ARGENTINA


THE PERFECT PIZZA Chui During the 19th and 20th centuries, around two million Italians moved to Argentina, bringing their culinary traditions with them. The pizzas at this vegetarian restaurant in Villa Crespo could match anything served in the motherland, with toppings ranging from sweet potato and pickled oyster mushrooms to onions and Argentinian reggianito cheese. Along with your pizza, try small plates of charred avocado with kimchi and tiger’s milk marinade, or llanero cheese with fruit vinegar. instagram.com/chui.ba


THE PERFECT EMPANADA Mengano Chef Facundo Kelemen’s take on empanadas — fried pastry pillows that are a classic South American comfort food — features beef, pepper, spices and a meat broth that bursts with fl avour. It’s part of a menu of small sharing plates reinventing time-honoured family recipes for contemporary diners. It’s all served in an early 20th-century former home decorated with black-and-white photographs. Another highlight at this Palermo Soho restaurant is the sandwich with wagyu steak, slow-cooked at 80C for 14 hours. instagram.com/mengano.ba


THE PERFECT PROVOLETA El Preferido de Palermo Provoleta cheese was created in the 1940s by an Italian immigrant, and it's typically heated in a skillet until crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle. This brasserie, decorated with jars of pickles and herbs hanging above a marble bar, melts it on a chickpea-fl our pancake in a wood-fi red oven. instagram.com/elpreferidodepalermo


THE PERFECT DRY-AGED STEAK Elena Fine cuts of 45-day dry-aged steak dangle from the kitchen ceiling of Elena. Part of the Four Seasons, it sparkles with belle époque-era glamour, with waiters in silk waistcoats serving plates of charcuterie and beef to guests tucked into leather banquettes. fourseasons.com


THE PERFECT BARBECUE La Carniceria This Palermo Viejo grill house serves cuts of Aberdeen Angus reared on co-owner Germán Sitz’s farm in the Pampas. La Carniceria (‘butcher’s shop’) triumphs with honey-laced mollejas (sweetbreads) and melted bone marrow mopped up with bread, ensuring every part of the animal is used. lacarniceria.com.ar SARAH MARSHALL


Q&A VANESSA BELL


Vanessa’s made- to-measure Buenos Aires tours explore architecture, design, food, fashion and art


WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CULTURAL SPACE IN THE CITY? Centro Cultural San Martín. There’s a theatre at the front and a cinema behind showing art-house films. It’s had a big overhaul and restoration, so looks absolutely beautiful — it feels like BA’s equivalent of the Barbican.


CAN YOU RECOMMEND A LOCAL DESIGNER? Catalina Chavanne, who’s found a gap in the market working with quality Argentine fibres in her clothing — alpaca wool, linen, cotton. The prices in her shop, Blue Sheep, are a bit high for a local budget, but similar to high street prices in the UK. Her big selling point is a beautiful palette of colours. Wearable, perennial pieces, but also very fashion-forward.


WHERE DO YOU GO FOR COMFORT FOOD? Parrilla Peña — it’s central and easily accessible. I generally order the chicken or veal milanesa (escalope), fries and my favourite salad, carrot and radicheta (a bitter green), which only old-school restaurants tend to serve. And the meat empanadas are the stuff of fantasy. INTERVIEW: SHAFIK MEGHJI


@cremetoursba @cremedelacremeba


JAN/FEB 2024


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