Moving Day: Adios Palermo, Hola San Telmo

BUENOS AIRES
This is a non-food post, but I thought maybe you might want to know where I'm staying during my trip just in case you're inspired to visit Buenos Aires.

For the first part of my trip, I've been at a bed-and-breakfast called La Otra Orilla in the Palermo Viejo neighborhood. The photo above is a view of the garden and behind those white French doors is the dining room where we get breakfast every morning. (The breakfast is very continental, nothing Argentinian, so basically cold cereal, fruit salad, cold cuts with toast and yogurt.)

La Otra was opened by a mother and daughter, but I've only seen the daughter running the place. All the other attendants are young, almost like college students, and they're all very friendly and speak English really well. This place is mentioned in several guidebooks, and I decided to stay here because it was cheap. I got the smallest room called the Lino for only $85 a night (FYI: there's a 21 percent hotel tax that's added when you checkout and the tax is often not quoted in the base price).

The Lino room was old and didn't have a phone, but that was OK because I didn't need to call anyone. It's also by the street and next to the reception area, so you get a lot of street noise as people walk by outside and inside. If you consider La Otra, then ask for the other rooms, which are larger (and of course pricier). It's in a quiet neighborhood, but within walking distance of Palermo Soho, where I found several of the restaurants that came highly recommended.

Today, I switched over to my new hotel, The Axel Hotel in the San Telmo neighborhood. The weekends are so popular in October that La Otra was booked up this weekend, so I couldn't book a continuous stay. But that actually worked out for the better because it gives me a chance to explore another neighborhood. San Telmo is the Bohemian neighborhood that's a bit gritty but the latest in attracting boutique shops and new restaurants. It's also the area for an extremely popular Sunday outdoor antiques fair and market.

So here's my new bed. OK, I have a confession. The Axel Hotel was the inspiration for my trip to Buenos Aires. (You all thought it was the meat, huh?) I stayed at the Axel in Barcelona when I traveled there in 2004. I loved the hotel so much that when they emailed me and announced they were going to open a new hotel in Buenos Aires, the seed was planted.

The Axel is a gay-oriented hotel, although they welcome anyone. So that means they're fashion-forward and hip. It would be considered a boutique hotel, although the high prices make it seem more like a luxury hotel. Since I only needed a hotel for the weekend because I fly home Sunday, I was able to find a weekend special at the Axel where I pay for two nights and get the third night free. (The price averages out to about $148 a night for the City Room, which is the smallest and faces the street, again, more street noise.)

One thing the Axel has that La Otra didn't is a spa, so that means a pool and deck to lay out, which is what I really need right now after days of walking and walking and exploring the city. I need some me time to just relax. I mean, this is a vacation. One of the unique design of the Axel in Buenos Aires is the indoor pool on the fifth floor (there's only 5 floors). The roof is the bottom of the pool, so when you look up from the bottom floors, you see people swimming. Well, no one was swimming when I took this picture, but I was just up there earlier swimming for people to see. :) OK, time to chill because it's another four hours before dinner.

La Otra Orilla, Julian Alvarex 1779, Palermo Viejo, Buenos Aires. PH: (54) 11-4863-7426. www.laotraorilla.com.ar

The Axel Hotel, Venezuela 649, San Telmo, Buenos Aires. PH: (54) 11-4393-1975. www.axelhotels.com

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BA Preview: Vegetarians ... Avert Your Eyes!

BUENOS AIRES
It took me four days to mentally prepare myself for it, but last night I went to my first Argentinian parilla.

A parilla is like a steakhouse back in the states, and they specialize in grilling huge pieces of meat. Don't get me wrong; I have been eating meat dishes pretty much every day that I've arrived. But the meat at a parilla takes on a grander stage. Above is a simply grilled lomo or sirloin steak. I feel like the photo doesn't give it justice to how exactly huge and thick it was when it arrived.

The parilla was La Trapiche in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood, and I'll post a more compete report when I get back. For now, please wipe your drool and go back to your regular size hamburgers! ;-)

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Hook Me Up: Tazz Soho (Buenos Aires)

BUENOS AIRES
Happy Columbus Day from Buenos Aires! It's also an official holiday here as well, although I haven't really done the research to understand why Christopher Columbus is honored in this South American country. But I'm sure he "discovered" here, too.

Today has been really low-key because after days of sunny spring weather we're experiencing some light rain and overcast skies. And despite most stores and restaurants being open, the streets have been really quiet and it does feel like a Sunday. So I decided to just hang around doing nothing. But then I got bored so I packed up my laptop and went searching for wi-fi.

I've found that in Buenos Aires, wi-fi is widely available at certain bars. Sure, they're also available at cafes, but also bars. So I decided to see what that experience would be like, which is how I ended up here at Tazz Soho Entertainment Bar in Palermo Soho, a touristy, ritzy area that's just a few blocks from the bed and breakfast I'm staying at.

Tazz Soho looked really cool from the outside. And it is smack dab in the middle of the hip neighborhood (that tries to be New York by calling itself Soho even though there's no Houston Street around). Then I walked in and while there's a full bar, it really is more a Dave & Busters because upstairs is the entertainment section with billiards and games. So combined with the pulsating club music are kids screaming and video games sound abound. What fun. ;-)

Here's a view of the bar. BTW, I didn't mention that I'm blogging this live at 6:48 p.m. Buenos Aires time. Yes, this is considered the afternoon for the portenos (locals) because they're not really going to have dinner until after 10 p.m. So they're just hanging out having snacks and drinking wine. I'm actually the only one taking advantage of the wi-fi access and am the only one with a laptop. They must be thinking: strange American with his odd hours for wi-fi surfing.

So since I'm at a bar, I decided to get a glass of red wine, or Malbec, but ironically they only sell it by the bottle. At least, that's what my waitress told me. But then again, she doesn't really speak English so I had to try to talk to her in broken Spanish and the universal tourist sign language. She eventually said she'll give me wine by the cup, but I wasn't sure how much she was going to charge me for it, so I just got a mojito.

I also got the Tazz special dessert, which is pictured above. I wasn't expecting much, but it was really good. It's a warm chocolate cake with two scoops of dulce de leche ice cream and a sprinkling of nuts. I liked how the cake was fresh and warm and the ice cream was wonderful.

It does seem a bit weird working on a laptop at a bar, but this is the only way I can think of killing time until dinner in another four hours. I still really don't know what Argentinians are doing at this time since they're neither eating nor sleeping. Time for another mojito!

Tazz Soho Entertainment Bar
Location: Armenia 1744, Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
Food: Sandwiches, salads, pizzas, pasta, desserts
Coffee: Yes, with Bailey's and more
Wi-Fi: Yes, free, no password necessary
Outlets: None
Restrooms: Yes
Seating: Lots in the front lounge area and in back on the first floor.
Cleanliness: Average

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Ode to an Empanada

BUENOS AIRES

Oh empanada
You are more than nada
You're filled with beef,
eggs, olives, and raisins
Sometimes spinach,
cheese or corn.

You seem easy to make
Until I start to fold you
Then your edges break.
But does it really matter?
When I hungrily eat you
with a glass of Malbec?
Baked or fried, I
prefer you baked.
Oh empanada

I was so inspired after taking a cooking class in the home of an Argentinian woman named Teresita who lives outside of Buenos Aires. It's fun to find a cooking class while traveling. You get to meet people through the common language of food.

The above empanadas were the ones we made this morning. I'll be posting a more complete report when I get back. Until then, I wanted you to meet my new best friend, Tiny, who is the family dog. She's some kind of hound, I think German? But she's so lovable. She was totally attached to me, but that may be because I fed her half of an empanada.

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Helado ... the Afternoon Meal

BUENOS AIRES
I'm still getting used to the eating schedule here. And I just found out that Argentinians are the only Latin country that doesn't follow the siesta custom. WTF? Anywho, Argentinians eat lunch around 1 and 2 p.m., and then they don't eat again until 10 or 11 p.m. when they head to a restaurant for dinner.

They might get a snack in the afternoon, and I found that the best snack is helado, the Buenos Aires' ice cream that traces its history to the Italian gelato. They're very similar in consistency, with that elasticity that makes it creamy but slick. But Argentinians believe theirs is better.

This afternoon I got my first cup of helado from Freddo, one of the popular helado chains found at the various tourist spots. Freddo's flavors are broken into categories: Crema, Chocolate, Dulce de Leche, fruits and a "light" category. I ended up getting a cup for 12 pesos (about $4.15) with two flavors: Sabayon Italiano and a fruit flavor called Maracuya.

I thought the sabayon would be like the French custard, but it's actually an alcohol-soaked ice cream. That's right, they spike their ice creams! This Italiano version has a rum flavor with raisins and nuts (it's the big scoop on the top). It was a really unique tasting experience, and I may get another one for happy hour!

Under it you see a bit of the maracuya fruit. I didn't know what it was but I thought it sounded mysterious. So being adventurous when traveling, I decided to just risk it. I liked it but couldn't figure out what fruit it was. It seems really close in taste to passion fruit. (Hey, I just checked Wikipedia, and I was correct! It is a kind of passion fruit. I'm good.)

What was that? You want me to test the other heladorias in town to see which is the best? All right, if you insist. ;-)

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BA Preview: My Lunch With Evita

BUENOS AIRES
After 17 hours on a plane (2 of those hours just sitting on the tarmac at Washington/Dulles), I finally made it to Buenos Aires, fresh in springtime with the sun out and the air still cool and crisp.

My first stop was the Museo Evita, the museum dedicated to the "spiritual leader" of Argentina, Eva Peron. I mostly ended up here because the museum is just a few blocks from the B&B that I'm staying at. Also because I don't plan on visiting Peron's mausoleum (people rave about the architecture, but grave sites still creep me out).

The tiny museum has a cafe and bar on the side, and that's where I had a late lunch. Above is just a preview of my experience. I'll write more when I get back home. So this is just a taste of what's to come from BA.

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Eating With Alligators, Penguins and Butterflies

I'm in total tourist mode, but when I woke up this morning there were still 48 hours before my trip to Buenos Aires. So I packed up my camera and caught the BART into San Francisco to visit the 1-week-old California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.

The new academy is the hottest ticket in town. It's gotten so much press since it opened on Sept. 27 that everyone wants to check it out. I thought, hey, it's Monday, a weekday, and I arrived somewhat early at 11 a.m., so who else would be there other than maybe a few school kids? Boy was I wrong. There were already several lines snaking out from the entrance.

Luckily, I only had to stand in line for 20 minutes to get a ticket and then to get into the actual academy.

TIP: Buy your tickets online in advance and then you can print them out on computer kiosks on the sidewalk in front of the California Academy of Sciences. And if you didn't order your ticket online, you can still buy them from these kiosks, which seem to move faster than the regular ticket line.

Admission is a steep $24.95 for non-member adults (children under 6 gets in free!) but it is sooo worth it. For your ticket, you're actually visiting three major attractions: the Morrison planetarium (featuring the movie The Fragile Planet narrated by Sigourney Weaver), an aquarium that takes up the entire lower level, and a three-level rainforest.

But this is a food blog, so I'm going to focus a bit about the eating options at the Academy. When you walk in, the first thing you see is the open courtyard where people are resting and snacking in an open-air environment.


You have to be prepared for a lot of standing in lines, at least during these early days. So here's a long line for the coffee cart and snack stand in the courtyard.

Most of the food options are at the first-floor Academy Cafe, which received a lot of attention because it was organized by local culinary favorite Charlie Phan of The Slanted Door.

Phan devised the cafeteria layout into sections focused on a style of cooking. So that means sections called "Steamed" or "Sizzle (Fried)." But you also have sections that's self-explanatory like "Salads" and "Noodles." But there's also stands like "The Taco Man." It's really something for everyone. And yes, you can expect a major wait in lines to pay (not necessarily to get your food) during the lunch hour. Now, here's some food porn...

Mmmm, dessert.
A worker puts together fresh Vietnamese Imperial shrimp rolls.

Steamed buns.
Pasta from the Noodles stand. Oh, the Chronicle wrote a column about how kids like pasta with just plain butter and why can't the Academy Cafe offer that. You know what? I saw pasta with butter offered today when I went. Kids are happy again.

If you want to avoid the crowds at the cafe, then spend the money to have lunch at the Moss Room, the academy restaurant put together by another local culinary fav Loretta Keller of Coco500. There's two ways down to the restaurant: 1) next door to the Academy Cafe there's an entrance where you go down an elevator like heading to a private club, or 2) from the Cafe you walk down the stairs along the live moss wall...


The restaurant actually looks smaller than I imagined, but it was elegant and calm, unlike the chaos upstairs in the cafe. So that's where I found myself for lunch, enjoying a nice glass of champagne and checking out Keller's menu of local, sustainable fish and stuff (chicken, lamb, etc. and lots of stuff for kids like spaghetti).

I started with this Monterey Squid appetizer ($11). The squid was great, but there were too many chickpeas and they were over salted.

For my entree I got the Grilled California Yellowtail with lentils and French leeks ($21), which was a bit overcooked. Yellowtail is so wonderful raw that I hoped the grilling was more a searing, but the fish meat was cooked through and a bit dry. Overall, I thought the food wasn't executed that well although the menu sounded interesting. It might be the kitchen finding their way and trying to deal with the crowds (everyone did seem like they were still trying to figure out things) but service was friendly.

So that's the food. Now, I'm just going to throw a few of my favorite pics from the day. There were tons of them, but this just gives a taste of what you can expect when visiting.

The albino alligator is finally back home. He did not move one bit the whole time.

The aquarium featured coral reefs from the Philippines, which apparently has the most diverse coral reefs in the world. Who knew?


My favorite things: amazing jelly fish that was like a floating flower.

The amazing rainforest display filled with plants, butterflies, birds, and ...

...these real live frogs. They were the size of a quarter.


The living roof upstairs, with Sutro Tower in the background.

The penguins moved so fast when they were in the water.

California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Check Web site for hours and the free days.

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Jumbo Pomegranates at Temescal Farmers' Market

They're starting to pop up at farmers' market now and, boy, are some of them huge. I'm talking about pomegranates, which is one of the few fruits still grown in people's backyard despite how much POM wants to mass produce it. But because of POM, most people know by now that pomegranates are a great source of antioxidants, which help you fight off colds and stuff. I just love their color. These were organic pomegranates from the Central Valley at this farmer at the Sunday Temescal Farmers' Market. I hope they're still around in a couple of weeks when I get back home from my vacation!

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Dish on Dining: Turtle Tower

A Local Favorite Serving Up Steaming Bowls of Pho
631 Larkin St. (at Willow), San Francisco
Civic Center/Tenderloin
PH: 415.409.3333
Open Mon., Wed.–Sun., 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
No reservations, cash only

One weekend after spending a day at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, I wandered the Tenderloin neighborhood in search of pho, the Vietnamese soup noodles. That’s when I walked by Turtle Tower and its crowd of people standing outside waiting for a seat to taste the widely talked about Northern-style pho.

Turtle Tower has grown so popular that it attracts a mixed crowd of local Vietnamese families, young Asians and those who read about the restaurant on Yelp. There was a long list of names on the clipboard hanging in the front, but since I’m the Single Guy and was by myself, the host sent me to the back.

I was a bit confused and started walking toward the kitchen when he told me to walk around outside. So I walked out and went around the Willow Street alley and found the second entrance to Turtle Tower, almost like a banquet hall with round tables filled with patrons.

I was directed to sit at the round table in the back, sharing it with other couples and singles. This is like bar seating but without the alcohol.

I looked over the menu, and Turtle Tower emphasizes that its cuisine is from North Vietnam around Hanoi, as opposed to the more familiar Saigon/Southern style cuisine.

Wanting to try something different, I ordered the wine-braised beef pho ($6.95). My large bowl came with a slight wine tint and a tiny side of slice jalapeno peppers and lime.

Pure Northern style pho does not come with the side plate of bean sprouts, basil leaves and lime. True to that theory, Turtle Tower only begrudgingly provides a tiny bit of jalapeno and lime. Nothing else.

Another distinguishing factor in Turtle Tower’s pho compared to others I’ve tried here and in Vietnam is that the rice noodles are more milky in color, more soft in texture, and more wide in size. They’re very similar to Chinese flat rice noodles. If this is the type of rice noodles you like, then you’ll be happy with the pho at Turtle Tower.

But I’m more a fan of the thinner, slightly translucent and a bit al dente rice noodles I’ve had at other places. It’s a matter of personal taste, really.

Other than the noodles, the meat itself was tender and had a distinctive red wine taste. It really tasted like beef stew cubes. They were good, but not amazing. The flavor was one-dimensional, mainly red wine.

I returned a second time to test the famous pho ga (or chicken noodle soup). This time I sat in the front, which was still crowded despite arriving in the late afternoon.

The pho ga ($5.75, small) was topped with clean strips of chicken breast and I could tell the broth was clear and light. The broth, which glistened with the tiny pearls of fat, was satisfying and I can see how it would be good when you have a cold or otherwise under the weather. Still, I didn’t consider it life-changing like how some people have talked about it. I do give Turtle Tower points for freshness, though.

I also decided to try one of my standard dishes, grilled pork over rice ($6.95). I love the taste of thinly sliced marinated pork that’s been nicely grilled. The plate that arrived looked disappointing because the pork pieces looked a bit small and dry. When I bit into them, I was right. The only thing that saved the meat was me pouring the accompanying sauce of sugar, fish sauce and chilies.

I find Turtle Tower to be similar to other Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland’s Chinatown, but it’s more crowded because of the unusual word-of-mouth it’s received. But since I’m not a fan of its wide, rice noodles, I’m content with getting my pho near my home in Oakland. Turtle Tower definitely uses fresh ingredients and the broth is light and clear, but is it really worth all the hassle waiting for a table? I don’t think so.

Single guy rating: 2.5 stars (for Northern pho purists)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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