zFeria Masticar
Chefs from the city's top restaurants gather in Colegiales for this four-day food fair. Small sampling plates are available, as well as cooking demonstrations and classes.
July
It's mid-winter, so bring warm layers and be prepared to use them. Locals who can afford it head to the ski slopes down south.
zExposiciòn de Ganaderìa, Agricultura e Industria Internacional (La Rural)
The mother of all livestock fairs, where prize cows, sheep, goats, horses and – especially – bulls, all strut their stuff. Gaucho shows provide entertainment. It takes place for two weeks in late July at Palermo’s La Rural.
August
It's still cold, so keep those layers on, but it's also a great time to explore the city's theaters, museums and art galleries.
zTango BA Festival y Mundial
Taking place in mid-August, this two-week-long tango festival ( GOOGLE MAP ; http://festivales.buenosaires.gob.ar; hmid-Aug) offers a great way to see some of the country’s best tango dancers and musicians do their thing. Plenty of competitions, classes and workshops take place.
September
Spring has sprung and it's a lovely time to be in BA. Polo season begins and the tourists start returning.
zVinos y Bodegas
A can’t-miss event ( GOOGLE MAP ; %011-4777-5557; www.expovinosybodegas.com.ar; admission incl 12 tastings AR$250; hSep) for wine aficionados, with vintages from dozens of Argentine bodegas (wineries). Mix with thousands of sommeliers, restaurateurs, journalists and general wine lovers at Palermo’s La Rural. Expect cooking demonstrations and live music, too.
October
The weather is getting warmer but it's not too hot – really, the best time to be in the city.
zLa Noche de los Museos
On one night in late October over a hundred museums, galleries and cultural spaces open their doors for free from 8pm to around 3am. There are guided tours, special shows, music festivities and even free buses that whisk visitors between the venues (www.lanochedelosmuseos.gob.ar).
November
It's pretty darn near perfect weather in BA, and the jacaranda trees are showing off their gorgeous purple blooms. High season has arrived, so reserve your accommodations ahead.
zMarcha del Orgullo Gay
Each year on the first Saturday in November, thousands of BA’s gays, lesbians, transgenders and more strut their way through the city's center at the city's gay pride march (Gay Pride Parade; GOOGLE MAP ; www.marchadelorgullo.org.ar; hNov).
zDía de la Tradición
The closest thing to authentic gaucho culture you’ll probably ever witness, with traditional foods, feats of horsemanship, and folk music and dancing. It happens in San Antonio de Areco, a day trip from BA; call the Areco tourist office for exact dates, which vary yearly.
3Gran Premio Nacional
In mid-November the country’s biggest horse race takes place in Palermo’s opulent and French-styled hipódromo. First held in 1884, this is a fine event that not only attracts the well-to-do and celebrity-watchers, but regular families as well. Watch for the granaderos (presidential horseback guards) in their impressive outfits, marching around for the crowds.
zBuenos Aires Jazz
This jazz festival (http://festivales.buenosaires.gob.ar/) takes place over five days in venues all over the city. Jazz musicians of all kinds are featured – emerging and established, avant-garde and traditional, national and international. Concerts and films also take place.
December
Summer in BA means hot and humid temperatures. There's still plenty going on in the city, however.
3Campeonato Abierto Argentino de Polo
Argentina boasts the world’s best polo, and the Abierto ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.aapolo.com; Arévalo 3065; hNov-Dec; bLínea D Ministro Carranza) is the world’s premier polo event. It takes place at Palermo’s Campo Argentino de Polo. For exact dates and details, contact the Asociación Argentina de Polo (www.aapolo.com).
With Kids
For a megalopolis, BA is remarkably child-friendly. On sunny weekends Palermo’s parks bustle with families taking walks and picnicking, while shopping malls fill with strollers. Museums and theme parks are also popular destinations – and don't forget those fun street fairs!
Parque de la Costa | MAXIMOANGEL / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Amusement Parks
Parque de la Costa
Head to Tigre, just north of the center, for a great day excursion. Hop on the fun Tren de la Costa to get to Parque de la Costa, a typical amusement park with rides and activities.
Tierra Santa
Kids might enjoy this religious theme park unlike anywhere you’ve ever been.
Parque Norte
This large water park is perfect on a hot day.
Fun Museums
Museo Participativo de Ciencias
Be sure to visit this science museum in the Centro Cultural Recoleta, with interactive displays that focus on fun learning – signs say ‘prohibido no tocar’ (not touching is forbidden).
Museo Argentino del Títere
In San Telmo, this small puppet museum has a fascinating collection of international and Argentine puppets, but it’s the inexpensive shows that will amuse the kids. Call beforehand to get hours and show times, as they vary widely.
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales
Outside the center in Caballito is the excellent natural history museum, with myriad rooms containing giant dinosaur bones, dainty seashells, scary insects and amusing stuffed animals and birds.
Green Spaces
Buenos Aires has numerous plazas and public parks, many with playgrounds, and these are always popular gathering spots for families.
Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur
If you’re downtown and need a nature break, try this large nature preserve, with good birdwatching, pleasant dirt paths and no vehicular traffic.
Parque 3 de Febrero
Up north, the most attractive green spots are the wide open spaces of Palermo, especially Parque 3 de Febrero. This huge park has a planetarium and a Japanese garden. Here you can rent bikes, boats and inline skates and range freely without worrying about cars!
Chocolate and powdered sugar alfajores | NICOBATISTA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Indoor Playgrounds
Many large modern shopping malls have indoor playgrounds (often on the top floor), along with video arcades, multiplexes and toy shops. On rainy days, these are great places to be with little ones.
Paseo Alcorta
This mall in Palermo has plenty of mechanical rides next to the large food court.
Mercado de Abasto
This beautiful shopping center boasts a full-blown 'Museo de los Niños' (more like a playground than a museum) where kids enter a miniature city complete with post office, hospital and even TV station. It also has a mini amusement park.
Need to Know
AChildcare Get a babysitter or nanny at World Class Nannies (http://worldclassnannies.com).
ATango Shows Nearly all offer 50% discount for children under 12.
ATransport Under fours travel free on the Subte, trains and buses.
Eating & Sleeping
Many restaurants welcome kids, but if a place looks a bit too fancy, ask if they take children.
Most offer a wide selection of food suitable for kids (such as pizza, pasta, meats and vegetables); a few even have children’s menus.
Waiters are accustomed to providing extra plates and cutlery for little ones, though you may not always find booster seats or high chairs.
Buenos Aires is a very late-night city; most restaurants don't open until 9pm, so you'll likely have to adjust your timetable during your travels here.
Don’t forget to take the kids out for ice cream – it’s a real Argentine treat. Other local sweets to try include alfajores (sandwich cookies usually covered in chocolate, available at corner stores) and dulce de leche (a milk caramel often used in desserts).
/> Small boutique hotels, hostels or guesthouses are sometimes not the best places for rambunctious kids, but most hotels accept them.
Some hotel rooms come with kitchenettes; apartment rentals are another good option.
5Eating
Argentines take barbecuing to heights you cannot imagine. Their best pizzas and pastas vie with those of New York and Naples. They make fabulously tasty wines and impossibly delectable ice cream. And ethnic cuisine is rampant in Buenos Aires. In fact, you’ll eat so well here that you’ll need to power-walk between lunch and dinner to work off the excess calories.
Empanadas | GABRIELDOME / GETTY IMAGES ©
Local Specialties & Flavors
The World's Best Steaks
Argentines have perfected the art of grilling beef on the asado (barbecue). This involves cooking with coals and using only salt to prepare the meat. On the grill itself, slanted runners funnel the excess fat to the sides, and an adjustable height system directs the perfect amount of heat to the meat. The asado is a family institution, often taking place on Sunday in the backyards of houses all over the country.
A traditional parrillada (mixed grill) is a common preparation at parrillas (steakhouses) and offers a little bit of everything. Expect choripán (a sausage appetizer), pollo (chicken), costillas (ribs) and carne (beef). It can also come with more exotic items such as chinchulines (small intestines), mojellas (sweetbreads) and morcilla (blood sausage).
Common steak cuts:
ABife de chorizo Sirloin; a popular thick and juicy cut.
ABife de costilla T-bone or Porterhouse steak.
ABife de lomo Tenderloin; a tender, though less flavorful, piece.
ACuadril Rump steak; often a thin cut.
AOjo de bife Rib eye; a choice smaller morsel.
ATira de asado Short ribs; thin, crispy strips of ribs.
AVacío Flank steak; textured, chewy and flavorful.
If you don’t specify how you want your steak cooked, it will come a punto (medium to well-done). Getting a steak medium-rare or rare is harder than you'd imagine. If you want some pink in the center, order it jugoso; if you like it truly rare, try vuelta y vuelta.
Don't miss chimichurri, a tasty sauce made with olive oil, garlic and parsley – it adds a tantalizing spiciness. Occasionally you can also get salsa criolla, a condiment made of diced tomatoes, onion and parsley.
Barbecuing meat on an open-pit asado | STUART DEE / GETTY IMAGES ©
Italian
Thanks to Argentina’s Italian heritage, the national cuisine has been highly influenced by Italian immigrants who entered the country during the late 19th century. Along with an animated set of speaking gestures, they brought their love of pasta, pizza, gelato and more.
Many restaurants make their own pasta – look for pasta casera (handmade pasta). Some of the varieties of pasta you’ll encounter are ravioli, sorrentinos (large, round pasta parcels similar to ravioli), ñoquis (gnocchi) and tallerines (fettuccine). Standard sauces include tuco (tomato sauce, sometimes with meat), estofado (beef stew, popular with ravioli) and salsa blanca (béchamel). Occasionally, the sauce is not included in the price of the pasta – you choose and pay for it separately.
Pizza is sold at pizzerías throughout the country, though many regular restaurants offer it as well. It’s generally very cheesy and excellent, so go ahead and order a slice or three! Other common Italian-based treats include fugazzeta (similar to focaccia) and fainá (garbanzo flatbread).
Other Cuisines
Spanish cooking is less popular than Italian but is a cornerstone of Argentine food. In BA's Spanish restaurants, many of them found in the Congreso neighborhood, you’ll find paella, as well as other typically Spanish seafood dishes.
The Palermo Viejo neighborhood offers a selection of Armenian, Brazilian, Mexican, French, Indian, Japanese, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines (among many others). If you're craving spicy food (anathema to most Argentines), this is the place to come.
Desserts
One of Argentina’s most definitive treats is dulce de leche, a milk-caramel sauce that is dripped on everything from flan to cake to ice cream. Alfajores (round, cookie-type sandwiches) are also delicious – Argentina’s version of the candy bar. The most upscale and popular brand is Havanna (also a coffee-shop chain), but kiosks carry many other kinds.
Because of Argentina’s Italian heritage, Argentine helado is comparable to the best ice cream anywhere in the world. Amble into a heladería (ice-cream shop), order up a cone (usually you pay first) and the creamy concoction will be artistically swept up into a mountainous peak and handed over with a small plastic spoon tucked in the side. Important: granizado means with chocolate chips.
Some of the best heladería chains – with branches all over the city – are Persicco, Freddo and Una Altra Volta, but many smaller independent shops are excellent too.
Woman eating helado (ice cream) | GOGO IMAGES / AGEFOTOSTOCK ©
Need to Know
Price Ranges
The following price ranges refer to a main course.
$ less than AR$150
$$ AR$150–250
$$$ more than AR$250
Opening Hours
ARestaurants are generally open daily from noon to 3:30pm for lunch and 8pm to midnight or 1am for dinner.
AA sure bet for that morning medialuna (croissant) and cortado (espresso coffee with steamed milk) are the city’s many cafes, which often stay open from morning to late at night without a break.
Reservations
Reserve at popular restaurants, especially on weekends. If you don’t speak Spanish, ask a staff member at your hotel to make the call for you. Or check out www.restorando.com.ar.
Tipping
Tip 10% for standard service; make it 15% for exceptional service. Tips usually cannot be added to credit-card purchases. The word for tip in Spanish is propina.
Etiquette
AMost porteños eat no earlier than 9pm (later on weekends).
AAsk for your bill by saying, ‘la cuenta, por favor’ (‘the bill, please’) or making the ‘writing in air’ gesture. Be aware that not all restaurants accept credit cards – always ask first.
AAt upscale restaurants, a per-person cubierto (cover charge) is tacked on to the bill. This covers the use of utensils and bread – it does not relate in any way to the tip.
Vegetarians & Vegans
Argentine cuisine is internationally famous for its succulent grilled meats, but this doesn't mean vegetarians – or even vegans – are out of luck.
Most restaurants, including parrillas, serve a few items acceptable to most vegetarians, such as green salads, omelets, mashed potatoes, pizza and pasta. Words to look out for include carne (beef), pollo (chicken), cerdo (pork) and cordero (lamb), though all meat cuts are described in different words. Sin carne means ‘without meat’, and the phrase soy vegetariano/a (‘I’m a vegetarian’) comes in handy. Pescado (fish) and mariscos (seafood) are sometimes available for pescatarians.
In the Center there's the popular cafeteria Granix and Vita; Broccolino also has good vegetarian options. In San Telmo, head to Hierbabuena. Palermo has plenty of options, including Artemisia, Bio and Buenos Aires Verde.
Eat Like a Local
When to Eat
Argentines eat little for breakfast – usually just coffee with medialunas, either de manteca (sweet) or de grasa (plain). Tostadas (toast) with manteca (butter) or mermelada (jam) is an alternative, as are facturas (pastries). Most hotels offer this basic breakfast, but some higher-end hotels have breakfast buffets.
Argentines make up for breakfast at lunch and dinner, and they love to dine out. Every neighborhood has basic restaurants serving the staples of pasta, pizza and steak (though for the best meats, head to a parrilla).
Where to Eat
Cafes (which serve snacks, light meals and sometimes more) and confiterías (restaurant-cafes) are open all day and into the night. Bars or pubs usually have a more limited range of s
nacks and meals, though some offer full meals. A tenedor libre (literally, ‘free fork’) is an all-you-can-eat restaurant; quality is usually decent, but drinks are often mandatory and cost extra.
Large, modern, chain supermarkets are common, and they'll have whatever you need for self-catering, including (usually) a takeout counter with a decent range of offerings. Smaller, local grocery stores – usually family-run – are also ubiquitous, though they won't have takeout.
Tea for Two
Following in the grand tradition of Londoners and society ladies, porteños have taken to the ritual of afternoon tea. Which isn’t to say that mate is on its way out, mind you – taking a break for chamomile and crumpets is just another excuse for these highly social souls to get together and dish the latest gossip.
Lonely Planet Buenos Aires Page 3