Orient Express-themed recommendations that you’ve probably never heard before in Buenos Aires. CUISINE&VINS best values.

The part of Palermo Viejo centered along the stretch of Avenida Córdoba between Avenida Scalabrini Ortiz and Avenida Justo is the center of the Árabe population of Buenos Aires. In this case, “arab” refers primarily to Armenians, a Middle Eastern influenced country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. There’s also a Syrian, Lebanese, and Moroccan population that make up an important, but smaller portion of the populace.

There are numerous Middle Eastern style restaurants located in Palermo Viejo, ranging from cheap takeout counters to elegant white tablecloth dining rooms. For truly authentic Armenian cuisine there are two that vie for top honors. The long time reigning champion of the zone is Sarkis, Thames 1101, 4772-4911. Despite the white linens on the tables, Sarkis is a casual spot for lunch or dinner, offering up tasty renditions of everything from the best hummus and tabouleh in town to excellent lamb or beef kofta. The wine list isn’t overly exciting – mostly the big name usual suspects, but for the most part, beer goes better with this food anyway. Spectacularly good bakhlava and excellent café arabe are a great way to finish up the meal. It’s also a complete bargain. Sarkis’ only real competition for outstanding Armenian food is the nearby El Manto, Costa Rica 5801, 4774-2409, where a shorter menu of traditional dishes served up with a touch of mysticism is offered. Their claim is that their recipes date back generation by generation to the year 301 A.D. when their family village was established. The atmosphere is a bit surreal, with nearly silent waiters moving through the dark, burgundy and black room, while fantasy music plays in the background. Very good renditions of classic dishes are offered, along with a decent selection of wines. Coffee the viscosity of sand is served, and a fortune teller is on hand to read you’re the grounds after you’ve sucked whatever moisture you can from the brew. A bit pricier than Sarkis, but it has the advantage of an elegant and soothing atmosphere.

From another whole part of the Middle East is the food at Cheff Iusef, Malabia 1378, 4773-0450. The original owner is from Lebanon, where, if I understood the conversation correctly, his grandfather was the Gran Rabino of the Jewish community in Beirut. The staff and the food are a mix of Lebanese and Syrian. Definitely different in style from the more common Armenian restaurants in the area, with more varied spices and herbs used. The room was at one time very elegant, but now is starting to show a bit of tatter. The extensive menu offers a wide selection of dishes, and the wine list is well stocked with more offbeat selections. While there are some really good versions of standards like falafel (unusually flavored with cinnamon) or tabouleh (more of an herb salad than the usual grain-based version), where Cheff Iusef shines is its house specialties, especially the enormous football shaped kebbe de levanie, or Lebanese kebbe, a cooked wheat berry and lamb oblong in a yogurt, cucumber, and mint sauce; and possibly the best pistachio bakhlava I’ve ever had.

The flavors of Middle Eastern food call out for a somewhat lighter red with lots of fruit, spice, and acidity. While not new to the Argentine wine scene, the country isn’t well known for its Barberas. A classic grape from the Piemonte and surrounding areas in Italy, the grape was brought over nearly a century ago by Italian immigrants. While for most of its time here its been used as a blending grape, in the last decade or so more and more producers have recognized the same potential that their ancestors in the old country saw. One of the best, and a bargain to boot, is Familia Adrover Barbera 2001 – also one of the few still on the market with a little age on it. This is a small family winery that literally makes three different wines between two large lined concrete tanks – one for Barbera and one for Cabernet (their third wine is a blend of the two). The wine is lively, bright, full of ripe berry fruit flavors, with a touch of leather and lots of spice – notably clove and mace. It will run you somewhere around 20-25 pesos in local shops.

One of the most well known bodegas in Argentina is Gascon. Their wines are marketed in several ranges, from cheap table wine, to their family varietals, to their newest venture, the handpicked and crafted Pequeños Producciones. The 2002 Miguel Escorihuela Gascon Barbera from this line is simply spectacular, a bold, spicy Barbera, with lots of red fruit, a dollop of vanilla from the oak, excellent balance, and a long, lingering finish. This wine will set you back around 75 pesos in a shop, probably well over 100 in a restaurant, but it’s worth every penny.

Neither Middle Eastern nor Asian markets are commonplace in Buenos Aires. But one thing that not only visitors, but often longtime residents, are surprised to find out is that the capital boasts some small, but true “ethnic” neighborhoods. The area surrounding Avenidas Córdoba and Scalabrini Ortiz is home to a large portion of the Middle Eastern population here. Not just restaurants, but shops abound, with some of the best centered right near that intersection. Probably the best known in the area are Medio Oriente, Avenida J.A. Cabrera 4702, at Malabia and Damascus, Avenida Scalabrini Ortiz 1283. The latter is one of the few places in Buenos Aires where you can buy unsweetened yogurt – they offer both a light version and the heavier labneh style.

Barrio Chino, in Belgrano, as it’s called, is primarily a residential zone, with a several block commercial stretch along Arribeños just north of Avenida Juramento and the Belgrano “C” train station. The area is home to numerous decent Chinese restaurants (primarily Taiwanese cuisine) as well as food markets. Further off the beaten track is Coreatown, in the south part of Barrio Flores. Here, a half dozen block commercial stretch along Avenida Carabobo, between Avenidas Castañeres and Eva Perón is home to multiple Korean food markets and restaurants serving up good quality traditional fare.

In October 2006, I started writing for this Spanish language magazine, covering their English language section for travellers. I wrote for them for about two years. The copy editor, apparently not fluent in English, used to put each paragraph in its own text box on a two column page, in what often seemed to be random order, making the thread of the column difficult to follow. I’ve restored the paragraphs to their original order.

You’ve probably headed to Buenos Aires with more recommendations for where you can get a good steak and fries than you know what to do with. Amazing as it may seem given the hype, there’s food available here that isn’t just charred red meat.

Anyone who has more than a passing interest in tango knows the name Carlos Gardel.- here, it’s impossible to turn a corner without seeing something related to him. It’s worth taking yourself out to Gardelito, Humboldt 1668, 4776-5333, in Palermo Hollywood. It’s an old style pub decorated with memorabilia from the golden age of tango, along with a smattering of odd household and workshop objects from the same period. The menu is pretty classic porteño style – parrilla (grill) and pastas – but has some creative variations on many of the dishes. It’s also got a short list of inexpensive wines, and not just the usual suspects. Among the more interesting dishes, a chambota, or medley of cured vegetables; plump malfatti pasta stuffed with local cheeses and herbs; earthy raviolones de seso, or large ravioli filled with cheese and cow’s brains; and a melt in your mouth delicious lomo guisado – a sirloin and mushroom stew. The best things about Gardelito are the huge portions of food and that it will hardly put a dent in your wallet.

Up until recently, you could have stayed in the same general area and popped into one of the most creative small venues around, El Federal. But with five years of success, and competition in the neighborhood appearing like mushrooms after a rainstorm, chef Paola Comparatore picked up and moved to a larger venue in Retiro, at San Martin 1015, 4313-1324. The tables are heavy, dark wood blocks. The banquettes are long, backless, leather covered benches. The chairs are covered with hard-cured cowhide – not just leather, these things still have hair on them. The food being turned out of the kitchen is some of the most interesting takes around on local regional cuisine, with rich interplays of sweet sauces and spicy elements to the dishes. Some of our favorites are her repuelgues tehuelches – small Patagonian lamb and mushroom empanadas, her rolled and fried provoleta, and gnocchi flavored with chimichurri spices (garlic, herbs, and chilies) and topped with a chorizo sausage sauce. The food will run you a bit above an average dinner in Buenos Aires, but you’ll get quality a whole lot above that average – and at lunch, there’s a menu ejecutivo that’s a bargain for a three-course meal.

There’s not a concerted effort in Argentina to produce organic wines. Still, I find myself curious when I spot one, especially if it’s in a small wine shop like La Cava de Vittorio, Arenales 2321, in Barrio Norte, 4824-0647, where I know the wines are very carefully selected by folks who know what they’re doing. When the manager highly recommended giving the new organic Malbec a try – at only twelve pesos and change, I couldn’t pass it up. The strangely named Belgrano 10.640 Malbec 2003 comes from the equally oddly named Bodega A – the wine’s name turns out to be the address of the winery in Mendoza. Really quite good, this is a full-bodied, rich, spicy, wine with lots of cherry fruit – and all fruit, no oak, which I tend to appreciate with Malbec.

One of the things I hear most often from wine geek friends is that the new, premium level Malbecs, very concentrated and with lots of time in new oak barrels, don’t taste any different than any other “international style” red wine. That’s one of the reasons I like unoaked or lightly oaked Malbec. From the Salta region, one of my favorites is the Domingo Molina Malbec 2002. What I like most about this wine is its vibrancy, because the winery in Salta only ages 10% of the wine in oak, the rest in stainless steel, giving it a touch of roundness, but emphasizing the purity of the fruit. The wine shows spicy dark fruits like blackberry and boysenberry, with a touch of mace and nutmeg, and a long, tasty finish. The wine will run you around 55-60 pesos in local shops, and it’s well worth spending the extra.

Gooey, melted cheese with a lightly smoky, slightly crispy exterior. The provoleta, an ubiquitous parrilla appetizer takes a thick slab of provolone which the grill man brushes with olive oil, sprinkles with plenty of cracked black pepper and oregano and throws it on a rack over the coals until it’s browned on the surface and all melty and runny inside. There are numerous variations on provoleta, the most common being the simple substitution of different herbs or spices. Some like to chop fresh or grilled tomatoes or red bell peppers atop. Possibly the most interesting of these variations is the provoleta rellena, or stuffed provoleta, where the slab of cheese is slit open like a pocket pita bread and the middle is filled with slices of ham, tomato, and peppers.

In October 2006, I started writing for this Spanish language magazine, covering their English language section for travellers. I wrote for them for about two years. The copy editor, apparently not fluent in English, used to put each paragraph in its own text box on a two column page, in what often seemed to be random order, making the thread of the column difficult to follow. I’ve restored the paragraphs to their original order.