Kicking Restaurants and Super Cool Fellow Travelers

While in Mardel, I had some beautiful nights out on the town and would highly recommend the following places:

La Bodeguita del Medio – If I lived in Mardel, this would be my regular haunt. Great vibes, cool atmosphere, hip crowd, fantastic food and drinks, I don’t have enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this place.  The walls are filled with a variety of art, photos, posters, etc. including the required pics of Fidel Castro (with Ernest Hemingway) and Che Guevara (Argentine doctor turned guerilla revolutionary with Fidel in Cuba). The restaurant serves up a mean Mojito, deluxe picadas for 2 or 4 people, and parilla and asado (BBQ’d or grilled argentine meats).

If I lived in Mardel, this would be my regular haunt. Great vibes, cool atmosphere, hip crowd, fantastic food and drinks, I don’t have enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this place.

I had dinner with a group of 8 people here; key persons include Meg (Wellington, New Zealand), Paula (Mar del Plata, Argentina), Eze (Mar del Plata, Argentina), Tracy (Capetown, South Africa), Mille (Peru), Dan (New York City, United States), and Quinn (Seattle, United States).  Tracy is an IT manager with Transunion in Capetown and took off 3 weeks to travel Argentina; Dan is an adjunct professor of literature and philosophy at City University of New York, while finishing up his PhD, and is traveling for 3 weeks in Buenos Aires and Mardel; Quinn is living in Mardel for 8 months, surfing and teaching English before starting (probably) law school at UC Berkeley this coming fall.

Dena-Ona on Cordoba – The best Asador del Campo (country-roasted meat) I had in Mardel (and I ate a ton of bife de chorizo while there). Just order the “Bife de Chorizo” off the menu, cooked medium rare and get ready for heaven.  Argentines definitely know their beef, and this cut will melt in your mouth.  The cost?  Only 30 pesos, or about US$10….but you’d pay US$35 plus for a similar steak in the U.S.

I had 2 dinners here (it was so good I had to come back for seconds). The first was a foursome that included Tracy (Capetown, South Africa), Yakob (Haifa, Israel) and Amit (Tel Aviv, Israel….formerly an officer in the Israeli armed forces), where we discussed the comparative history of racism in South Africa and United States, very interesting. The second included Tracy (Capetown, South Africa), Inez (Rotterdam, the Netherlands), Yakob (Haifa, Israel), Meg (Wellington, New Zealand), Adrienne (Denver, United States), Kevin (Offaly, Ireland), and Podge Toady (Offaly, Ireland). Inez had just finished university with a degree in human resource management and was traveling for a month or so before heading back home to find a job. Yakob was traveling around for 8 months or so before moving to Toronto to start a small business with his uncle. Adrienne was in the middle of university studies at the Claremont colleges in California. Kevin and Podge decided to take a break from their small businesses to travel around for a month.

The restaurant also has a great wine selection, full of Malbecs and other wines from Patagonia and the central Andes range. In particular, the 2007 Malbec from the label “Postales Del Fin Del Mundo – Patagonia” is a very drinkable, very simple red, not too dry, chewy or complex (listen to this, I sound like a wine critic which I’m definitely not)…..see hyperlink below.

http://www.globalwinespirits.com/wx/en/catalog.WINE/MALBEC+POSTALES+DEL+FIN+DEL+MUNDO+-+PATAGONIA/31015258/DELMUNDO

Las Placitas – A cool joint with outdoor seating on the main drag of Avenida Colon, not too far south from Plaza Colon. They serve up excellent gourmet pizza, a staple of life in Argentina due to the strong Italian influence throughout the country. The service was excellent as the owner kept a watchful eye on all the tables and waitstaff.

Had dinner here with Inez, Tracy and Amit one evening with a soft breeze blowing off the ocean; late in our meal, the owner personally invited each of us and all the other patrons to partake in a glass of the house red wine; we raised our glasses simultaneously as the owner toasted us and drank it down. It was good night!