Recoleta Twee Three
In which I check out a trio of chichi spots in my 'hood.
My plan, if it could be called a plan, was to seek out a bunch of places in the Recoleta area that had garden dining. Being the last week of fall and then first week of winter, perhaps my timing is off for that. But there are indoor gardens… of a sort. In the end, I selected a trio of spaces that, well, have some plants. And, being Recoleta, perhaps a touch of pretentiousness.
Sitting beneath the hulking monstrosity that is the Biblioteca Nacional, the national library, is Invernadero, Agüero 2502. In nice weather the garden is a lovely spot to sit, albeit the metal tables and chairs are not the most comfortable. I prefer indoors, and while I’ve stopped in for coffee or a drink in the past, this was the first time I had lunch in mind.
I thought I’d start with a classic, a tortilla de papas, which, to be fair, I’ve had on my mind since my couple of week ago visit to Las Chicas de la 3. This is not the “rellena” style, filled with cheese and ham, but a simple potato and onion version. As at most places, tortillas here are offered either cocido or babé - cooked or gooey.
Now, I always go for the babé, but that should, at least to my mind, be gooey like say, a carbonara sauce - like a gooey egg yolk. This was nearly liquid in the center, I would have needed spoon for much of it. And the “caramelized onions” promised, as you can see looking closely, are not remotely caramelized. They’re just soft. Still, the flavor was good, the onions nice and sweet, the potato part cooked perfectly. It was just the egg part being too runny for my tastes. Could have used a little more salt, and some pepper, both of which were on the table, making that an easy fix. A tad pricey for a simple tortilla at 9500 pesos, $8.
You know I love my spaghetti and meatballs. And although the menu didn’t specify spaghetti, instead just offering “Italian pasta”, leaving it open for whatever they feel like using, I went for it. Honestly, there wasn’t a lot on the menu that was grabbing me. I kind of wish this hadn’t. Way overcooked noodles, to the point of falling apart when trying to twirl them onto a fork. The tomato sauce insipid, and the meatballs pasty and bland. Not remotely worth the 17000 pesos, $14 tab.
Add in a cubierto charge of 2500 pesos. A glass of Casa de Herrero Cabernet Franc for 9500 pesos, $8 (a wine that only runs about 10000-11000 retail for a bottle), and we have a pretty mediocre lunch (albeit the wine was delicious), that with tip came in just north of 40k, or about $34.
Opened just last week at Ayacucho 1563 is Muyè. Although there’s a room with my sought after plants around the corner in the back, I decided to sit at the bar. In fact, it turned out, I was the first person to sit at the bar in the four or so days they’d been open. It gave me a chance to chat with the chef about the place, the concept, and his history (most recently up in Córdoba at the generally excellent Papagayo). The name of the place, he and a waitress fumbled with explaining, seemed to be a combination of the “Asian language” word for nature, and the Greek word for mother.
There is of course no language called Asian, and a cursory search leads me to mu in Japanese meaning nothing, in Korean it’s a shaman, in Chinese various forms of trees or wood, in Thai, pork… etc. I couldn’t find anything that meant nature, but that could be on me, or Google search. Ye in Greek means you, and the word for mother is mitera, and besides, Greek doesn’t use accent marks like that. But it was a good story.
The menu is a bit all over the place cuisine-wise, but I picked out a trio of small plates for my lunch. The one thing I hadn’t thought through was that almost everything they serve is a bit… bready. I started with their “Turkish eggs”, in that culture known as cilbir. It had me wondering if the chef also did a stint in Córdoba at Bros Comedor, where they serve an truly delicious version of the dish, and pretty much the only thing at that restaurant that we liked. This version is definitely toned down. Vaguely garlicky yogurt beneath, as they’ve roasted the garlic to a sweet puree. Well poached eggs, and a “chili oil” that wouldn’t make anyone sit up and take notice. Still, it was a tasty dish, just not with the punch that this classic usually offers. 9500 pesos, $8.
The house cured trout sandwich served on cheese bread, not chipas from Argentina and Paraguay, but more the style of pão de quiejo from Brazil. I have to admit, the presentation was a little surprising. I expected one larger cheese puff with the trout and basil-lemon sour cream on it. Instead it’s a build your own approach with little mini cheese puffs. The chef informed me that it was about creating an interactive experience. Okay then. 10500 pesos, about $8.75.
And finished off with… more bread. This time a lovely thick slab, soaked in a proper vanilla egg mixture, and accompanied by a fig compote, some raspberries (at this time of year, likely frozen) soaked in vodka, and mascarpone sweetened with rosemary honey. A really excellent french toast, though not enough of the condiments for a slab of bread that big. He did offer me more of those on the side if I wanted, but by that point, I’d had enough bread and called it quits. 6100 pesos, $5.
Overall, I like the place. The garden-y area in the back looks like a pleasant place to sit, and if I had been with someone else is probably where I’d have elected. Solo dining, I like the bar seating. And while it’s a tad pretentious, in story and presentation, the food was all quite good, and I felt quite reasonably priced for what I got. The one spot where that wasn’t as solid was in wine pricing - like Invernadero above, they’re a bit high on their by the glass pricing, with glasses of wine running about 3/4 the price of a bottle, retail, and about 1/3 the cost of buying the whole bottle off their list.
I’ll happily be making this a regular stop - it’s only a couple of blocks from home.
This is actually the one that started the whole indoor garden plan I’d had at the beginning. It’s the restaurant in the Loi Suites Recoleta Hotel, called the Jardín de Invierno, or Winter Garden, at Vicente López 1955. It’s definitely chichi, and quite pretty. I also like the feel of it. The issue with this space is that the garden is often rented out midday for private events. I tried several times over two weeks to go for lunch, only to be redirected to the windowless basement dining room. I declined, as it wasn’t just about the food, obviously.
They offer three different empanadas, I decided to start with two of them - a salmon, green olive, and caper version, and the other, flank steak and provolone cheese. Both excellent, though I didn’t find much, if any, cheese in the latter one. 4900 pesos, $4, apiece.
Wine by the glass pricing was definitely a little better here, with by the glass prices looking to be around half the price of a bottle, retail, and about 1/4 the price of buying the whole bottle off their list.
Although billed as an appetizer, this was a pretty hefty portion of sweetbreads. Perfectly cooked, with roasted shallots, potatoes, and peppers, served over a Gruyere cheese cream and accompanied by a parsley smoked garlic aioli. Absolutely fantastic dish. Pricier, especially for a supposed appetizer, but as a main course, which it easily could be, a fair price at 25900 pesos, about $21.50.
And finished off with their take on a Paris-Brest, a choux pastry ring filled with coffee mousse, some nuggets of brûleed white chocolate and toffee, and a touch of Bailey’s. At 7900 pesos, $6.50, a steal.
For a hotel restaurant, surprisingly reasonably priced. And really good food and service, let alone the space. If only the space wasn’t constantly rented out for events, as it’s hit and miss (I finally asked at the desk if they could tell me which upcoming day didn’t have an event scheduled, and went with that).
So, in the end, one place that’s better just to sit and have a coffee or drink than it is to eat at, and two places that I’d highly recommend. Not bad at all for this round.