Argentina and Italy 2023/2024

Aside from the sunny warm weather and wonderful people, one of the nicest things about Argentina is how affordable everything is for tourists. Despite having elected a new president who promised to get the economy back on track, inflation continues to soar and the peso's value keeps dropping.

The peso, as I write this, is trading at just under 800 to the Canadian dollar, which allows Brenda and me to partake in luxuries that we wouldn't back home.

For my birthday, Brenda invited me to Sacro, a Michelin Guide restaurant that has great reviews, and serves an entirely plant based menu. The ambience and decor was incredible, service was impeccable and the food was art on a plate.

The entire menu is designed to be shared, and for starters, we chose three dishes. First was the seasonal cheese plate that consisted of Camembert and Blue spirulina and was served with kimchi, a creamy dill and lime sauce, sweet crackers and pickles. Then came the activated charcoal empanada, a pitch black pastry stuffed with mushrooms, and served with harissa on the side. Last, but not least was the Avocado Masala, a breaded half avocado served on a pool of curried yogurt with grilled potato flatbread. Needless to say, all were scrumptious.

Then we moved on to the main courses. By this time, we were already getting full, but we soldiered on. First up was a bowl of sweet potato ravioli bathed in soubise (an onion based bechamel), and topped with grilled oyster mushrooms and funghi caviar. Next up was a peruvian inspired dish: Lion's Mane mushroom steak anticuchero style (marinated in vinegar and spices then grilled) served with Huancaino potatoes ( boiled potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce made of queso fresco and grilled yellow pepper, red onion and garlic.

You'd think that was enough, but NOOOOO! I had to have dessert, so we split a lovely individual Avocado lime pie made with condensed coconut milk and accompanied by candied pistachios. Mmmmm...

Rather than stick with one wine for all these diverse flavors, we went with four different wines by the glass.

This was probably the best dining experience of my life. Everything was incredibly creative, flavorful and pretty much perfect. There may be a return trip there before we leave Argentina.

I'd hate to think what a meal like that would have cost in Vancouver, but including tip, Brenda spent $117.00 CDN to celebrate with me!

Only four days later, we went for lunch at another Michelin Guide restaurant, Chui. The atmosphere there is much more casual than Sacro as it's located in a semi-open-air converted warehouse with brick walls, an open-air garden section and an open kitchen. The menu reflects the setting, serving more common dishes like tacos, sandwiches and pizza, all plant-based, of course.

We started with a plate of wonderful grilled sourdough toast and a mixed mushroom paté, which although delicious, was very poorly presented. The first thing that came to my mind was one of the many stepped-in piles of doggy-doo we see on sidewalks here in BA. Please folks, put it in a ramekin next time.

Next was a trio of Birria style tacos, cauliflower, cabbage, anticuchera sauce and avocado. They were quite delicious, if a little on the salty side.
Finally, we had pizza, cooked in a wood oven and topped with sweet potato, pickled oyster mushrooms, basil pesto and cashew. This too, I found to be overly salty, but otherwise enjoyable. The crust was fantastic. Brenda didn't care for the flavor combinations, and, IF we return, we wouldn't order it again.

I had a couple of Stella Artois to wash it all down and the bill was $36.00 CDN including tip.

And so, four days, two Michelin Guide restaurants, and who knows how many calories later, I believe I may start looking like the Michelin Man himself!Read more