mlgb: I might have overstated the case. You can certainly GET salt and pepper at a restaurant, albeit that you might need to request it. It's just that while some things are overly salted (olives, some sauces) many things are delicious, tasty - but not spicy. Believe me, you will not be lacking in delicious meat meals. And by the time you come there will be some good/safe seafood to eat in already mentioned, and other, restaurants. (I tend to shy away from most seafood in the summer here - expecially given electricity outages, etc.)

OK, so Yestravel (and GT too, of course) and Scarlett will be over for dinner at Social Paradiso - - - Crellston - - - anyone else ? I feel obliged to got there and drink a Malbec toast to youall ! :-)

Oh my goodness, there is no shortage of wonderful food in BA in all price ranges. We're on our way. Actually had a nice Malbec with dinner last evening.

I'm sure I'll be fine, just kidding around a little.

I notice that on the Google Maps that Parrilla Don Julio isn't very far. Is that a good one?

Freddos seems to be everywhere, thanks crellston.

mlgb: please e-mail me and I'll tell you about Don Julio.

Done...we don't want to get you in trouble!

Well, AV wil have the lowdown, but we never ate there because of the mix d reviews on it.

Well mlgb, now you know what I think about Don Julio.

Maybe Marnie can come up with a good suggestion for a great steak restaurant in Palermo.

I suggest you research the following, but only La Cabrera is located in Palermo:

Among the ones I know, La Cabrera and Fervor. I would probably choose the latter.

The ones I have only read about but sound good: Nuestro Secreto, Mirasol, Al Carbón and Aires Criollos. All sound touristy.

Have a great time eating great steak in my town.

Actually, we have had a few very goo meals in Don Julio....one that was so-so a few years ago.

I am no at all a fan of La Cabrera....although the meat and side are good....it is too 'tourist tourist' for my tolerance of that.

Fervor is EXCELLENT....but it is located in Recoleta.

avrooster - I wish you would tell me abut Don Julio. Is it soooo bad that you don't feel comfortable writing abut it on this forum? We had thought abut going there.

I gather there are strong differences of opinion on DJ!! AV doesn't want to get into trouble...but you can email him.

I understand but I don't know his email address.

albertovgalloATyahoo.com

Don Julio is ranked #23 by TA out of 3.211 restaurants in BA, so, it cannot be sooo bad, at least according to TA reviewers.

These things are a matter of taste. MY opinion is that it is touristy, crowded, noisy and overpriced and so is La Cabrera, the way I see it. Tourists LOVE both and are willing to wait HOURS to get in, which probably means both have some attraction which I, as a local, don't feel.

Have a great time in my town.

Thanks av. I wouldn't be willing to wait hours for anything! Ever hear of El Trapiche, Las Cholas or Parilla Pena?

Parilla Pena is good and I have heard of the others being good too. You can look at TripAdvisor and read the Buenos Aires forums there too, there is a thread that is just restaurants .. helps with research : )

Dianedancer: If you get to any BA restaurant early (8 PM) and/or reserve, you shouldn't have to wait.

Considering where you are staying, your best bet for grilled meat, fish and vegetables is Fervor. You can walk to this restaurant on Posadas street, a few meters North of Callao avenue.

Parrilla Peña is OK, but in another neighborhood.

Have a great time in my town.

Thanks av. I've been looking at restaurants in other neighborhoods from the one our hotel is in since we will be in them as well as we tour around BA.

Well I'm back from my trip!

You know how some cities grab you, and some don't? Well I'm sorry to say, Buenos Aires didn't.

My hotel turned out to be fine (1555 Malabia), a good choice for me. The little croissants and fruit salad at hotel breakfast were very good, and they had an espresso machine (self serve) where I could put one Longo and one Cortado together in a mug for a proper coffee. Downsides many episodes of dog barking (not sure if it was theirs or a neighbors). I can't say I found the front desk staff especially friendly or helpful.

The neighborhood has interesting window shopping. Lots of small cafes and ice cream stores. The food as predicted was too bland for my taste, as well I don't really eat Italian food or beef, so poor me! I asked an Argentinian friend of our cruise lecturer where a good place for seafood was and she just laughed! Even the famous Picante empanadas at El Sanjuanino are bland (although the crust is good)! Who would have though I find a country in South America with less interesting food than Chile! At least they have good seafood, right!

My friend from the ship and I had our last meal near his hotel (Park Hyatt) at El Mirasol (Recova). I had a salad. He said his steak was nothing special and not as good as the one in Montevideo. He eats a lot of steak so I will have to trust him as once a year is enough for me.

I had fish at MALBA but it was breaded and fried and served with pureed potatoes. Like fancy fish fingers!

So I don't think a return is in my future.

Re my other questions. On arrival we took the port taxi to my friends hotel first, we had to talk them down to $20 from $25, just to the Park Hyatt! Going across town from the Hyatt to my hotel ranged from 70 ARS to 120 ARS depending on how round about a routing the driver thought he could get away with. I had to remind myself that the extra 50 ARS is less than $4.

There was an ATM inside the Park Hyatt, so I used that, the ATM fee was $6. I withdrew what I estimated I needed for the full four days, mostly for taxis assuming correctly I could use credit cards many places. The hotel desk changed $50 USD a day as a courtesy with a 5% fee.

For a taxi back to the airport I used Taxis Ezeiza for 430 ARS including tolls, I rounded it up to 450. The USD price is $31 on the current online promotion.

I still had a little money left at the airport which I spent toward a Starbucks mug.

http://www.taxiezeiza.com.ar/eng/reservas

On another note..re shopping for shoes/leather/purses.

I guess I was spoiled during various trips to Ecuador, Guatemala and Bolivia. If you go there, the values are better. I think inflation has gotten ahead of devaluation in Argentina. :(

Sorry you didn't care for BA. While I don't agree with you re food in BA (of course eliminating Italian and meat cuts into what they are good at) I completely agree with you on food in Chile -- thought it was awful. Never could get seafood that wasn't smothered in some gunk they called sauce. Pisco sours were great though. Did you have any gelato you liked?

Hate the dogs barking which seems to be a pretty common problem throughout SA.

Leather goods in Guat & Ecuador are certainly less expensive than those in BA. However I found BA to have much more fashionable or stylish leather products than do Guatemala and Ecuador. (Haven't been to Boliva.) But to each is own.

How was your cruise? Hopefully more to your liking.