They were always conveners, but for some time now they have greatly expanded their audience. Is that the still lifes and canteensclassics of classics in the Argentine gastronomy (and especially Buenos Aires), have begun to renew themselves to also attract a young segmentwho seeks so much good dishes like a sophisticated atmosphere and fresh spirit. And that’s what they provide chic canteensone of the strongest trends in local gastronomy, which are gradually emerging in different parts of the city.
product love
Opened in December of last year in Chacarita, Red Mother It is located on a corner and seeks to “reclaim the Buenos Aires canteen.” Created by the owners of Sede Whiskey y Sifón in alliance with chef Juan Barcos, the premise is to focus on the quality of the product and the selection of the raw material. Thus, the construction of the menu is governed by seasonality, although always offering infallible dishes with a twist. Some examples: french fries with provenzal, roasted leeks with mashed potatoes, hazelnuts and romesco sauce, burrata with peach, organic tomatoes and huacatay or center roast. There is also wagyu charcuterie (Japanese bovine breed), chacarero salami and grilled sausages.
All this is completed with an architecture where the corner sidewalk is the protagonist and meeting point and in which even the glassware was cared for in tune with tradition: it is from El Progreso, the first glass cooperative in the country. “We wanted to bring to the neighborhood a typical Buenos Aires canteen that also challenges gastronomy or contemporary cuisine. The differential is in the search and selection of raw material and producers, which we did prior to facing the project”, details Juan Manuel Bidegain, one of the creators.
Towards Palermo, meanwhile, The imperfect It seduces with its siphons on the table and its stainless steel plates, in which they serve delicacies such as salteña empanadas baked in a clay oven, humita, oyster mushrooms with chimichurri and grilled meats. There is also a place for desserts, with stars such as flan, figs, baked apples and a warm cookie with ice cream that renews the tradition. Among the peculiarities of the place, the fact that they do not have a gas installation stands out, so everything that is cooked is with wood and fire, with the special flavor that this implies.
“The concept arose from cooking together with Emilia, my girlfriend, and taking advantage of all her knowledge of northern regional dishes,” says Diego Rizzi, owner (and also creator of Opio Gastro Pub), who feels that there is a tendency to return to the roots of a less pretentious kitchen, but taking care of product and aesthetics. With a black and white checkerboard floor, exposed vaulting and a vintage crockery, among other details, they create the perfect climate to enjoy it.
Meanwhile, at the corner of Bulnes and Gorriti, The eighth he presents himself as the homonymous member of a family of seven bodegones from Buenos Aires. “Those of a lifetime, of those who go with your grandfather and meet the owners because we are always there. Those that with their flavors make you travel to childhood or to some dear moment. We are the new generation, but we carry it in our DNA”, expresses this local in his manifesto. It is that those who are in charge of this eighth still life descend from gastronomic entrepreneurs who created several notable bars in the city, and apply that inherited wisdom combined with their young and fresh spirit.
A restored mansion with mosaic floors, an imposing wooden bar, fringe chandeliers and even a bathroom with a claw-foot bathtub is the setting for serving different portions, soups and main dishes. There is no shortage of pickled aubergines, garlic prawns, squid rings, Spanish octopus with baked potatoes, olive oil and paprika or ham and cheese sorrentines with chicken stew. There are also stews, cakes, salads, croquettes (the black pudding one brings them to you), tortillas and homemade sandwiches: the menu is super extensive and definitely covers transgenerational tastes.
A current look
Sometimes, this type of gourmet enterprise has to do with rescuing nearby roots, but with a current look. That was the case of gastronomic entrepreneur Alejandro Pochat, for whom to open Virginia’s Private, on a corner of Recoleta, was a way of paying homage to his great-grandfather Don Virginio Grego, philanthropist and creator of Particulares 30 cigarettes, among other brands. “La Particular has an air of the dining room of its factory, with touches of 1930 design, a warm little place, with old jazz, where one can escape and get carried away to that time in our history,” he invites.
As for the menu, it is presented as a classic of the porteño palate updated to our times. It offers Mediterranean and Argentinian dishes, among which are a burrata with caponata, pistachios and honey, braised ossobuco with mushroom sauce, slow-cooked vacuum-cooked 400-gram rib eye and parmigiana with aubergines, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce, among others. “All our dishes go through an artisanal oven, which together with new kitchen technologies allows us to offer preparations of the highest quality without losing that touch of our customs,” Pochat details.
He did so well in this incursion, that in November 2019 he decided to open Festín Cantina, also in Recoleta. Here, as the name indicates, the proposal is to get together with family or friends and feast on dishes from our lands. Various appetizers alternate with large portions of mains, being able to combine chard fritters or homemade potato omelette with milanese and Neapolitan supreme, for example. “Those recipes that have nothing to give, with a more professional touch,” explains the entrepreneur, in terms as Argentine as his proposal.
That touch includes a slightly finer service than that of the canteens of the past, with young but experienced waiters, and with decoration and photos of the most beloved Argentines, such as Gato Dumas, Tato Bores or Aníbal Troilo. “Restaurants open and close. With molecular food, with many steps, ethnic, haute cuisine, there is everything. But people will never lose that habit of eating at home, like we ate before. With new ways of cooking, serving and decorating, but without losing that warmth of feeling in your roots and knowing what you are eating”, summarizes Pochat. A milanese with French fries, some ravioli with tuco, dip freshly baked bread in the homemade sauce. Customs that are already ancestral rituals. The canteen concept will always have that mix of comfort zone and feeling of belonging. That is why it continues to mint renewed versions and is more current than ever.
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