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Ten Reasons to Love Buenos Aires Part 1
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As if you needed an excuse to visit this beautiful town with fantastic food, drink and shopping. Well I am happy to give you one anyway (or a baker's dozen). I adore Argentina and its chaotically divine capital holds a special place in my heart.
1) Their economy is in worse shape than ours. With the peso at almost 3.5 to the dollar you can stay and eat ridiculously well in this country. We rented a one-bedroom apartment in Palermo Hollywood, the happening 'hood, with a pool and a balcony for $650 a week through Buenos Aires Habitat, one of the bigger and better rental agencies.
Soccer balls line the entrance to La Brigada.
2) Meat. I don't know what they do to the cows in Argentina but this meat is unlike anything we have stateside. Classic steak houses like La Brigada, in San Telmo, offer steak so tender they cut it with a spoon (I kid you not). Lower key and less expensive places like Los Pinos in Recoleta and El Desnivel in San Telmo also serve some pretty fantastic hunks of cow. Make sure to ask for it jugoso, as the Argentines like their meat seared to a crisp.
3) Malbec. This wine is generally phenomenal, local, affordable and beautiful with the traditional dishes. Some of my favorites include Catena's affordable Alamos line for $10 retail and the Sur de los Andes Malbec reserve.
Delicous cheese at the Park Hyatt and cheese gal Mercedes looking over her stock.
4) Cheese. Who knew the Argentines had such amazing local product? The Park Hyatt in Recoleta does a great local cheese and wine tasting with a sumptuous platter of runny goat cheeses as well as impressive hard cheeses. Cheese sommelier Mercedes doles out the product and maintains it at perfect temperature.
5) Ice Cream. Wow, you would think they were Italian (and half of them are of Italian background)! Incredible flavors, like three types of dulce de leche, abound at classic haunts like Freddo and Volta. I am personally a Freddo fan, but discuss with your taxi driver, as they are all authorities on these things.
What's more:
This town is home to cool boutique hotels like the just-about-to-open Maison Vitraux in San Telmo (forget about the overpriced and poorly located Faena Hotel & Universe). This groovy new property has two pools, a delicious rooftop deck and a cool wine bar, featuring innovative wines such as Malbecs from a variety of Argentine regions. The tiny and low-key Solar Soler in Palermo is also a lovely and quite affordable place to stay in Palermo.
Need I mention great people watching and hot soccer stars?
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