Friday, November 19, 2010

Pizza in Buenos Aires...with Pepperoni

Photo by Dan Perlman
Buenos Aires seems to have pizzerias on every other street corner. Any traveler or new resident from North America or Europe would be happy to see that, something many wouldn't expect in a South American city. But when you finally get around to eating pizza in Buenos Aires, you realize it is completely different from what you are used to.

In fact, there are many who claim it's the worst pizza in the world. I for one wouldn't go that far, since the average pizza I've had in Buenos Aires has been on par with pizza I've had in much of Europe and the United States in the states not on the east and west coasts, or major cities like Chicago. 

Pizza in Buenos Aires is seldom a thin crust by world standards and very far from "New York thin crust" standards.The mozzarella cheese used is often a softer type with a different flavor than people are used to (finding good cheese is an issue many expats in BA are quick to bring up...despite all the damn cows). The pizza crust is pretty thick, while remaining reasonable light and fluffy. Think of BA pizza as being more like a 3cm bread with sauce and cheese. 

The pizza culture is also a bit different than many are used to. You'll find virtually every pizzeria has a menu of different types of pizzas they serve. Not listed on these menus are toppings. So the Buenos Aires pizza culture does not include much self-experimentation. In many other countries, someone might have a special concoction of toppings they prefer that they order on a pizza. In Buenos Aires, it's more of just trying different options on a menu. And for the bold, it's asking for something customized with specific toppings, even when the menu doesn't encourage it.

So on my quest for the best pizza in Buenos Aires, I've tried a number of different places. Perhaps it's because it's what I'm used to, but the pizzerias that serve the closest to "New York style" pizza are the ones I prefer. 

I've only tried about 20 different pizzerias in Buenos Aires, but I already have a top few:

Siamo nel Forno
Costa Rica 5886, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires

The best of the best. Siamo nel Forno is considered by many to be the best pizza in Buenos Aires, and I concur. The crust is cripsy on the outside, chewy in the middle. The cheese selected is real mozzarella, and not the lower quality cheese you get used to finding on pizza in BA. If you order a pizza margherita (see image), you'll get just a light amount of quality tomatoe, muzzarella y albahaca.



Pizzeria Morris
Costa Rica 5799, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires
Morris has all the same options as every other Buenos Aires pizzeria. But what they do with the crust is what sets them apart as my favorite Buenos Aires pizzeria thus far. Just looking at this iphone photo, anyone used to pizza in Buenos Aires will see the crust is different than most pizzerias. It's crisp on the outside, slightly chewy in the middle. The sauce was also quite different, as it was a simple tomato sauce one would be used to from a traditional New York pizzeria. The photo to the left is just a simple Muzzarella pizza (salsa tomate y muzzarella) with the standard topping of whole green olives. If you're in Palermo, it's worth trying.


Punto Pizza
Paraguay 3779, Palermo, Buenos Aires
When ordering pizza in the United States, I was never a huge fan of pepperoni. I always liked it on pizza, but just rarely ordered it. But since pepperoni is a non-existent food item in Argentina, I was intrigued when I heard there was a pizzeria that served it.

Upon reading a blog, I learned about Punto Pizza, a local chain with 4 Buenos Aires locations. I admit, I cared less about the pizza and more about the fact that pepperoni as a topping was available. 

And it was well worth the trip. They only offer delivery and pickup. Since I'm without a phone in BA, that left only the option to walk over there.

The pizza itself was fairly average by worlds standards, but very enjoyable. I ordered a small pepperoni pan pizza (they offer both pan and thin crust). The crust itself, even for a pan pizza, was very light and fluffy. So it was a very light meal despite the cheese and pepperoni.  In reality, this pizza was pretty close in flavor to what it resembles: a Pizza Hut pan pizza. It was nothing special by international standards, but pretty good for BA standards. But hey, they have pepperoni pizza.



Piola
Libertad 1078, Recoleta, Buenos Aires

I don't have any photos, but Piola is worth trying as it's thin crust, compared to the traditional Buenos Aires thick crust I mentioned above. Their pizza isn't going to win any awards, but it's a good balance of the traditional BA pizza taste, with some of the benefits expats will enjoy.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Map of San Francisco Happy Hours




Living or visiting San Francisco and looking for a happy hour joint? Here ya go...


San Francisco Happy Hours



Saturday, November 6, 2010

Fabada Asturiana

A stew of beans, chorizo, morcilla, pork belly and potatos.
From El Preferido de Palermo in Palermo Soho, a restaurant specializing in dishes from the Asturias region of Spain.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Matambrito de Cerdo al Verdeo

Grilled pork flank, cut and served in a brown gravy with cooked green onion and papas espanol. One of the daily specials at El Trapiche in Palermo Hollywood.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Home Cooking: BBQ Rib Eye Steak Sliders with Spicy Fries


Rib-eye weekend continues. Quick and easy rib-eye steak sliders with spicy french fries.

Sliders are grilled rib eye, cut into small pieces. Drizzled with BBQ sauce, topped with chives and on a bed of caramelized onions and roasted red pepper.

The fries are pretty simple too: razor thin garlic, onion powder, cayenne and black pepper, paprika, salt and a pinch of thyme.

Ojo de Bife - Matarife

There's a need every so often to mix things up when going to a parrilla. So rather than ordering Meat A and Side dish B, I'll try one of the entrees on the menu.

Below is something you'll see on many parrilla menus in BA. It's ojo de bife which is a rib eye steak. It's topped with a BA favorite, roasted red pepper, along with caramelized onions. Wrapped around the entire side is a thin layer of panceta. The side is Patagonian papas, although these ones are much larger then I've had with this same dish at other parrillas.

Photo quality sucks but the food was perfect...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Home Cooking: Suckling Pig in Bier Sauce



One of the last meals I prepared while living in Los Angeles:



Slow roasted suckling pig in 
Spaten bier sauce


Sides:
Knödel

Green beans (instead of sauerkraut or red cabbage)


Recipe to come later.


Pastrami in Buenos Aires



Not what I'm used to in the US, but pretty good.

Pastrami on dark rye (toasted)
topped with caramelized onions with paprika

Sides:
2 types of kinishes: potato and onion w/potato.

I bought this all  from Ciervo de Oro in Villa Crespo in Buenos Aires. A large Jewish population in the neighborhood, so an ideal location to find quality deli.

Milanesa de Pollo Napolitana



This will likely be the first of many posts about milanesa.

Milanesa is essentially a chicken-friend steak you'd find in the Southern United States. Insome places, you can get the Milanesa style for chicken and some fish.

Here's a quick shot of one I had recently from El Club de Milanesa in Palermo.

It's a pounded flat piece of chicken, lightly breaded and fried. It's then topped with a razor thin piece of smoked ham, topped with a tomato sauce and then melted mozzarella. So it's basically a pizza with meat instead of dough. I'll take it over a US style "chicken parm" any day.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Suppenküche

I've almost always made sure when I travel to the Bay area, that I goto this place. In fact, I've driven and flown from LA just to go there. I've had little luck finding a comparison to te fine Bavarian food from Germany and Suppenkuche is a fine alternatative to flying to Europe.

A quick reminder...Saturday is the only day for the Roast Suckling Pig in beer sauce with the bread dumplings. I recommend swapping sour kraut in favor of the red cabbage...it's a better pairing in my book.


525 Laguna St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 252-9289


Photo by Lolia S. on Yelp

Yank Sing: Soup Dumplings & Dim Sum

Yank Sing soup dumplings with Chinese broccoli
Two words: soup dumplings (or Xiao Long Bao). Regardless of what you call them, they are morsels of heaven. No longer does man have to slum it with dumplings in soup...we can all enjoy soup in a dumpling.

I've only had them at 3-4 other places, but have gone out of my way to return to Yank Sing for theirs.

In addition to the basic compliment of Chinese broccoli, I also am a big fan of their stuffed shrimp (photo below).



Yank Sing
101 Spear St
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 957-9300



This is how shrimp were meant to be served: stuffed and fried from Yank Sing in San Francisco, CA

Home Cooking: Louisiana Style BBQ



My first rib smoking session here in BA: 6 hour slow smoked ribs, meat fallin' off the bone with my homemade BBQ sauce. Sides are roasted garlic mashed potatoes & maque choux

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Home Cooking: 4th of July Buffalo Burger


Grade A American buffalo meat, topped with California sweet onions with Boston lettuce, red and purple potato chips and a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat lager.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Buenos Aires Food and Restaurant Reviews & Photos

Here are just some of the food and restaurant reviews from Buenos Aires...

New York Food and Restaurant Reviews & Photos

Here are just some of the food and restaurant reviews from New York...

San Francisco Food and Restaurant Reviews & Photos

Here are just some of the food and restaurant reviews from San Francisco...

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Recommend Food

Want to educate us on a type of food you recommend or perhaps a cuisine we've missed the boat on? Let us know via the comments section below!

Friday, January 1, 2010

About Us

Visit our updated "About Us" page...






Like the majority of food blogs, this one got it's start out of nothing more than interest in food. I (Matt) thought it was time to get into the rhythm of writing more about food as preparation for a recipe book in development. Even if it meant just sharing photos initially and some simple reviews, it made sense to have a single place for it. But like other blogs, there's always the issue of running out of content. Since much of my diet consists of simple salads, there would be plenty of weeks where I had little to contribute here. So collaboration with friends was essential.

I turned to Jason, a friend I met while living in Los Angeles, as he's been a food sherpa in his own right. Like myself, much of his travel has been focused heavily on the culinary experiences. He and I have been touring restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco, up into Montana, west to Tokyo, and all over Europe. He's always one to send me a quick recommendation on an eating establishment he found and I'm quick to save it in my notes. His interest in photography extends into the food realm as well as he'll often post pictures of food on his various accounts.

Jess is the third kindred spirit in the trifecta. Now living in New York after moving from Los Angeles, she and Jason have had their own food adventures around Los Angeles, New York and the rest of the United States.


So now the 3 of us find ourselves in three very different places: Buenos Aires, San Francisco and New York. And while we might not be experiencing meals together in person, FoodSherpas.com is how we'll continue to share even the most mundane food experiences with the world.



Matt Peloquin

Current Home: Buenos Aires
Previous: Los Angeles, New York
 

Recent Foursquare Activity:

Jason Abromovitz

Current Home: San Francisco
Previous: Los Angeles, Pittsburgh


Jessica Le

Current Home: New York
Previous: Los Angeles
 













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