Street Art in Buenos Aires

June 10, 2008

Here are some photos of graffiti, stencils and street art in Buenos Aires.

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It’s Obvious You Are an Argentinan when:

May 14, 2008

You know you are a porteño when…

- At any time of the day, a café con leche and 2 medialunas can be considered a square meal
- You can, at all times, find a heladería within 3 blocks
- You would much rather be a bostero xeneise than a maldita gallina, and you know what that means
- In your barrio, there are more people on the streets at 3 am than 3 pm
- ¿Qué sé yo?
- Nothing is good anymore, it’s “bárbaro”
- You have learned how to get across Avenida Libertador without getting run over, before the pedestrian light even turns green
- You have accepted the fact that you cannot successfully walk across 9 de Julio before the lights turn red, because everyone KNOWS it’s the widest avenue in the WORLD
- You can estafar, zafar, and continue to the farra with all the other porteños
- You have any idea what the last line means
- You complain about everything while in Buenos Aires, but as soon as you leave, you begin to miss it
- Upon getting into a taxi, instead of stating your destination, you give a series of turns and street names, entering into a battle of wits over who knows the grid best
- You generally communicate better in gestures than actually conversing
- You know the attractive women all over Palermo Hollywood are really men, but that’s OK
- Nothing is cool anymore, it’s re canchero. You and your friends, (who are all capos and copados, obvio) are re chochos because you just saw a recital that was piola.
- You have forgotten your name and now only answer to a string of epithets, such as che, maestro, flaco, papá, pibe, etc.
- You don’t coges el bus, you subís el bondi
- You don’t go out to comer, you morfar
- You have come to accept the fact that Buenos Aires sometimes huele a mar, even though it’s a five hour drive to the ocean
- You know that a disco is not a place to dance or a genre of music, but a place to buy food
- You eat sandwiches without crusts, pizza with a knife and fork and empanadas with your fingers
- You find yourself eating ñoquis on the 29th of each month, and not really knowing why
- You stay out till 6 am at a boliche but are still fresh as a daisy for your class at 9
- You mix ketchup and mayo, slather the beastly concoction on everything, and have the audacity to call it “salsa golf”
- You begin to wonder how Washington D.C. got off copying the obelisco, why London stole Buenos Aires’ phone booths and letter boxes, and why Milan’s La Scala operahouse had to steal the blueprints for Teatro Colón
- You don’t find it at all confusing that there are streets called Peña, Rodríguez Peña, Luis Saenz Peña and Roque Saenz Peña, all in fairly close proximity. Nor that there are an Yrigoyen and Irigoyen that intersect, despite their different spellings.
- You can get everything delivered to your departamento…from munchies to mariachis
- You consider it rude when you throw a party and people show up on time, while you are still making preparations, obvio…
- You can’t imagine drinking coffee without briskly following it with a shot glass of mineral water
- You know all the parts of a cow and you’re not a butcher or a veterinarian
- You have ever considered growing out a mullet
- You refer to everything outside the capital as the “interior” of the country
- You are a self-made expert on EVERYTHING
- Your favourite thing to do is fiaca, the special action of not doing anything
- You drink your mate amargo but eat dulce de leche on everything
- You realise that when there is a superclasico, everything halts for el fútbol
- You can find Evita’s grave blindfolded, and know that Carlos Gardel is buried in Chacarita, even though nobody knows for sure where he was born
- Your swear words include colourful descriptions of the birthing process and the private parts of a parrot
- Everything is a quilombo
- It seems normal that professional dog walkers are dragged around by up to 20 canines, and that there is a bus to cart dogs around the city to the parks

Buenos Aires Restaurants: 4 of the Hottest Places in Palermo and Las Canitas

May 12, 2008

Here are some of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires. It’s not in any order.

Azema, on Angel Carranza at about Honduras or Gorriti. The menu is a fantastic combination of French, Creole, Vietnamese, and Caribbean flavours. The chef is ever present, comes round to chat with pretty much every table if it’s not too busy. Best to go with 3-4 people — usually we just order the whole first page of tapas and then share a few of the mains. The flavours are excellent. Save room for the dessert platter.

Olsen, on Gorriti in Palermo. Their deep chilled vodka list is fantastic. Go for their set menu lunch and if it’s sunny make sure to try and reserve a seat in the garden. Brunch is the best in the city.

De Olivas i Lustres, (Palermo) Go for their version of a tasting menu. They have two different menus. Theres the criolla and the mediterranean option, if you’re 4 you could select one of each. The food is very good, sort of an Argentine take on avant-garde cuisine.

And of course, for cheap asado and cheap wine, go to Las Cholas. It’s northern Argentina cuisine (from Salta) Arevalo y Arce. Prepare to wait. On a Friday night the line will be there until midnight. If you’re 2 people you can usually sneak in fairly quick, otherwise put your name on the list and go have a wander around for a few minutes. Then just wait and see which one you’ll get into first — they’re all packed, and for good reason.

7 Great Buenos Aires Restaurants

May 12, 2008

Here are some of the expats favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires. Not in any order.

Lucky Luciano (Italian) at 3943 in Palermo near the Zoo and Jardin Botanico is great. Big wine list, American and Argentina mafia memorobilia throughout.

Dragones and Siphones (eclectic) in Belgrano which has an incredible and ever-changing menu. Fantastic chef and funny place (although tiny so you ‘ll need to book a reservation). Was Phillipe Starck’s favorite restaurant when he was here overseeing the building of the famous Faena Hotel.

In San Telmo there are quite a few. We like Los Loros (nouveau Argentinian style )which feels like a Parisian petite brasserie. Nice wine selection and some seriously professional equipment for keeping it at the correct temperature. Creative dishes and delicious homemade lemonade. Amici Miel (italian) is also in San Telmo, respectable wine list, great location and balcony right near Plaza Dorrego.

Sarkis (Armentian) is a wonderful find in Palermo. It’s usually full of people as they don’t book reservations. They have dozens of delicious appetizers and the customers tend more towards locals-in-the-know than tourists. There is a woman who will tell your future by reading the left over coffee (sediment) in your coffee cup. Quite a funny experience.

Xalapia (Mexican) is probably the best of the authentic Mexican style restaurants we’ve found. Not sure about the wine as this is more of a beer or Margarita type place. Reminds me of some of the restaurants in Austin Texas. Cielto Lindo is also a good second choice around the corner.

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April 29, 2008

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