An Edible Voyage

January 2020 It wouldn’t be a trip to Argentina without battling an enormous steak.    I’m not a huge meat fan, particularly not red meat, but anything local and I’m sold.    We stumbled across La Carniceria in Palermo.    It seems eating out is a popular activity in Buenos Aires and despite the plethora of restaurants, many were fully booked.    What I particularly liked about this place was that the door (once we found it) was locked so you have to knock and wait for someone to come out and add your name to the waiting list (you could book in advance but we didn’t have that foresight).    We then sat on the step outside quaffing a delicious bottle of Mendoza Malbec, watching the world go by whilst we waited for a table. The restaurant was intimate, with a handful of tables, a bar with a pit of fire behind it and wallpapered with photos of cow carcasses, which did make it feel a little like we were sitting in an abattoir.  ...

January 2020 In general, the coffee wasn’t great in Argentina – I heard that the best South American beans get exported where they sell for more. However, I did come across a place in Buenos Aires where I had possibly the best flat white of my life.    LAB, a micro-roastery in Palermo consistently made excellent coffees.    The milk was steamed to perfection, the coffee was slightly nutty, slightly sweet, slightly bitter and almost creamy.    The café itself is a bright, chic space with a glass wall to let the sunlight stream in, and a natural colour palette of woods and coffee bean sacks.    They also do very good medialunas, and the almost bite-size means they’re almost guilt free.