Tourists, especially out-of-town foodies, would be flooding Buenos Aires if they just knew it existed. It’s an authentic Argentinean restaurant serving hefty portions of hearty South American specialties like empanadas, savory sausages, monster grilled steaks, Argentinean wines, and a caramel and whipped cream cake covered in meringue with dulce de leche and chocolate shavings. There’s nothing like it in Topeka or Oshkosh.
Buenos Aires is a quintessential New York restaurant, an honest eating place serving large portions of high-quality, unusual food at modest prices. There are no white table cloths or pretense at this comfortable, three-year-old neighborhood nook popular with East Village gourmets and gourmands who know quality and value when they see it (and taste it). There are candles on the tables, a tent out back, and TVS that offer non-stop soccer overhead. The warm, porous, crusty peasant bread that greets newcomers is promptly replenished throughout the meal.
Occasionally, Ismael Alba, Buenos Aires’ genial owner, will send out a complimentary, off-the-menu starter like Buffalo mozzarella strewn with extra virgin olive oil or cylinders of mortadella (garlic-flavored bologna with cubes of fat) stuffed with pistachios. If he doesn’t, not to worry: the long menu here is loaded with appealing appetizer possibilities like full-flavored Salchicha Parrillera, a thin, grilled Criolla sausage coiled like a snake that would be served as an entrée elsewhere, and a choice of any two empanadas Argentinas. I chose ham and cheese and a special handcut meat and wasn’t sorry. Eggplant cured in garlic gave it a welcome spin and provoleta (provolone) Argentina, a crustless, cheese-dominated pizza-like pie-shaped treat, were two recommended picks. Other entrées include a Bife de Chorizo Especial in slices.
Main courses tend, as they do in Argentina, toward husky, broad-shouldered meat dishes. Try the surprisingly tender 16-ounce skirt steak, the velvety soft, perfectly cooked medium-rare mountain-like filet mignon, or the grilled short ribs. The last was accurately described by Renzo, our South American waiter, as containing a bit more fiber than we’re used to, but yielding admirable taste. A colossal take-home portion of Parillada Buenos Aires, or mixed grill, boasted all of the above and more (sausage, blood sausage, sautéed veal kidneys, sweet breads). There were no foul balls among the accompanying fries, mashed potatos, and Russian potato salad.
Dessert consisted of a standard flan, canned peaches in syrup with whipped cream, a noteworthy caramel crepe, and best of all, postre balcarce, that aforementioned whipped cream and caramel cake covered by a meringue crust with dulce de leche and chocolate shavings.
513 E. 6th St. (btw. Ave. A & Ave. B), 212-228-2775; www.buenosairesnyc.com
Richard Jay Scholem was a restaurant critic for the New York Times Long Island Section for 14 years. His A La Carte Column appeared from 1990 to 2004. For more “Taste of the Town” reviews, click here.
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