Astrid & Gastón

Aside from empanadas, I'm really not big on the grill and grilled meats in Argentina. I love their risotto, but anywhere can do a fairly good one if there's a sizeable population with Italian heritage. That's not much subtlety to the flavors of cooking the food here.

You know, oddly, Argentina has made me enamored with Peruvian food. I want to go to Peru. The country has destinations with cool names that I like to roll off the tongue and they seem fascinating.

Specifically, Astrid & Gastón has bowled me over with its offerings of Peruvian cusine! Perhaps it's the raw fish thingy, but ceviche is awesome. So is tiradito, which is similar but using a different cut of fish and the dish doesn't contain onions. (Don't bother comparing it with Nobu. Nobu has nothing on this restaurant when it comes to authenticity and the right-there Peruvian ingredients.)

From what I understand of Peru, they've exciting potatoes with thousands of species originating from the region. Then, there's the amazing multi-colored corn of Peru that doesn't taste like corn. I must try! There's so much emphasis on food in Peru. The liberal use of spices and adventurous experiments with food resulted in a cuisine that's more than interesting. It's a fusion of sorts, yes, but a good blend.

I'm glad to be back in Buenos Aires. At least there're less surprises here on the work front. Whew. The evening at Astrid & Gastón was quite an experience. I loved it. My simple spaghetti of vegetables was so flavorful and almost a tad complex! The owners have lovingly kept its restaurant small in order to churn out the quality food that they want. The decor is quite charming. It's one of the reputed names in the Americas. The menu excites my tastebuds, and that's quite a rarity nowadays.