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Saturday, May 19, 2007

My 5 Year Old's Favorite Restaurant Short List - Albamonte (1 of 5 )

Normally you don´t let a 5 year old make too many decisions for the home. You really can't rely on them to decide what car to buy, what TV to buy, or what airline to use for your vacation trip. However, one day I asked her to name her 5 favorite Buenos Aires restaurants and her list was quite impressive.

I decide to share some of them with you. They are in no particular order because when you ask a 5 year old to rate them, the rating changes by the minute. However, if I put them all in one post it would make for a very long post. I will make this a current, up to the visit series taking pictures of the dishes as we go visit the restaurants. This past weekend it was Albamonte´s turn at bat.

Av. Corrientes 6735
Chacarita
4553-2400
4554-4486

You wont find too many foreigners here. The wine list is very short, they have cheesy plastic plants for decoration and it looks a bit old. However, it is a local classic and the food is great so who cares about the other stuff.



We start out with pizza as an appetizer. As you can see from the picture, this is thin styled pizza. The girls then have their plain pasta, dressed with a little olive oil that they bring to the table and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. How on earth can a 5 year old discern between having pasta at this place versus any other? Well she does. Believe it or not you can mess up pasta. If she doesn't like the combination of olive oil, grated cheese and pasta then the restaurant will not get into her short list.



We then have one of my favorite dishes in all of Argentina Pollo a la Gasparini. This is a braised chicken with white wine, garlic and rosemary. Throw in some hand cut french fries and you have heaven on a plate. I love soaking the fries in the white wine mixture on the bottom of the pan. This one takes a while to make so we always call it in before we get there.



I am so picky about dessert that I often don´t order any. My daughters love chocolate ice cream and I do admit that it is hard to find bad ice cream here so once in a while I will have it as well, otherwise it´s a cortadito and the check.

There is usually a long line of people waiting for a table. We always get there at 8pm sharp and avoid the waiting. If you go any other time you can't say I did not warn you.

By the way, I found a recipe on Epicurious for this dish, you just need to replace rosemary for the thyme. In case you can't make it down here you can try making it at home.

8 comments:

SFO said...

Frank - I’m with the girls on this one. I think that simple pasta dishes in restaurants can be difficult to do consistently and well. Apart from the brand of pasta, olive oil, and Parmesan, I only like my pasta al dente. Overcooking or not serving the pasta immediately after preparation just ruins it for me (I also like the serving dish to be warmed). That’s why I think it’s much easier to prepare pasta at home.

I also prefer to each early (well, often at opening time) in BsAs restaurants. Since I go to enjoy both the food and other people’s company, I like the relaxed and quiet time earlier in the evening. The waitstaff aren’t rushed, the kitchen is probably just cooking for a few diners, and often we can snag a great table, especially in summer in those restaurants that have an outdoor patio.

John

miss tango said...

The pollo and papa fritas look amazingly delicious!

Unknown said...

Hi Miss Tango,

My mouth just started watering thinking about it myself. If I were to leave Argentina this is one of those restaurants that I would miss. Also the fact that we as a family go and the waiters know us, and on and on.

SFO said...

Hi Frank!

Isn't it about time for part 2 of 5? I'm getting hungry :-)

John

Unknown said...

Hi John,

You are right. I have so much to write about and so much to do. Thanks for the polite kick in the pants. I will get to work.

Juan said...

I know I am posting really late, but after i read Albamonte, i couldn't help my hand clicking on this one.

I once went to Albamonte with a Norwegian friend of mine after a game in La Bombonera. After the classic pizza as a starter, we ordered a "Chivito a la Calabresa".. to die for!

The guy also loved the Argie look of the place (often called "bodegón") and never stepped another foot in Puerto Madero.

For the chubby ones like myself, they have a huge Merengue with Dulce de Leche :P

Unknown said...

Hi Juan,

I will have to try that option, although that means I would have to do without the chicken...addictions are tough.

María José said...

Buenos días,
Mi nombre es María José Domínguez, soy diseñadora gráfica de la revista in, revista oficial de los vuelos de Lan.
El contenido editorial gira en torno al viajero, buscamos participación y contribución de diseñadores y fotógrafos.
Su publicación es mensual y tiene una circulación de 80.000 copias, alcanzando una audiencia de más de 1.000.000 lectores
en rutas domésticas de Chile, Perú, Argentina y rutas internacionales como Norteamérica, Europa y Oceanía.

Necesito fotos del restaurant Albamonte (BsAs).
Si te interesa colaborar por favor escríbeme a:
mjdominguez@spafax.com
saludos,
María José Domínguez
Diseñadora / Designer
Revista In / In Magazine
www.in-lan.com
56-2-898 6827