Hidden Gems...Special Little Restaurants?
 

Eight weeks before my husband & I arrive in BA. I have read the guide books from the bookstore & searched through endless blogs & forums for well known & best loved restaurants. If, reading about food could get one fat, I would be in serious trouble!

Now, I would like to find the little hidden gems where Portenos & expats enjoy special culinary treasures. I know Scarlett recommends Rodi Bar as one of her little gems.

Thank you from wet & windy Vancouver Island.

Oh dear, Rodi Bar is so not a hidden gem. It is just a real favorite of the locals... a neighborhood place we like to go to...

If I tell you a real hidden gem, it won't be hidden and we will never be able to get a table :)

Let me think ... this is not hidden but I still think it is a gem... Go to the Eva Peron Museum in Palermo. Go through the museum, it is lovely and it doesn't matter how you feel about Evita.. the music is wonderful and it is in an old mansion. Then have lunch in the cafe .. out in the garden or inside. It is just wonderful.

The good thing about being here ( one of many) ... you can eat all you want because you will walk it off. ((F))

Scarlett, that is exactly what I want to find! Local favorites like the Rodi bar...but, not in all the guide books.

The garden cafe at the Eva Peron Museum is already on my list.

On Sante Fe in Palermo Botanico, is Hermanns .. a great locals place also .

Scarlett:
I looked your suggestion up on the net... "a good place to get traditional english style fish and chips called Hermans oposite the botanical cat park." My husband will like this place as he enjoys fish & chips. Or as we say (inside joke) finch & chimps.

Since we found all these places I doubt they are hidden gems. One place we discovered on our first trip to BA and really liked is Social Paraiso in Palmero--very small and good idea to have reservations. Second Scarlett's rec on Rodi Bar. We stumbled on Rodi Bar on our first trip and loved it.
La Cupertina has great empandanas and good lunches.
Just walk around, the food is consistently good everywhere I think. enjoy BA~

That is funny, condu... Hermanns is a German restaurant .. or known for it's sausages etc ..
I don't eat red meat but I love their grilled fish and pastas and the soups. The waiters are old school charming and never write anything down!

Use this website to look up restaurants that you read/hear about. It is a great guide plus a lot of the places have their own websites so you can read the menus and see photos of the place.
http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/detail.php?ID=183

yestravel: Thank you for your restaurant suggestions.

Scarlett: The link is exactly what I require. MENUS & photos
of various restaurants.

I too, like to have fish, seafood, Gnocchi, risotto, lots of interesting salads, vegetable dishes, etc. I do occasionally,
eat red meat, preferably lamb. But, not often.

What do you think of "Bio" in Palermo?

Scarlett, your link has already netted a little gem...
"Santiago and Inés are gracious and welcoming hosts who definitely have a passion for both great wine and great food (our favourite combination). As you make your way to Casa Coupage, the unassuming door you walk up to in Palermo hides a gem."

My husband is an award winning amateur wine maker. One of the reasons that we are coming to Argentina is to taste the wonderful wine!

We will also, take cooking classes as we do everywhere we travel. I have taught cooking classes at colleges, locally.

Hey "wet and windy Vancouver Island" - this is equally wet and windy Seattle. We will be going to BA about two weeks before you do - I will try to post some spots we enjoy. Although Im not exacly a expert or a food snob - but I do love to eat!

Im planning on taking my parents up your way in the summer - maybe I can get some hidden gems from you!?

Not_enuf_vaca

not_enuf_vaca:

I would be very interested in your food spots picks.

I do not consider myself a food snob or expert in any way.
But, I am a self-confessed foodie of the the first order.

Absolutely, contact me for the hidden gems on Vancouver Island. Maybe, Scarlett or one of the other experts could explain how to contact posters, directly.

You can't contact people here on Fodors but TripAdvisor has Private Messaging if you are a member.

I am afraid I have never heard of Casa Coupage.

Your husband will no doubt enjoy this place, as you will too..
Terroir
www.terroir.com.ar

condu - I have the same username on tripadvisor - go ahead and contact me there!

Thank you Scarlett for your info on Private Messaging.

i will investigate Terroir. BTW, may husband said that he is not an award winning amateur wine maker. The correct term in the wine industry is metal award winning wine make. I stand corrected.

not_enuf_vaca

My username on TA is the same: condu

If, you don't hear from me it is because I couldn't figure out how. Feel free to contact me.

Condu -

Where are you taking cooking classes? I have searched for truly authentic classes that offer an English language option and have come up blank! Any help would be much appreciated.

lauren12

Here is the link for the cooking classes.
Look at TA for reviews.

http://www.try2cook.com/

You can read the reviews here: http://tinyurl.com/yabqlx7

However, the fact that 9 out of a total of 14 reviews have been written by one-time posters tells me that their high rating could be somewhat distorted.

Teresita's cooking classes are amazingly good, one-time posters or not.

I'll second the recommendation for Casa Coupage, especially for those interested in wine - and quite a few of the "closed door restaurants" here specialize in "different" local cooking. Other special out of the way places - Florencio in Recoleta for lunch, Don Chicho in Villa Ortuzar for pasta, and Solopescados or Damblee for fish/shellfish are among our favorites.

saltshaker:

Thank you for your sharing some hidden "gems". Of course, we will take in some of the old favorites that are on all the blogs & in all the travel books.

But, I know from travel books that I have read on our area (Vancouver Island) that they don't always get it right & you may get glitz & glamor with no substance & many hidden "gems" are missed.

I hope to post some reviews on the hidden "gems" that we eat at during our stay in BA.

I second Florencio in Recoleta. If only just for coffee and a piece of cake ...

The cafe at the Coleccion Fortabat in Puerto Madero for the setting on the water with view of the city skyline. We had a delicious lunch in this pretty setting after visiting the art collection.

Thank you HappyTrvlr for your suggestion.

We plan to go bird watching at the Reserva Ecológica de Buenos Aires near Puerto Madero. We will also, tour the Puerto Madero area as we are very water orientated. We will check out Coleccion Fortabat & the cafe, while there. I have read that Puerto Madero is very touristy. But, I want to see the architecture of that area. Vancouver, B.C. has a similar area where old warehouses, docks, etc. were up-graded to high end lofts, restaurants shops, etc. It will be very interesting to compare them.

Check out this link that HappyTrvlr provided:

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2009/...Name=22buenosw

Many hidden "gems" & a history lesson, to boot.

Thank you,HappyTrvlr!

Sorry yestravel for confusing you with Happytrvlr

Well, condu, it's natural: yestravel IS a very happy traveller :o) ~M

Coleccion Fortabat was the only place we visited in Puerto Madero. You are looking across the water at the restored warehouses where all the restaurants are located. It was our favorite museum in Buenos Aires, although we enjoyed the others, MALBA, Belles Artes, etc.

http://www.icentralmarket.com.ar/

This is one of my favorite places on Puerto Madero. Fresh Market.
You can't really tell from the website but it is on the waterfront and faces the city, plenty of tables inside and out and Shopping inside too.
It reminded me a lot of the boutique-y kind of shops in Portland Ore .. or NY where you can eat, shop and be very cool all at once lol...

Scarlett, any place with "Fresh" as part of their name gives me great hope of good unpretentious food. Is it like Granville Island Market in Vancouver, B.C. or Pike's Market in Seattle?

I have not been to those places... there is a Fresh Market in Florida which is just a fabulous grocery store and it is not like that either..

It looks like a restaurant.. but to the left as you enter, you can see shelves and merchandise.. really nice things.. for the home, gifts etc..
The food is fresh and pretty, the place is always packed when we have been there on Sundays.. inside and out .

Scarlett, the link hadn't opened for me when I asked my last questions. It opened this time. "Fresh Market" looks divine!
A bit like Whole Foods Market but, BETTER! We will definitely
be checking it out. Maybe, we will see you there?

There is always that possibility : - )

I read there was a list of the bests BA restaurants in this forum but I can't seem to get to it? Does anyone remember how to find it. We are really interested in small, quiet (I have a hearing problem) romantic not touristy restaurants.
Thanks! I think it may be avrooster who had the link to the best list.
Thanks again,
Shaynak

TripAdvisor has a list at the top of the BA forums page, started by drdawggy .. everyone has posted his/her favorite restaurant. Go look, you can find some good tips there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum..._District.html