The Armenian Tavern
Continuing my search for the best Armenian hummus, sarma, and mante in the city.
Earlier this year I wrote up a trio of Armenian spots for three of my favorite dishes of the cuisine - hummus, sarma, and mante. I also included a short dive into the history of the Armenian diaspora community here in Argentina. So today, let me just jump right ahead without a real preamble.
I’m in the downtown area, at Pandok (“Tavern”) along the Lavalle peatonal at #441 - a pedestrian strip of, generally, tourist-oriented shops and restaurants. It seems a strange location, and on a trio of visits (I like the place), I watched as one after another small groups of visitors wandered in, looked at the menu, and left, clearly not in town for Armenian food. A few regulars popped in each time for a bite, and the occasional other solo diner or couple came in - most of them, at least at lunch, seemed to just order shawarmas.
It’s kind of bare bones inside. Simple tables… perhaps surprisingly with tablecloths, given the style of most places along the strip. There’s a bar, not particularly well stocked - just enough for some simple cocktails. Service is friendly and helpful. Music is hit and miss - most of it is Armenian pop music - but on one visit, they had a single song on infinite repeat. It was catchy, but heading into the eighth rendition of Nick Egibyan’s Harbats, I asked if it might be possible to take the repeat off - they did. According to the chef, who I chatted with briefly, the inscription on the wall is something to the effect of ‘no matter how far I go, my heart and soul remain on Mount Ararat’. The mountain is a powerful symbol of the country. Let’s get Tony Bennett to sing that one.
Hummus and babaganoush are both creamy smooth and delicately flavored. Not as intense as some of the previous places tried, but absolutely delicious. And the whisper thin lavash bread for mopping it up is delightful… and unlike some places, more than sufficient for the quantity of dip. They make their own tahini in order to get the quality and flavor they want in the dishes that use it. 10900 pesos each.
The cold sarma are plump with rice, spices, and lemon. Very good, and while I couldn’t stop eating them, I’ve had better here. Still, I’d happily order them up again.
The menu also includes two Georgian dishes - khinkali and khachpuri - these are the former. They’re… hmm… well… Georgian soup dumplings. Seriously, it’s a beef meatball and soup inside a dumpling wrapper. Not remotely as delicate as xiao long bao, but jeez these are good.
Even better when topped with their own cultured sour cream or their garlic-yogurt.
On all three visits, the two different waitresses pushed the Ishli, the Armenian version of kefte or kebbe. And, they were right to do so. Delicate, perfectly crackly bulgur wheat shells filled with a juicy, spiced meat mixture that just explodes in the mouth. Choice of an excellent rice pilaf (this is the way to go), or a salad (for those who want to pretend they’re dieting here), or French fries (for the Argentines, apparently).
And the dish I really wanted to try, the manti or mante. On my two lunch visits, they didn’t have these available. The place has a small kitchen staff, and these are fiddly and time consuming to make, so they make just a few portions for dinner each night. So, for the last visit, we returned in the evening, and pre-reserved a portion. Another winner. Beautifully formed, lightly crunchy on the edges, open dumplings filled with another spiced meat mixture. Romping about in a bowl of broth, and accompanied by garlic yogurt. What’s not to like?
The main courses all run in the mid 20,000 pesos range.
So where does this end us up with, now, four spots in the Great Chase for Hummus, Sarma, and Manti?
Hummus - here, Pandok, my favorite, hands-down.
Sarma - toss-up between Sarkis and Nani, though Pandok’s come in a very close second.
Mantí - going to give this one to Sarkis. These are close, but between the presentation and the generosity of Sarkis’ version, I give them the nod.
Had I been comparing, and just by memory, the babaganoush here would probably be my number one favorite. And, I’ve not seen those khinkali soup dumplings anywhere else in town, and they were a true treat. Overall, this place moves into a solid second place, barely behind Sarkis, for favorite Armenian food in the city.