filled with workers on their lunch break. A square meal, with a cup of wine, sets you back around what it costs for a cup of coffee in New York. Sure, you don't get to choose how your steak is cooked (Portenos ten to like their meat around medium done, too much cooking for my tastes), and the presentation is unceremonious, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it.

Ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce you to the Pacu, which we enjoyed at a restaurant in Palermo Hollywood called Jangada. After reading the following passage in the NY Times how could I not go and have a try?

"...Jangada, where locals go for the pacú, a lumbering cousin of the piranha that can grow as large as 60 pounds. Jangada’s serving is the size of a porterhouse. Grilled until crispy, the flesh is firm but flaky, and so succulent that from the first bite you’ll understand how it earned its nickname, el lechón del rió, or suckling pig of the river. Pacú is worshiped in Argentina but a rare sight in Buenos Aires. And it’s certainly not anything you’ll find on a menu in the East Village."

To be honest, in general I am not a huge fan of cooked seafood, I tend to prefer my swimming creatures raw. This fish, however, was fantastic. The meat was tender without being too flaky, and the flavor terrific. It was prepared simply, grilled on both sides, and served with a little lemon to squeeze over it. The restaurant itself was very nice, our camarera as well, who complimented us on our ability to understand Castellano, and complimented our choice of wine, a San Felicien Cabernet Sauvignon, which turned out to be very tasty.

The week's highlights also included a return to La Cabrera for meat (and a piece of cheese) off the grill, a trip to the stylish and modern Bar Uriarte for risotto with a lamb ragout, as well as repeated trips to the comfortable Bar Seis for lunch and/or caffeine.

Most of the city was obsessed this week with the end to the Apertura season of the Argentine football league. Boca Juniors' late slide (they lost their final two games) set up a one game playoff with a team called Estudiantes, from La Plata, another city in Buenos Aires province. Estudiantes won 11 of their final 12 games lead by the return of hometown hero Juan Sebastian Veron, and their coach, former national team captain Diego Simeone, about whom the Argentines say, "He played with a knife between his teeth.

The game lived up to its hype, Estudiantes came back after giving up and early goal to tie the game in the 62nd minute and take the lead for good with a goal nine minutes from time. I watched the game in a bar in Plaza Cortazar, split down the middle with fans of the two sides. I have to say, the Boca fans took the loss quite well, taking responsibility for the singing after the game when the Estudiantes fans were busy crying tears of joy over their first title since 1983.