I'll Get The Champagne...

21 July 2013

Tango Music Fail

So we went to Clásica y Moderna last night thinking that there would be some tango and milonga but perhaps we read too much into the term "espectáculo" because when the 5 piece band started and ~~the slightly Robert Smith/Morrissey-like singer~~ Alfredo Piro stepped up to the mic, what we got at first was a Spanish version of "Close to Me" by The Cure. Not bad in and of itself, just NOT what we were expecting. After that, they played originals for a while (which sounded like a mix of Blur and The Cult) before busting out some very liberal interpretations of a couple of classics like "Unicornio" and "Cambalache."

Pirlo encored with an acoustic "Space Oddity."

Not how they sang/arranged "Cambalache":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0kTiKCC3UI

Not how they sang "Space Oddity":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhSYbRiYwTY

Pretty much how they played "Close to Me":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQPpvdVoZYQ

*Special bonus*

The Cure doing their own song... but in Buenos Aires...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cttfc2tbmw

Streetscapes by USD Black Market

Some shots of on the way to and around the Florida black market...

The guy we changed with took us into a sketchy looking mini antiques mall thing where he handed us off to a dude sitting in a brightly-lit office containing just a desk and the Scarface "I Trust Me" poster... After counting off a wad of new bills, we were on our way having gained a couple of points better exchange...

Santa Fe

Subte entrance and a bike locker on the right

Subte map (minus what would be a helpful You are Here)

Heading back to the ranch after a Florida adventure

19 July 2013

Café Bookstores

Buenos Aires has some amazing bookstores and a couple that really shine... Here are two: Clásica y Moderna, which also serves food accompanied by piano music, and El Ateneo Grand Splendid, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world...

Clásica y Moderna, Callao 892

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Avenida Santa Fe 1860

IGTC Endorses...

...the Gran Parrilla del Plata.

A fantastic steak and grilled meat house, the Gran Parrilla nevertheless served the absolute best empanadas I have ever had. First of all, they were fried so the outside was crisp and cooked all the way through -- no icky doughiness! Then, the meat inside was perfectly seasoned with a bit of cumin but not so much so that it overpowered the taste. Also contained inside was some egg, which was nicely done as well. They came piping hot and almost got ordered again for dessert... Almost.

I asked our excellent waiter to give our regards to the chef and a little while later he gave us a wave from the kitchen. A master of the empanada.

They seemed to appreciate my appreciation because the kitchen sent out a free bottle of extra-brut bubbly for us as we finished up. : )

Recommended cut of meat: the baby (don't ask me, but that's what it was called)

Recommended wine: El Fin del Mundo Cabernet Sauvignon

Worth the trip for: the best empanada you may ever eat.

http://www.timeout.com/buenos-aires/restaurants/venue/1%3A31066/gran-parrilla-del-plata

Cafe Tortoni

A wonderful old cafe with excellent cocktails (their clarito is a perfectly made dry martini). Try to ignore the creepy models of Borges and Storni in the back corner.

16 July 2013

Wandering About

My first time in Buenos Aires (in South America, in fact) and I've been experiencing a sense of the uncanny... I can't help but relate what I see and feel to Barcelona -- along with other Spanish cities...