Buenos Aires barrios are famously chaotic, crowded and completely captivating. But one new neighbourhood projects a totally different vibe. Want water, wide open space and traffic-free wandering? Puerto Madero is right on the dockside; it’s so far removed from the hustle of the crazy city it provides a breath of fresh air. Check Puerto Madero out in the summer sunshine with our guide to the most un-Buenos Aires barrio in BA.
Rich pickings are easy to find in Argentine Patagonia. Prawns from Chubut’s waters, succulent lamb from both the Andean and coastal regions, fresh spider crab and toothfish from the depths of the southern Atlantic, smoked trout from the Lake District, and there’s even wine from Río Negro and Neuquén… And, as appetite demands, a brand-new food fest – Morfilandia, Kermesse de Sabores, which translates as Grubland, Flavours Bazaar – shook up a farm located between Trelew and Rawson, Chubut province, in November 14th and 15th.
A personal fave in the Porteño calendar, La Noche de los Museos sees museums and cultural spaces opening their doors to hungry culture vultures seeking their fix. And true to Argentine tradition, it goes on late. But feelings of twitchy excitement quickly got overrun with plain bamboozled delirium as I scrolled through the epically long list of 222 venues to choose from.
Desperately seeking Sriracha or sweet chili sauce? Got a taste for tahini or fresh sushi rolls? Barrio Chino in Belgrano has the answer. Buenos Aires’ Chinatown gives you a greater variety of spicy, herby and healthy ingredients and products in two short blocks than you’ll find anywhere else in the city – you’ll even find peanut butter. Local dieteticas, Disco and Jumbo may match you a few of your food cravings but if you want to fill a basket to bursting and still walk out feeling like you should have bought more, Chinatown is your barrio. Tingling taste bud-heaven for foodies. Here’s where to go.
A free invitation to peek behind BA’s closed doors
Nosing around buildings and peering into people’s living rooms is a favourite personal past time but let’s face it, plenty of disgruntled residents would prefer me to keep my beak out. Open House festival however, gives everyone license to snoop around, some of Buenos Aires’ most revered and interesting spaces for free, over a playful 48 hours.
We all like the experience of dining by candlelight but how about dining in the dark, when you can’t even make out your hand when it’s right in front of your face, let alone see the food on your plate? Add some interactive musical theatre to the mix and you’ve got a whole new spin on the concept of dinner theatre. Sophie Lloyd experiences Teatro Ciego’s A Ciegas Gourmet.
Tango’s lyrics of nostalgia, passion and heartbreak are a powerful testament to the countries multicultural history. It’s a serious business for many tangueros who dedicate the twilight hours to the scene of late night milongas, dancing to the wee small hours until it’s time for desayuno (breakfast) and a snooze, before doing it all over again. So entwined is the genre with Argentine culture that much of the old tango slang or lunfardo is still in popular use today and scratchy tango tunes play over the airwaves 24/7 on dedicated radio stations. 1930s heart throb and poster boy Carlos Gardel is still regarded as the best tango singer, so don’t be surprised to hear his canciones (songs) seeping out onto the streets from taxi driver’s windows and señoras clutching stereos on doorsteps. So much more than a sexy stereotype, tango illustrates the Argentine psyche and is every bit the embodiment of a way of being.
TV chefs don’t just work in immaculate studios, they also film on location to tell Argentina’s culinary story. But away from the comfort of the studio or test kitchens, unexpected situations often arise in makeshift kitchens. From carparks to mountains, fields and rivers, Narda Lepes, Roberto Petersen, Dolli Irigoyen and Pedro Lambertini share the backstory to some curious kitchens.