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Food: Eating in Buenos Aires

Food: Eating in Buenos Aires
Series: Honeymoon - South America

We ate very well during our 8-night stay in Buenos Aires.

I’m going to cover three restaurants we dined at, one, we dined at twice:

We dined in many other places – including at Namida the Japanese Nikkei restaurant in our hotel, but these three were out of the ordinary for quite different reasons. Two (Tegui and Peron Peron) were within walking distance and were covered in the Palo Santo (our hotel) restaurant guide.

One was listed 86th in the top 100 restaurants for 2019 (Tegui) and one 18th in the 2018 awards (Michiguene).

a poster of a woman in a frame with a bunch of photos and other objects
The shrine to Evita at Peron Peron

The other – Peron Peron, we visited twice – because the food was good, and it was fun and around the corner.

I’m not going to review these restaurants, as I’m no food critic. I’m going to share some photos and observations, so when you travel to Buenos Aires, you can better choose your dining options.

Michiguene

This restaurant serves contemporary Yiddish inspired food. The name ‘Michiguene’ means ‘immigrants’ – so ‘the food of the immigrants’. It’s a contemporary restaurant in an old building that has been substantially stripped back to show its bones.

I loved the look and service of this restaurant and the eclectic mix of customers. We had a table of 6 New Yorkers near us who had obviously been here before.

a group of people sitting at a table in a restaurant
The restaurant

We only ordered a few dishes, and given the size of that slow-cooked pastrami below, you can see why. Service was friendly, professional, and attentive. We were well advised, although, the size of that delicious Pastrami stretched both of our appetites.

a sandwich with a fried egg and toppings
Pastrami
a plate of food with sauce and greens
Eggplant

A really good restaurant, with wonderful and imaginative food, mainly from the Levant diaspora. It also had the feel of a bustling French bistro. Should be on your list.

a sign on a wall

Tegui

This is a destination restaurant, that provides a degustation menu at about half what I am used to paying in Australia. We took the accompanying wines option, because – honeymoon.

The graffiti-covered exterior belies the schmick interior of linen clothed tables, oversized light fittings (echoing the street lights of Buenos Aires), and the banana palms that line the windows down one side of the room. The kitchen and its chef’s table beyond are open to the rest of the restaurant and occupy the far end of the room.

a group of women sitting at a table
Tegui – Buenos Aires

The Tegui experience starts very theatrically. You have an appointed time for your meal and are warned not to be more than 15 minutes late. This is not so much about re-selling your table, but so they can conjure the theatricality of herding and holding their diners in a small entrance foyer, feeding them sparkling wine, pulling back the curtain to the main room and guiding diners table by table into the restaurant dining room proper,

Here you are greeted by the ‘program’, with its cast members and advice on the best way to enjoy the experience.

a paper with text on it
‘Please take memories not pictures’

We tried to take the advice seriously, but, in the end, pictures do support memories of taste and smell, so, we left our mobiles on the table, and took a few photos.

I love the simplicity of this menu – only a word to name the main ingredients.

a menu with a list of food
The menu with its simple naming of the main ingredient.

And here they are in menu order, with the exception of the two styles of bread we were served through the meal.

a bowl of green soup with flowers
Ricotta
a close up of food
Bread – flacky and layered
a close up of food
Tomato
a oyster shell and a cup of liquid on a wooden tray
Oyster • Kiwi
a piece of bread with meat and cheese
Choika • Pupusa • Quinoa
a plate of food on a white surface
Sweetbreads • Plums
a plate of food on a table
Trout • Almond

And because I can’t eat fish, a vegetarian option for me . . .

a plate of food on a white plate
Eggplant • Almond
a piece of meat with sauce and rose petals on a plate
Duck • Tacuara • Mandiaco
a piece of food next to a cup of liquid
Goat • Grape Leaves
a plate of food on a table
I think this was made from red Quinoa
a bowl of food with a white object on top
Cherries
a plate of food with a spoon
Nopal Fruit • Yogurth

Tegui is an experience, that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg but will remain in your memory.

a door with a light on it
The graffiti-covered entrance

Peron, Peron

What can I say – quintessentially Argentinian? It kind of personifies the contradictions of Peronism and gives you an idea of how Juan Peron – and of course, Evita – Mrs Peron were viewed.

a wall with a picture of a woman
The shrine to Evita in Peron Peron

The food is delicious, hale and hearty, with an accent on – what I suppose are peasant-style dishes. Lots of potatoes, and meatballs and sausages. Reputedly it serves the infamous General Juan’s favourite comfort food.

a group of people sitting at a table

No linen here, more linoleum. Cafe more than a restaurant. Beer versus wine. Quite a mix of people eating here – students, bright young things, families, couples, first dates, and of course families with three generations.

a group of people sitting at tables in a restaurant

Put it this way, you won’t be able to escape the anthem of the Peronist movement, which is sung (blasted) throughout the restaurant on the half-hour. Some patrons almost ignore it, some stand and sing, others sing loud and proud, slapping the table in time with the music, proving that the spirit of the Peronists is not dead.

What can I say? We went twice, enjoyed the food, and what amounts to the floor-show. I’d put it on your Buenos Aires ‘Must Do’ list.

2PAXfly Takeout

You can eat well in Buenos Aires, without spending that much. We stayed in the Palermo, Hollywood area, where all three of these restaurants are.

They range from the world-class Tegui, through the elegant Mishuguene, across to the downright nostalgic and folksy Peron Peron. Try them all

Other Posts in the Series
<< Review: Hotel Palo Santo, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReview: LATAM A320 Economy, LA 7504 – Buenos Aires to Iguazú >>

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