Category: Foodies

Holiday Baking, round one

I can’t help myself. I really like to think that I am helping keep traditions alive in this modern world by doing a little baking during the holidays. I don’t get crafty often, but I do enjoy perusing Martha Stewart (gasp!) magazines at Christmastime to get inspiration for fun ways to wrap up baked goods. I usually end up tweaking things a bit though to put my modernist aesthetic on it. I just finished round one of Baking 2008 this morning: Mini Gingerbread & Pumpkin Bread loaves. The tags were inspired by the Periodic Chart of Elements, because I thought Gingerbread and Pumpkin Bread are elements of the holidays. I just like having fun with it.



Out with a bang!


So we had to finish off our fab adventures in Buenos Aires with a proper culinary sendoff. So what better way than to finish it off at El Bistro, the in-house restaurant at the renowned Faena Hotel + Universe?

What’s Faena? Well, Alex Faena is sort of the Donald Trump of Argentina, but with considerably more taste, style, and flair. The Faena Hotel’s interior was designed by none other than Philippe Starck, one of our favorite designers. On many of our vacations, we’ve sought out his hotels – we’ve been to the Clift in San Francisco, the Delano in Miami, and now Faena in Argentina! Ironically, one that we haven’t visited is the Mondrian, which is right in our backyard in L.A.

Anyways, this was one stylin’ and upper crust meal. We’ve seen chefs prepare “foam” on Top Chef & the Food Network all the time, but this was the first time we got to actually try not 1, but 3! – during this meal (in between courses). And, as you can see above, the space is striking. It’s ornate, but nearly ALL in white with red accents peppered throughout. And the food and wine? Exquisite. Here’s a sampling of the amazing setting in which we dined:

Oh, as a little bonus, after dinner we walked outside the hotel and saw a monument to Juan Manuel Fangio, one of history’s greatest racing drivers and of course an Argentine. His heyday was in the 1950s when he drove Formula 1 for Mercedes-Benz. Here’s Ed posing next to the statue.

We leave first thing in the morning, returning back home. Buenos Aires is a most captivating and gorgeous city, one that will remain with us for a long time. Adios, Buenos Aires!

Tiempo para la parilla!

Argentina is known for many things, not least of which is its beef. And there’s nowhere better to eat your Argentinian beef than at a parilla, or grill, as we English speakers call it.

Luckily for us, our hotel is only a few blocks away from one of the best parillas in town, La Dorita. This unpretentious grill is muy autentico, with a bewildering array of available cuts of beef all grilled up to perfection. It attracts people from all walks of life – we saw families, stylish hipsters, seniors, businesspeople…anyone and everybody.

Here’s Ed with his bife de chorizo, not to be confused with Mexican sausage, but rather the Argentinian term for sirloin. Now THAT’S a hunk of meat!

And here’s Carrie with her half portion of bife de lomo, or what we call tenderloin. Can you believe that’s a half portion?!?

But one of our favorite things at La Dorita wasn’t even the food, as delicious as it was. It was this steaklover’s take on The Last Supper. It was hanging on the wall next to us. Oh yes.

Why break bread when you can chow bife and drink malbec with 12 of your closest pals?

Dining in Style – Casa Cruz, Palermo Hollywood

Tonight we had the privilege of dining in one of Argentina’s finest restaurants – Casa Cruz – in one of the coolest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, Palermo Hollywood. It was close enough to walk to, and we had a great time just exploring the neighborhood a little bit. We were highly anticipating this meal, as it was mentioned in EVERY travel book and blog we read about Buenos Aires. It definitely delivered! Thank goodness for the exchange rate, it was incredible what all we ordered and how reasonably priced the experience was for the best of the best!

We wish we had better pictures, but Casa Cruz is just one of those places that just can’t be captured on camera. We walked through giant 16 ft. brass doors upon entering, and lounged on gorgeous silver sofas with cocktails in hand while we waited for our table.


This is a shot we stole from the web of their monstrous wine wall – this photo only shows a fraction of it! The Argentinans are SERIOUS about their wine – and it’s true – Argentinian wine is incredible! We stuck with the local varieties – Carrie chose a Torrontés, a very bold and fruity white, and Ed had a Malbec, Argentina’s signature red. We decided to put ourselves out there and try an unusual and exotic dish – so Carrie chose the rabbit & Ed chose the grilled octopus. Our waiter was impressed, he said we chose the two best items on the menu! The dining experience was one of the best we’d ever had – amazing service, beautiful food, and tons of variety.

Again, we regret not taking many pics, but here we are enjoying the evening!

It’s pouring rain tonight, so we are relaxing and trying to knock out our jet lag by getting in an early bedtime. Buenas Noches!