Buenos Aires ****New Questions****

B

Bottlecap

250+ Posts
So, i don't go anywhere these days without consulting the oracles of On the Road Again.
Me and 3 dudes will be in the fine country of Argentina in Early October. We're obviously gonna attempt to acheive gout with all of the beef we'll eat and the Malbecs/Quelmes we'll drink, but do any of you have specific recommendations where this should take place.

Bar, restaurant, entertainment, etc recommendations?

We'll be seeing the Argie-Chile football match while there, so, um ,that should be kinda VERY thrilling.

Cheers!


************EDIT*************

Thanks for all of the suggestions and replies. Two questions...

We're renting an apartment for just over 1K for the entire week in Palermo Soho. Thats a whopping $250 for the week, a f'ing steal. I assume this area is fun to stay in.

Also, can anyone out there tell me how we can get a hold of 4 tix to the Argentina v Chile WC qualifier on 10/13/07? This would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Por favor! It's "Quilmes" with an "i". Believe me, after a few days down here, you won't be able to ever make that mistake again.
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STEAK- La Cabrera in Palermo Viejo at 5099 J.A. Cabrera & Thames Street.(pronounced close to "Thomas")

The steaks are about US$12 and come with an assload of chilled sides in tiny bowls. ("ramicans" I think.) You can also order all of the traditional steakhouse sides for something like US$5-$6/each. (I believe around Ar$17.)

You will probably eat here at least twice in a 7 day stretch. Maybe 3 times. Hell, maybe 3 dinners and 3 lunches. I have some German and Australian friends that definitely got their fill before flying home.

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The Link

chau y suerte
 
Nice...
Cabana Las Lilas is also tops, as is La Cabana, all in PV.
For three guys, hit Blacks and Madaho's in the Recolletta area for meeting some Portena's.
ps. its "Riquelme" not Quilmes- just kidding..
 
A less expensive place is La Estancia in the Microcentro... off of Suipacha. Not as fancy but you'll get a mountain of meat (including random cuts) for a reasonable price. Objects in the picture are much larger than they appear...

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Check out El Diamante in Palermo Viejo.

Also, go here for more on Palermo Viejo -The Link
 
La Estancia is solid for the "parilla mixta" approach to things -- mountains of varied meats. Don't be a ***** -- eat everything they have, even the stuff that you don't recognize. You need to get a full-on asado experience somewhere.

La Cabrera is also a solid choice for a classic Argentine steak dinner.

BUT, when we visited, at least once each trip went to what many say is THE classic -- Las Nazarenas. If I recall correctly, their signature steak was called the bife Las Nazarenas -- imagine a Porterhouse, about 3-4 inches thick, weighng well over a kilo (2+ lbs). We would order 2 -- the men would eat the strip side, and the women would eat the loin side. And we were all stuffed. And of course, lots of affordable malbecs.

Choripans are tasty (sausage on a bun, sold on the street), as are the candied peanuts sold by various street vendors. Also, at one of the parillas, try a provoleta -- it's a 3.4 inch thick wheel of provolone, marinated in oil and herbs, then grilled. It is served hot and melty, and you spread it on french/italian bread. Tasty.

Now, I went as a married man, so I can't comment on the night life. But even my wife would comment on the scenery -- suffice it to say that the local ladies are quite lovely. I advise you to bring at least a modicum of game.
 
So I'm bad with names of places, but we hit an area very similar to Rice Village one evening (kind of close to Hard Rock Cafe, I believe). Lot of food, bars, and cafes, plenty of female locals. Once the nightclubs really start pickin up in this area, you'll dance / party the night away. We ended up meeting some waitresses at a wine bar (second night there) and ended up hanging out with them for days, off and on. Young, beautiful and funny, good times.

Somewhere around that area, several well known men's clubs also. Walked into one, it was so packed you could hardly move, however a stage wrapped around the whole club about 12 ft off the floor. I'd guess, no less than 2 dozen women dancing away, with very very little clothing. On top of that, about another 75 to 100 walking around mingling with guys. Like I said it was so packed, we left after about 15 min, hit the dance clubs. The talent in that men's club blew away anything Houston has to offer.

The women in Argentina are beautiful and plentiful, a great country for single men. I can't stress this enough, if a woman makes eye contact with you, tell her hello (if possible). Once they know you're american, you just caught their interest.

As for food, I was there for almost 3 weeks, never had a bad meal and drank PLENTY of great wine. I'm bookmarking some places off this thread and plan on visiting some my next trip. Quilmes is the beer of Argentina, it's great or maybe I was always drunk by the time I had my first beer.

We stayed right on Florida Ave. in BA, I'm guessing it's one of the main tourist areas. Lot's of shopping and eats.

If you have time, make it over to Cordoba. It's much cheaper than Buenos Aires and if I remember right, it houses 5 different universities. We hit a ton college bars / hangouts, and I can honestly say, you will not see better on campus !

I also went down to Nuegen and also had a great time there. Nuegen area is even cheaper than Cordoba. Great up and coming vineyards in this area. Two great casinos down there, over two nights we walked out with over 12,000 pesos, good times.

I'm hoping to make it down again in December, Nuegen, do some fishing and just relax.

edit -- if you find yourself by Newberry airport, eat at 'Siga la Vaca', great parrilla for about 30 pesos.
 
First off- "Parilla Mixta"
It's borderline nasty. If you like used condoms, covered in grease, and then stuffed with dog crap, then you will LOVE chicholine (whatever the intestine is). You basically have a rubbery, fatty organ of the body that is filled with decomposing digested food (****) when the animal is killed then they take that ****-sausage and eat it.
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I tried it once and I couldn't swallow it.

-Rinon- (aka "Kidneys"). When grilled and sliced, it looks like pork, but it tastes like ***. Tried it once, couldn't swallow it.

We have evolved so that we don't have to eat the **** part of the animals anymore. The steaks are good, DAMN GOOD, here. Why eat **** when you can eat steak?
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The GIRLS-

WARNING KEEP ALL MAGNETS AWAY FROM THEIR FACES!!

The amount of Facial Metal in the faces of Portenas is mind boggling. There are some girls who choose not to destroy a nice face, but the amount of girls who feel the need to stick holes in their nose, eye-brow, lip, skin above their lip, skin below their lip... is unreal!!

I think that these girls feel guilty that they don't have the large mole multi-pack on their face and decide to stick something in their face as a form of self-flagellation. And why DON'T THEY GET THOSE MOLES REMOVED??? (Plastic surgery is CHEAP down here!)

But you will find handfuls of attractive girls here and there. They're not into the whole "showering all the time" thing or the whole "using conditioner" thing that American girls are into, but whatever. They almost all wear tight clothing and if it is warm enough, you will notice that they almost all wear push-up bras.

There are many spinners here, because half the female population seems to be under 5' tall.

Now their Spanish sucks, and what they call "talking", we tend to call "whining", but it is just their awkward inflections.

But being American counts for something. ESPECIALLY if they can speak English or you can speak Spanish. If not, then it doesn't count for much.

Just don't expect "Texas Hot" levels, or "California Hot" or NYC, or Italy... Go in with low expectations and you'll very pleasantly surprised. Come in with high expectations and you will be bummed out.

Eat good food while you are hear. That basically means steaks or a good Vietnamese place in Palermo Hollywood called GREEN BAMBOO.

You'll be surpisingly disappointed by their Italian food, but you will have to eat some pizza and some empanadas. It's required by law.

You will be confused by their lack of variety when it comes to ingrediants in sandwiches, empanadas, life... WHY IS JAMON Y QUESO IN EVERYTHING?

Oh, but the ICE CREAM kicks ***. And it is EVERYWHERE!!
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Hey, I'm a mexican coonass. If it can be killed, it can be et.
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Other items from a parilla mixta:

Lechon -- suckling pig. It rocks.
Ubre -- cow udder. Not so good.
Mollejas -- sweetbreads. Awesomeness.

If you can get some patagonian lamb (cordero), it's kick-*** as well.

And in Brazil, they serve a cut called "cubim" -- it's the hump of their large Brahma-type cattle. It's like the point (fatty part) of a brisket -- and it's fantastic. Never saw it offered in BA, though.

And I concur on the jamon y queso -- every sandwich is a ham and cheese sandwich -- the only variation is what else you put on it.

Matambre is also a good meal -- it's flank steak rolled around various vegetables, a hardboiled egg, and other goodies. It's filling, and usually cheap.

Italian food -- gnochi are often a good choice. Get some good fresh parmesan on it, and it's a nice meal, usually for $3 or so. Their pizzas are odd. Some are good, some ain't.

Napoleon is right on the ice cream -- it's gelato-style, and it's everywhere. It's good stuff.

When you get papas fritas anywhere, get them provencal -- they'll be sprinkled with toasted garlic, parsley, and salt. Damned good stuff.

As for the women, granted, it's been a while since I've been there -- but they were LOVELY. We weren't out in clubs though. But my folks place DID look out over the Plaza San Martin, which would be filled with sunbathers in bikinis. Sweet leapin' jeebus -- it was just wrong.

And finally, even the cheap wines are good. And the expensive wines aren't really that expensive. We drank wine at damned near every meal.
 
Their pizzas are actually pretty good - yes, a little different than Italy but you can't beat Fugazza (if you like onions). Pizza in BsAs is definitely better than U.S. pizza.

Gnocchi are good in BsAs - they definitely have that down - and Italian... well, you have so many Italian places that you'll come across both good and bad.

In reply to:
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1) You should ALWAYS!!! Add new questions at the BOTTOM OF THE THREAD!!!
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2) You wrote "1K/week" and then said "$250/Week". I'm guessing that you mean $1,000/mo.

That's a great price compared to a HOTEL. It should be a pretty nice place for an apartment. A friend is looking at one bedroom/ 1 bath in the Recoletta area for ~$700, but there are issues.

PALERMO SOHO (a.k.a. "Palermo Viejo") is a great place to stay for a month. Especially if you are within 5 or 6 blocks of Plaza Serrano. Tons of cafes, restaurants, shops, bars... Great place. You'll be psyched.


3) TICKETS!!!

You should look through a travel agency. There is a "discount travel agency" down here called SAY HEY QUE! The arrange soccer trips, but you will be paying the GRINGO price.

But that price includes being picked up by a cab, dropped off at a meeting place. Picked up by a bus and then taken to the Stadium.

I'm guess that if the game is in Buenos Aires, then it is at River Plate Stadium because the capacity there is ~80,000.

I think that only locals can buy at the Argentine price. Even if you go to the boxoffice. It's to protect againts guys like you coming to town and buying up all of the tickets.
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That's all I know for now, but I'll keep my head up. You'll be happy about Palermo Soho, best restaurants in town are in that area.
 
Palermo Soho is definitely (in my opinion) the area to stay in - tons of bars, restaurants, shops, etc. Palermo Hollywood is nearby, too, and will probably be up your alley.
 
CELL PHONES

You are going to want CELL PHONES down here. It is easy, but it will take an hour or two your first day.

I went to MOVISTAR (pronounced like "MOW-VEE-STAR") and bought a AR$12 chip my first full day here. After that you have to buy cards for credit or you can go online and put credit on your phone.

You can either "unlock" your phone in the States or you can buy one down here. I think that you can get a new one for about AR$80 (~US$26). I unlocked mine, so I didn't have to learn a new phone.

Just a word up. You and all your friends are going to want to have phones that work down here.

WHY PHONES?-

When you go to get something to eat and your friend is still sleeping, he's gonna wake up and want to know where you are, you'll need a phone.

When you are at a bar talking to a chica and you need a wingman, but your wingman is 30 yards away, you'll need a phone.

When you meet chicas at dinner and they are leaving to go to a bar and you are still eating, you will want to get their phone numbers... and you'll need a phone.

You want to make dinner reservations and you're at a bar/internet cafe/park... you'll need a phone.

You are ANYWHERE and you want to make a call or someone is trying to get in touch with you... you'll need a phone.

It is 2007... you'll need a phone.

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why do you want phones?

i just found out im going to chile and argentina in december. ive got lots of questions about argentina.

1. how long of a flight is it from santiago to buenos aires.
2. if i go to pinamar and mar del plata from buenos aires, what is the best thing to do:
a. plan on getting a hotel in each beach town?
b. rent a car and just drive back and forth from the beach to buenos aires each night.
c. take trains to and from the beaches.

i ask because i heard that nightlife in buenos aires is kind of lacking in the summer down there and the best times are to be had at the beaches.

i am going to have more questions. i will add more as i think of them

thanks!

oh and ****, is there soccer in december.

thats really it.
 
Check the flight schedule on Lan or Aerolinas for flight time, I believe about 3hrs
January and February are the busy months at the beach, not December. You will have plenty to do in BA in December if you like. The beaches in Argentina are not as nice as ones farther north in Uruguay, Buzios, or Florianopolis- which I would highly recommend all of them if it is the beach party scene you are seeking.
 
I will let you know what I know. But I've only been down here since the end of March, so there are lots of things that I don't know.

1. This I think that you can find on the internet.

2. I suggest getting a hotel at the beach towns. It is always more fun to stay at the beach than to commute. I've been commuting for years in LA and if I had the funds, I would live by the beach.

I think that people don't work much in the summer. (Or so I've heard.) I think that they just go out and make it through the day at work.

There will be plenty to do in Buenos Aires in December, because the weather will be warm and everyone will be in that "Christmas & New Year's is almost here" mood that we get in the States, but here it will be with that Southern Hemisphere twist-

Get into shape for the beach, go out at night, hook up with tourists...
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That's all I can think of.

If you are going to the beach for 3-5 days in a row, STAY AT THE BEACH. But when you are staying in Buenos Aires, people will be hitting the clubs all week as well. I can't imaging that they would do that all year long and then stop doing that once the weather is nice.
 
what is the good part of BA to get a hotel in. im on orbitz and am pretty impressed with the quality of hotel for the price. my only concern is picking the wrong part of town. the options are Recoleta
Microcentro - Business District
Plaza de Mayo
San Telmo
Avenida de Mayo
Puerto Madero
Congreso


thanks!
 
Recoletta is considered the Upper East Side, while Palermo Hollywood and SoHo are more like SoHo and the Lower East Side. I recommend any of hte Loi Suite hotels to stay in especially if you are staying a long term. They have little kitchenettes in each unit. The Loi Suites Recolletta is just across from the park and shopping.

Napoleon is correct, if you are going to the beach, spend the night out there. Like I said already, most Argentines actually go to Uruguay for the beach weekends. It is approximately the same distance and time to get there by ferry versus bus to Argie beaches.
Pick up the Time Out Buenos Aires and you will be fine.
 
also, if you could lay out some of the parts of town to avoid, it would help a lot. i dont want to get a hotel in a really bad part of town. here is what i am looking at.
The Link
 
Well, I can tell you that San Telmo is getting sketchy these days. I know of a couple of muggings of friends there, included an attempted mugging of my folks.

Middle of the afternoon -- A guy cut off my dad and tried to yank his watch off his arm. My dad instinctively made a fist, so that the watch couldn't come off. He was also carrying a heavy wooden box in a bag, which he then swung up to clock the dude upside the head. As my mother realized what was going on, she reached over and burned the thief's arm with a cigarette. He gave up and ran off to a motorbike driven by an accomplice, with a burnt arm and rubbing his busted skull, where he jumped on back and got a ride back to the BA thieves lair, wherever that might be, where I'm sure he was the subject of much mockery that night.
 
Where should you stay? The options are:Recoleta YESMicrocentro - Business District NoPlaza de Mayo No
San Telmo Probably not, but possibly
Avenida de Mayo No
Puerto Madero No- Nice, but totally dead
Congreso Are you ******* kidding me?
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... I mean "NO!"


San Telmo will be filled with activity at night while you are here (when are you here?), but I can't think of a cool place to stay. It is more of a locals area at night, with tourists during the day. People are a less likely to shower daily in San Telmo versus Recoleta/Palermo Viejo.

I just moved from there. There can be large amounts of trash on the sidewalks, homeless people sleeping in doorways, and nary a tree for blocks. You should definitely visit the place, but I don't think that you would want to stay there.

I do think that it is neat that C.A.S.T. (Club Atletico de San Telmo) uses the space underneath the highway that runs between Av. San Juan & Cochabamba for soccer fields. Not full length, but they can play in the rain, because they are under the highway. The main office/gift shop is on Bolivar b/n San Juan y Cochabamba if you want to buy a souvenir.


Recoleta- Just moved about a block from the cemetery. Walked around last night for a second. There are restaurants and bars facing the wall of the cemetery and it was somewhat dead last night. It's still kind of cold and this place thrives on patio seating.

There is a multi-level cheesy dance club (a.k.a. "boliche" pronounced "bowl-EE-chay") called "SAHARA" that was pretty dead. And then I passed this restaurant/bar with big glass windows and rather attractive prostitutes inside. I think that this is a "To Go" Whorehouse.
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Putas Para Llevar. I think that these prostitutes cater more to gringos with fat wallets than the whores that put fliers in all of the phone booths along Av. Santa Fe, Calle Florida, and Avs. de Mayo y de Julio.

There is also a 24 HR McDonalds (with a McCafe) and the movie theater as well just a half a block further.

Recoleta is nice, the stores are nice, the sidewalks are clean (because they clean the dog poop everyday), and the people (girls) are better looking than the other options that you've listed.

You will pay more for everything, but it will still be cheap by American standards.

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