Photo courtesy of La Fabrica del Taco

The first one is, of course, La Fabrica del Taco. This famous Mexican restaurant provides delicious food and at a reasonable price. The menu is small, but the taste of the dishes are incomparable to other Mexican restaurants. Our favorite is the basic taco de pollo con queso at only 17 pesos. Accompany your meal with a classic margarita or if you’re not in the mood for any alcohol, their refreshing lemonade is always a favourite.

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced parilla restaurant, head to La Rosalia, on the border of San Telmo (Estados Unidos 482, Scalibrini Ortiz and Armenia). This place is a solid option where the cost of a heap of meat, a bottle of cheap wine (with ice) and chips (french fries) for two is less than $16. You can’t get much better than that! It’s not the fanciest of places, the interior is not award-winning, but it’s definitely homey. It was the kind of place that people say is ‘bien del barrio’ – ‘truly of the neighbourhood’. Definitely worth a visit!

Photo by Scott Hadfield via Flickr

If you’re looking for good pizza, then head downtown. Avenida Corrientes is the place to be if you’re looking for a great pizzeria. What all porteños agree on, is that the thick-crusted, topping-heavy cheese-feast is possibly the best pizza in the world. Some of you may not be such a fan of Argentina’s cheesy pizza, but it’s a classic here. Third on our list is El Cuartito, a traditional pizzeria that opened in 1934 and has become very popular in recent years due to its fantastic pizza. As soon as you walk into this pizzeria, there’s a bustling atmosphere and the décor features Argentina’s national football uniform as well as other sport memorabilia – a truly authentic restaurant, exactly what you expect a pizzeria to look like!

If it’s peruvian food you’re after, then go to our number four, Chan Chan (Hipolito Yrigoyen 1390). It’s kitsch, colourful and fun. The prices are very reasonable too, you can get a dinner for two for only 75 pesos. Wash down the ceviche with a sip of chicha morada, a dark purple, refreshing corn-based cordial.

Finally, our fifth best cheap eat in Buenos Aires is Siga La Vaca, an all you can eat asado restaurant. The choice is endless and the prices are hard to beat here, at only $38 for lunch and $46 for dinner during the week, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better deal. You each get a bottle of wine included as well as a delicious dessert, our favourite being the volcan de chocolate!

Try out our top cheap eats and let us know what you think! And remember, if you’ve got any recommendations let us know, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks to The Real Argentina for some of these great ideas!

It’s dinner time and you’ve already ordered your favorite dish over Buenos Aires Delivery. You’ve received the email; you know your estimated delivery time. You have only a few minutes to make that mad dash to the nearest almacén, supermercado, chino or vinoteca before it closes for the night. But you’re somewhat of an amateur wino who has no idea how to pair a dish with a decent bottle of wine. Which one will you choose to match your order?

Team Entaste to the rescue! Our job is to help wine lovers make smart wine choices wherever they go, whatever they choose to eat, by merging data from a variety of sources and often relying on recommendations from top sommeliers and wine connoisseurs to do so.

Mostly recently, our dedicated and knowledgeable team of sommeliers has taken on the task of matching some of your favorite delivery items to some of their favorite wines!

Check out our pairing suggestions for BA Delivery’s Top 10 Most Popular Dishes Ever and round out your next meal with the perfect glass of wine!

1) Sole Ceviche from Nazca:
Matías Chiesa: Ceviche is an originally Peruvian dish that refers to pieces of raw fish cut into cubes. The Sole simply coagulates its proteins through the action of the citric acid that the lemons gives. Ceviche has as many recipes as Peru has inhabitants, but it usually also involves small cubes of red onion, multicolored peppers, and yellow corn. For this dish I chose a wine that was fresh and citrusy. It’s necessary to balance the high acidity of the ceviche with a wine that has similar characteristics but is also strong enough to stand up to the expressivity of the peruvian ceviche. The one I chose is Quinto Sauvignon Blanc de Bodega Riglos, a wine bearing the prestigious Michelini signature. The wine’s citric and herbaceous notes demonstrate typical characteristics of this varietal and original, on top of a refreshing acidity and an explosive bouquet in the mouth that makes this an ideal accompaniment.

2) Chicken Tikka Masala (Tandoor’s classic dish with a sauce made from tomato, onion and spices) from Tandoor – Cocina de la India:
María Victoria Massaro: Chicken Tikka Masala is a dish of Indian origin and very popular in Great Britain. Though there are many variations. it consists of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, baked in a typical tandoor oven, and served with masala sauce (a combination of spices). In this case I chose the Rutini Gewürztraminer 2009 de Bodega La Rural for its floral and spicy aroma and its presence in the mouth, which manages to harmonize the texture of the dish with the fresh acidity of the wine while maintaining the intensity of flavors in the chicken tikka masala with diverse aromatics and an agreeable finish.

3) Aji de gallina from Peru Deli Comida Peruana y Fusion Tailandesa
Matias Prezioso: Though it’s not the most famous dish, Ají de Gallina is one of Peru’s most delicious and delicate specialties. This dish combines the mild flavors of the chicken, cream, potato, and parmesan cheese with the presence of yellow pepper (ají). The ideal combination would be a syrupy white with some acidity to accompany the ají de gallina. The Felino Chardonnay 2010 de Bodega Viña Cobos (Mendoza) is an expressive wine, typical of this varietal — ripe peaches, buttery touches, and even some citrusy notes — and passes through the mouth with volume and freshness at the same time.

4) 5 pieces of sushi – 5 rolls (New York, New York with philadelphia), 5 makis (Salmón and  philadelphia), 4 niguiris, 1 geisha from Sushimoto
Andrea ZavslavskyMucho: Much has been written about the marriage of sushi and wine, and the reality is that raw fish, rice, seaweed, and vegetables, on top of the nasal contrast of wasabi or the taste of soy sauce, renders it a little complicated to choose a wine. I’d propose a white wine with some exotic touches. A Serbal Viognier 2011 de Bodega Atamisque, with notes of pitted-fruits, good body, and good acidity. To give it another option I’d propose a rosé from Bodega Diamandes L’ Argentin De Malartic 2009, a wine with Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a fresh acidity that highlights the taste of red berries.

5) Hummus from Garbis Comida Armenia-Arabe
Juliana Herrera: Hummus is the classic dish of Arab cuisine, made with garbanzo beans and tahini (a sesame paste) that give it a very particular flavor. Generally in the moment of eating, you add olive oil and paprika on top. The Torrontés is an aromatic varietal that goes well with spicy dishes, such as those in Arab or Thai cuisine, because it increases the power of those flavors. José Luis Mounier Torrontés 2011 de Finca Las Nubes (Cafayate-Salta) is an aromatic, fresh wine that reminds of the torrentes grape from which it originates, citrusy and fruity. It’s fresh and balanced, with good acidity, and helps clean the palate.

6) Grilled chicken (Filet smothered in BBQ sauce with lettuce, tomato, fresh cheese, and bacon) from El Peruanito Ray Sandwichería
Leonardo Dal Maso: The great thing about cooking chicken in BBQ sauce on the grill is that not only do we get tasty caramelized flavors on a wonderfully lean meat, but also the effect of the sauce on the meat, the violent heat of the sauce creating a juicier meat. A Sauvignon Blanc that has been fermented and aged in oak like Las Perdices Sauvignon Fumé 2010 will highlight the sauce’s special notes, and will contrast with the caramelization of the chicken and bacon without clashing with the cheese, even if it’s greasy or intense, like a cheddar or blue cheese. For lovers of red wine, the 25/5 Corte Caldén 2006 from Bodega del Desierto (44% Merlot y Cab. Franc and 12% Cab. Sau; 6 months in the barrels) is slightly exotic for the Argentine taste (typical of Saint Emilion) where balance is key. The acidity and light green character go well with the spices of the BBQ.

7) Golden chicken with sweet and sour sauce from El Gourment de Shanghai
Andrea Nuñez: The golden chicken with sweet and sour sauce is a dish at the top of the list of typical foods from oriental cuisine. It’s a simple idea, but at the same time extremely tasty and tempting! Chicken, cornstarch, soy sauce, ginger, and sweet and sour sauce are used in this dish. I would accompany it with a relatively young red, in which the fruity notes come out. This is the case of  Zorzal Pinot Noir 2009 de la Bodega Zorzal. Coming from vineyards in Tupungato, Mendoza, this wine is 100 percent pinot noir, highlighting the typical characteristics of the varietal, and spotlighting the spicy and sweet notes that welcome the flavors of oriental chicken.

8 ) Bacon wrap (chicken and bacon, avocado, cabbage, tomato, onion, honey dijon) de Marfa
Nicolas Reines: A checkered tablecloth, wicker basket, park, spring, fresh water…need a great accompaniment. So, from the basket we take out a bacon wrap, two cups, and a wine. A chicken sandwich with sweet mustard, avocado, and crunchy bacon; creamy, with the golden chicken, to go with a white wine that’s creamy and has a good body. Maybe a Luigi Bosca Gala III 2009, Blend of Chardonnay, Viognier and Riesling, which will help us spend a wonderful afternoon with its floral aroma, good acidity, and syrupy texture. This wine from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, always surprises because of its complexity and aromatics, balance and body. Ideal to accompany the toasted notes of the bacona and the chicken, the texture of the avocado and the sweet and spiciness of the mustard.

9) Empanadas from Pizzería Tomasso
Victoria Beleniski: Empanadas are a dish that proposes diverse flavors and agreements. They seem simple at first, but they vary greatly depending on who prepares them, where. They’re not all made of meat, and don’t all have the same structure. However I’d like to recommend a versatile companion, José L Mounier Torrontés from Finca Las Nubes in Alto Valle de Cafayate, Salta. This wine will manage to highlight the sweet flavor of the onion and help to relieve the heat in the mouth, if that’s the case. If we want to opt for a red friend, my choice is the Alfredo Roca Merlot from San Rafael, Mendoza. The sweet, velvety tannins of this wine will help out when it’s time to clean the palate.

10) Grilled chicken (Filet smothered in BBQ sauce with lettuce, tomato, fresh cheese, and bacon) from El Peruanito Ray Sandwichería
Martin Pardo: What wine to choose to go with this typical peruvian sandwich? Without a doubt there are many options, owing to the the sandwich’s ingredients. Today we’ve got to match one of the specialties of  El Peruanito Ray, their grilled chicken. Because in this case the wine should accompany the food, we’ll look for a young red: Lassia Cabernet – Malbec 2010. The blend, made in San Patricio del Chañar by Bodegas Patritti, gives us typical Patagonian characteristics in the nose; fresh red fruits, cherries, plums,  and spicy notes of black pepper. In the mouth it’s a frank wine, easy to drink, with soft tannins that help us enjoy the food more. Because one plus one can be more than two!

To learn a little bit more food-wine pairing, check out our blog at www.blog.entaste.com!

Oui Oui Photo Courtesy of Gringo in Buenos Aires gringoinbuenosaires.com

The perfect combination of breakfast and lunch: brunch.  It’s not just reserved for ex-pats either.  Find a place and pick a table outside to enjoy whats left of this gorgeous Fall weather.  Whether you want to eat at 11 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon, Buenos Aires has some fantastic places to sit down and enjoy some of your favorite brunch foods on a relaxing Sunday afternoon.  We’ve all experienced that feeling, the morning after the night before, where you find yourself craving some bacon or maybe a bagel with lox. Normally these two are not very common here, but there are some great restaurants that provide these and plenty more choices to stuff your stomach until it’s content!

With so many brunch options to choose from it’s hard to just pick one! There are so many options ranging from 5 Star hotels to resto-bars in Palermo, but each option is a fabulous choice.

It you’re looking and/or willing to drop a little more money than normal, around 250+, you can always stop by some of the 5 star hotels such as the Four Seasons on Posadas, Palacio Duhau- Park Hyatt on Avenida Alvear, or the Alvear Palace Hotel on Avenida Alvear.  Each of these offer a wide variety of foods from sushi, antipastas, pastries, and more.

More options for brunch can be found all over the city, there are some in San Telmo if you look around.  We found a great place called Pride Café on Balcarce.  This place is great for sitting back and relaxing while enjoying your food.

American Dinner Special at Magdalena's Party www.magdalenasparty.com

If you’re looking for somewhere in Palermo we’ve found plenty! There is always Magdelena’s Party located on the corner of Thames and Costa Rica if you’re looking to get more of an American type breakfast.  They have a great atmosphere and even better food! Try the breakfast burrito and you will not be disappointed.

Another option further down the street on Costa Rica is Sugar Bar.  They have a great selection of pancakes and waffles if you’re looking to get your sweet fix, and don’t forget to add a bloody mary to your order.

Located on Nicaragua in Palermo Viejo is a small French style brunch place called Oui Oui.  If you’re looking for a typical American style brunch this is not the place, but don’t let this put you off, they still have a large selection of brunch foods.  We recommend the ‘huevos completos’; it comes with delicious scrambled eggs with cheese, a small side salad, delectable pan friend potatoes, and believe it or not bacon!  The lemonade is also quite good here if you are looking for a refreshing drink to go along with your brunch.  If none of these take your fancy then try some of the others we’ve found and let us know what you think!

Bar 6 on Armenia
Olsen on Gorriti
Mark’s Deli and Coffe House on El Salvador

Also, if you’ve been to any good brunch places that we haven’t mentioned, let us know! We’re always looking for new places to chow down!

Roasted butternut squash soup. Photo courtesy of Moisie

How to do that? Eat and drink your immune system strong and keep it resistant to cold and flu influences, with vitamins and the other helpful substances the realm of food can provide.

Knowing what fruits and vegetables are in season is a good first step to get the best quality and taste. For example citrus fruits are in abundance, of which you should take advantage by making juices and also as snacking with fruit on the job (instead of that bar of chocolate, after winter it’ll be spring and summer again, you know). Also pomegranate is super rich in flavour and antioxidants, and are the perfect addition to your winter eating program. Eat the seeds as a snack, or mix them in your breakfast or desserts.

Eating soup or Locro for lunch and dinner meals is also a great, easy and healthy way to keep your body warm. More substantial winter foods are steamed or mashed veggies like broccoli, cabbage, or brussel sprouts and potatoes, spiced up with fried union, garlic and your favorite herbs, paired with a piece of meat.

Gingertea. Photo courtesy of Hungry Healthy Happy

Warm mate during the day helps to stay energized, and is perfect to warm your hands on. In the evening try herbal tea, with ginger, lemon and honey to make a delicious, warming and very immune boosting tea. Cloves, cinnamon and ginger are all very healthy, deeply flavoured, cleaning and warming spices, well worth incorporating in baked goods or warm drinks.

If you have already been victimized by the cold, it is not too late to eat yourself better! Also try hanging your head over some hot water or a steambath with teatree oil. Drink the abovementioned winter tea and, very important in the transition period between seasons, try to get enough sleep.

Everybody has their own secrets of how to handle the winter, but nobody ever enough. At least, never enough for us, already freezing next to the heater in the office. So we welcome all your and your grandmothers’ tips and tricks to survive Argentine winter, are very welcome.

We all started in Plaza Armenia with delicious chips and salsa and cheese, pizza and margaritas, which definitely got the night started right.  We then crawled throughout Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood before ending the night at Pacha.

The night was filled with body shot contests (yepp, that happened), shooters and foggy memories, but lucky for us, a pub crawl photographer captured all the wonderful moments.  We look forward to teaming up with Buenos Aires Pub Crawl again…but maybe not for a while, we’re all still really tired.

All Photo Credit: Buenos Aires Pub Crawl

• A live Mariachi band during registration
• An hour of UNLIMITED Beer, Wine, and Margaritas
• An hour of UNLIMITED Tacos, Nachos, and Pizza
• A welcome shooter in every bar
• Drink discounts 2×1
• Free Entrance to PACHA!!

Price: $120 pesos
Doors: 22hs/10pm
Location: Plaza Armenia

Come see us in our Buenos Aires Delivery t-shirts!!!

Photo courtesy of The Green Monster

This month we have two new arrivals to the top 10 delivery times, including the hamburguesa vegetariana y papas from the Green Monster and the pollo tikka masala from Tandoor.  Tandoor was ranked second out of our top 10 — clearly Indian is the flavour of the month! There’s no surprise that La Fábrica del Taco makes an appearance  again this month, with your favourites being the classic guacamole, and of course the taco carne asada con queso! Try our new top delivery items and let us know what you think!

1. La Fábrica del Taco - Guacamole (smashed avocado with homemade nachos and pico de gallo – tomato, onion, and cilantro – a Mexican classic.)
2. Tandoor - Pollo Tikka Masala: Tandoor’s classic dish with a sauce made from tomato, onions, and spices.
3. El Peruanito Ray Sandwicheria - Grilled chicken sandwich smothered with BBQ sauce with lettuce and tomato.
4. Casita China - Spring rolls.
5. El Gourment de Shanghai - Springrolls.
6. La Fábrica del Taco - Grilled steak tacos with cheese (meat classic with finely cut steak).
7. El Gourment de Shanghai - Roast chicken with sweet and sour sauce.
8. The Green Monster – Palermo - Combo 1: Veggie burger with potatoes.
9. La Fábrica del Taco - Chicken taco with cheese.
10. La Fábrica del Taco - Pastor taco with cheese (pork taco marinated just like they do it in Mexico).

Courtesy of No sugar just spice

Most of us love food. Some of us handle it appropriately, some of us take it too far, others cannot be bothered more than to give food props for its main objective of keeping us alive.

In fact, nutritional value is the thing that defines food as food. Food, in the very first place, serves to keep our bodies healthy and strong, to maintain our existence. But as we know, our relationship to food and our habits of eating it take part in many more aspects of our lives.

In most part of human history, what we ate, used to be more or less defined by the place where we lived. We provided for our basic needs according to what was available. But all this eventually changed.

Taste and cultural identification

Eating is so highly culturally-based, and the setting so social, that what, how and with who we eat defines us in a very real way.

The experience of food goes through the usual channels. First we see it, we smell it, we taste it, feel the temperature and texture and after eating we feel the effect on our bodies. Hearing food, though more likely in the preparing, might also be part of the equation. Every individual lives and learns through experiences with food, forming the framework of how we appreciate it.

Sociologists tell us that the appreciation of certain aesthetic values is taught and learned in the social context we live in, and is therefore a way to express yourself as being a part of a social group. Gustatory taste seems one of the least obvious ways to express social behavior, because the flavors you like seem really individual. But still, acquired tastes and its social aspect exist more than we think. Many people who come to Argentina dislike the bitter taste of maté at first, but grow to appreciate it because they like the social ritual of drinking maté with friends or family.

Courtesy of Brittany Powell

Though the nature of food is its nutritional aspect, a beautiful plate of food can be appreciated for its looks and even considered as a piece of art. As most of human activities, food experience is also going through a process of aestheticization. In many cases the a moral perspective of ‘not to play with food’ of the olden days has been let go of; ‘defooding’ the food in a sense that in cases it is only a material to make a work of art, not meant for eating at all.

Globalization and expansion of flavor availability

Courtesy of Carl Warner

Starting a few decades ago, there has been a change in the food market and our perspective to food. Due to globalization the food market has exploded, making a lot of formerly foreign food a part of our life. One example is sushi in Argentina or curry in the United Kingdom. With the mixing of nationalities and cultures we have obtained access to a whole new range of foods, from everywhere on the planet. Even a modern non-foodie knows sushi, crepes, bagels and baguettes. And so food, as well as many other parts of lifestyle, becomes a mix of bits and pieces of different cultures and social status where an individual is much more free to develop and express his own preference.

This makes it possible for the governor of Cordoba to have formal dinners with other politicians, and still be able to say that he is the biggest fan of choripan. And also means that your average plumber or construction worker can order sushi from BuenosAiresDelivery whenever he feels like it. Of course, price is still a question. But some of the social constraints have loosened.

Though it’s true that the ongoing mixing of tastes might get confusing and overwhelming, we for one are happy and thankful to have all these different types of food to try, to like or dislike, and to choose from. Variety is the spice of life!

When one tires of medialunas and reminisces of memories of muffins from the US – despair not!  You are just 45 minutes away from being transported back to the kitchen of your childhood, with warm and citrusy baked delights, fresh from the oven and made with love.

Ingredients:
2 Lemons – Juiced and Zested
⅓ Cup of Sugar
⅓ Cup of Honey
2 Cups of Unbleached Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda, or ‘Bicarbonato de Sodio’
2 Eggs
¾ Cup of Sour Cream, or ‘Casan Creme’
½ Cup of Butter, Melted, at Room Temperature
3 Tablespoons of Poppy Seeds, or ‘Semillas de Amapola’, available in your neighborhood dietetica
Dash of Salt
Hint of Vanilla Extract

Supplies: Muffin Tin or Loaf Pan, Non-Stick Spray or Paper Muffin Cups

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or 200 degrees Celsius.  Or if your oven is as vague as mine, a bit over ‘medium’.
2. Combine the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and honey together in a bowl and mix to a thorough consistency.  Let soak for a few minutes so that the sugar becomes aromatic with the lemon.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In a third bowl (Yep you’re going to have to wash some dishes!) beat the eggs, sour cream and butter.
5. Combine the wet ingredients slowly with the dry ingredients.  The batter should be somewhat runny.  Add the poppy seeds and stir.  Do not overmix the batter.
6. Divide the batter into your muffin tin.  You could also use a bread loaf tin to make a ‘budin de limon’.
7. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool on the counter top.
8. Should you like to glaze the muffins, mix some powdered sugar with lemon juice to make a sugary glaze, and drizzle over muffins.

If reading this recipe got you excited for muffins, but you really don’t want to make your own, there are plenty of options available in Buenos Aires.  Check out Mumas Cupcakes, Natural Deli, Marks’ Deli or bBlue for some delicious baked goods!

Photo Credit: CharlesFred http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/

With this change of weather everyone is bundling up, preparing for the changing seasond.  Along with preparing for autumn and winter we’re also thinking about our fruits and vegetables!  You’ve got to stay healthy this winter to avoid the dreaded winter cold or the terrible flu.  So we’ve been doing some research for you to keep your health.  As always there are different fruits and vegetables available for different seasons.  You can expect to find any of these at your local supermarket or verdulería.

This upcoming fall and winter we can look forward to a plethora of fruits and vegetables.

In the fruit category we have: Bananas, bergamont, persimmon, lemons, tangerines, apples, quince, oranges, avocados, and grapefruit.

For vegetables there will be: olives, spinach, celery, sweet potatoes, watercress, broccoli, chard, green onions, cauliflower, string beans, endives, fennel, turnip greens, turnips, leeks, radish, chicory, beets, cabbage, brussel sprouts, carrots, and squash.

Who says vegetable can’t be fun?  We’ve got some ideas of what to do with these, but we’re always open to new ideas.  What is your favorite way to put some of these fruits or vegetable to good use?