Bite Marks #118

"I understand how a first impression is often just that: a quick snapshot that, on its own merit, is meaningless." - Adriana Trigiani, author

Looking over recent posts in this series, I realized I’ve been getting away from the original intent of Bite Marks, which was to be just a few sentences about places where I’d sampled something, often just one item off a menu, and wanted to give a first impression. I’ve gradually been adding in longer pieces, and I’d rather keep those separate and give them more attention, and return this series to its niche. The hope here is to separate out the “wheat from the chaff” - picking out those places worth returning to for a more in-depth look versus those not worth bothering with. And also, here and there, a reminder of places reviewed in the past that are worth giving a little bump to.

Let’s start with a little shopping. Avoska, Av. Hipólito Yrigoyen 2000, in Once, is THE go-to store for Russian products. Mostly homemade stuff from members of the local Russian community, you can find fresh and frozen dumplings of various types, salads, condiments, beverages, and more. For those of us who like to cook, this is the only place in town that I know of that sells real, cultured, sour cream (you do have to use it relatively quickly, as it has no preservatives and past experience suggests you have about a week until it starts to grow fuzzy blue-green stuff). From my last visit - a plate of beef pelmeni, boiled up and tossed with sautéed veggies and sour cream.

Many, many moons ago, a friend and colleague in New York opened up Rice to Riches, a rice pudding shop modeled after an ice cream store. A wide variety of different rice pudding flavors, and a fantastic spicy coffee drink, kept me coming back regularly. I wish the same could be said for this… mousse shop, Morris Mousse, Paraná 1052, here in Recoleta. The idea seems solid - an array of flavors of mousse, but these are so sweet and the texture is more like foam than like any mousse I’ve ever had, that I just found it a bit unpleasant. Sorry guys, but I’ll pass.

Another idea that falls short, that not as egregiously. El Mayoral, just a block away, at Paraná 926, offers up what sounds like a brilliant combination. Wine and empanadas. It feels a bit fast food-ish, but hey, it’s empanadas. And the spicy beef empanada, though not at all spicy, is pretty decent. The issue I have is the wine. They have a decent selection by the bottle, but everyone I saw who came in came in solo, or in a couple, and wanted just an empanada or two and a glass of wine. They weren’t looking to split an entire bottle, and neither was I. And despite the menu’s offer of “consult with us for the list of wines by the glass”, it turns out they only offer one wine by the glass, an off-dry Malbec-Cabernet that was barely above mediocre. Did they used to offer more of a selection? Another pass for me.

This one got on my list when local foodie friend Vanessa Bell wrote up her list of favorite cheap and cheerful spots to grab a bite. I happened to be passing by La Tayuela, Rodriguez Peña 110 in San Nicolás, saw it, remembered it, did a quick search to find the article, plopped down at the counter (there’s a lunch counter with ten stools, and then outside on the sidewalk, a couple of tables for two), and ordered up her recommended milanesa. She offered that either the beef or chicken were both solid, I went with the latter. It’s… fine. A bit overcooked and dry, and unseasoned, but salt, pepper, and lemon are provided, and the mashed potatoes are actually pretty good. Given that it, a bottle of water, and tip came in at a mere 11000 pesos, I’ll at least give it cheap and cheerful. I would say that the beef milanesa and the option for a fresh tomato salad, that the “regular” next to me, was wolfing down, looked more interesting. Might just go back and try that one.

I’ve been letting slide telling you about the various cafés of Recoleta. It was actually one of my first posts when I moved here to Substack, and of the four dozen-ish cafés in my immediate ‘hood, I’ve now been to around three-quarters of them. This is one of the latest, a newly opened second location of Confiserié Monet, Av. Pueyrredón 1907, corner of Peña - the original one of which is in the “other part” of Recoleta. Decent iced coffee. Weirdly spongy medialuna. It was good, but there are better around.

This one is just outside my originally defined “comfort zone”, but only by a block, and it looked really good. Cute space at Café Gutierrez, Juan María Gutiérrez 2637. But that’s about where that ended. Service was inattentive - I sat there for more than five minutes before someone bothered to come over - one of the counter staff was busy looking at his phone, another was busy drying some glassware, and a third, who I didn’t see until a little later, when he wandered in yawning, was apparently taking a nap in the back. The owners were there, as one of them finally waved at the one on his phone and pointed at me. It then turned out he had no idea how to “make” an iced coffee, and shouted instructions from the owners’ table walked him through it. It wasn’t worth bothering with - a watery coffee over too much ice, doused with a blanket of powdered cinnamon and a piece of an orange - and a chipa that was probably made 2-3 days prior. Pass.

Recently, a “Basque cheesecake shop” opened up here in the neighborhood. I actually hadn’t realized that Joaquin Vasco Tartas, Peña 2326, was a café as well as store. They offer half a dozen flavors of cheesecake. Decent espresso. The cheesecake is delicious, though for me a bit underbaked - you can see it oozing its way onto the plate. You want it soft and custardy, but it ought to be a little more set than that. Pricey for a café (11400 pesos), but then, it’s a cheesecake, not a medialuna - a lot more work, and you can’t do up a hundred portions all in one batch. And you’d pay more at, say, a Starbucks for coffee and cheesecake and it wouldn’t be near this good.

Link to my map of Recoleta cafés and thoughts about those I’ve gotten to.

A mixed bag this time around. Nowhere that got on my “I’ve got to go back here and review it” list, unless you count the Russian products store, but I’ve been going there for a couple of years now. I’ll likely go back and try the beef milanesa at La Tayuela, just because; and now and then, a cheesecake treat at Joaquin Vasco Tartas.