Proceedings of the Twelvemonth

"You do something annual every year, don't you?" - George Noory, AM talk radio host

You got it, it’s time for a look back at the arbitrary unit of time… “last year”.

2024 wasn’t the most eventful of years. When I note that probably the biggest change in my life was moving my blog from SaltShaker.net to here on Substack, it probably ties that up neatly.

Casa SaltShaker’s table got a makeover when Henry got into a brief flurry of sewing and made us a bunch of new napkins and a center mantel for the table.

The hit dish of the month at Casa SaltShaker were these caramelle filled with a mixture of ricotta, smoked blue cheese, and spiced caramelized shallots. Topped with a brown butter sauce that included smoky merquén chili flakes, herring roe, and chives.

In my writing projects, the big January push was also what became the first post here on Substack, my look at BA’s soccer team related social clubs. Often inexpensive places to sample classic local dishes, my favorite spot of the five spots I decided to include was El Bochin Club in Palermo. However…

…far and away my favorite dish was the platter of mollejas al verdeo, at Club Atlanta in Villa Luro - “a solid half pound of beautifully, perfectly, cooked sweetbreads - tender on the inside and with a thin, crispy shell on the outside, bathed in a rich, meaty sauce flavored with green onions, and the whole thing accented by lovely papas noisette, round balls of sautéed potato goodness. The sauce reminds me a bit of something you’d get on takeout egg foo young, in a good way.”

February was dominated by a solo trip to Montevideo, while Henry was off on his annual family visit to Trujillo. The absolutely exquisite meal at 1921 Restaurante in the Sofitel was also probably my best meal of the year, and the rabbit confit lasagna with grilled figs was the standout of the evening. But if I had to pick a single dish on the trip that I was totally captivated by, it was the dish of cured mullet over a thickened kefir, fermented milk, with lime, dill, and radishes, all over a crispy dehydrated rye bread, at Manzanar.

Locally, discovering Cviche, which has become one of our favorite Peruvian spots in the city, topped the dining out bill of fare. Their ceviche carratillero remains one of the best of this dish I’ve ever had.

The surprise find of the month in Buenos Aires, Casa Pasto in Palermo, with one of the best steaks I’ve had in a long time from their regular menu, and a truly delightful experience at their evening “meat omakase”.

And the “it girl” dish of the month at Casa SaltShaker, a lightly fried lobe of pork liver served over a roasted yellow tomato, ají amarillo, onion, and garlic sauce. On the side, lightly caramelized Andean papines, small potatoes that were parboiled, halved, and then tossed in a red wine vinegar caramel.

March was dominated by cafes. I spent too much time in them checking out the offerings at my neighborhood coffee shops after reading an article about the correlation between happiness and immediate neighborhood cafes. My favorite, even as I’ve continued to check places out, is probably Borja, with great coffee offerings and a stunningly good cinnamon roll.

April’s intended claim to fun and frolic was a visit to Mendoza - my first in many years, and Henry’s first, ever. Unfortunately, I ended up getting food poisoning at one of the first places we ate at and it basically ruined the entire rest of the trip. We did have a nice visit to Masi winery on our last day.

May’s big project was the start of a search for the best cannoli in Buenos Aires. That remains the one from Café Vespress in Villa Ortuzar.

And, finally visiting the much hyped Las Palmeras Cañitas in Las Cañitas, to find that it fully lives up to everything said about it. It’s become our favorite date night spot - pretty much every other Wednesday, alternating with trying new places.

June was off on another solo trip, this time to Panama City for my first ever visit there, followed by time in NYC and Boston. Checking out the four spots in PC that made it onto the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, my favorite dish and favorite night out was at what was ostensibly the least of the four, Fonda Lo Que Hay, at #51. Their “Sexy Clams” plate was just plain wow, and easily the best thing I ate all week. Actually, now putting together this retrospective, I think it was the best dish I ate in a restaurant all year!

New York City’s visit was mostly spending time with old friends and catching up. Still, I had some excellent food at several places, with this beautiful soft shell crab over a frisee salad and cilantro sauce at Vestry in SoHo being my favorite dish overall.

Enroute to Boston I tried out some iconic spots - a burger at Louis Lunch, the supposed inventor of the hamburger, and a white clam pie at Frank Pepe’s. Neither was what they’re cracked up to be. And even in Boston, continuing a look at some iconic dishes, while the Parker House Roll at the eponymous hotel was, indeed, excellent, the Boston Cream Pie was not everything I’d hoped for. On the other hand, and absolutely exquisite omakase was had at No Relation and an amazingly good mezze sort of dinner with Greek wine capped off the trip at Krasi.

In the one dinner we were able to get in from Casa SaltShaker, these hand-rolled rigatoni with anticucho style chicken hearts was a showstopper.

June and July also saw a brief project to check out the top rated revuelto gramajo dishes in the city, with the easy winner being that from Los Galgos in Recoleta.

July’s top food experience was the discovery of Girardi in San Telmo. Easily, now, after several visits, my favorite restaurant for pasta in the city.

August brought this new dish to the Casa SaltShaker menu, a fillet of salmon, cooked sous vide and then seared, served over a beurre blanc, and accompanied by a little tian of cauliflower. The base is cauliflower stems cooked down in milk with garlic, and then pureed with a little cream cheese, smoked salt, and white pepper; then a layer of fried cauliflower florets (cut small); then grated pecorino sardo; and finally a gremolata of chopped parsley, lemon zest, toasted almonds, and chilies.

September’s big “discovery” was the handroll omakase menu at Sachi in Belgrano, which has become a regular spot to visit - I think I’ve been five times now. Beats out the competition handily, with second place, to date, going to Kuro Neko.

Late August and on into October brought meatballs into focus. Over a trio of posts, I checked out way too many spots for the best in town. For me, the clear winner was Cantina Pietro in Villa Urquiza, with a trio of whopping big, perfectly made spheres o’meat atop a delicious tangle of spaghetti in one of the best classic pomodoro sauces I’ve had in town.

The end of November I introduced a causa de navajas, a razor clam dish at Casa SaltShaker. The base, classic, chilled purée of potatoes with lemon, ají amarillo, olive oil, and salt. The salad on top, razor clams mixed with boquiño chilies, fresh and dried tomato, green onion, black olive, mayonnaise, and smoked salt. I torched the top of that to just give it a little lightly charred note, and then sprinkled it with a “beef flavored” sukiyaki furikake.

I also checked out the absolutely exquisite classic omakase offering at Shimada in Belgrano. No attempt at fancy creative flavor pairings, just amazing fish, with simple touches to accent them.

December also involved trying milanesas de bife de chorizo - sirloin or tenderloin steak milanesas at close to a dozen spots. For me, the easy winner was a small, unassuming café in Chacarita, Esquina, Café, Vino.

On to the new year. Viva 2025 carajo!