La Flora, Uriburu 1488, 4806-9247 & amp; 4807-6307
La Flora, Uriburu 1488, 4806-9247 & 4807-6307
Their business card gives this web address but it does not work for me:
[url]www.lafloraresto.com.ar[/url]
I passed this place the other day and thought it looked very nice and decided it try it.
Definitely a nice place physically. There is more space between tables than in most places and it is less noisy.
My meal was disappointing. Maybe because I chose the salmon ($52 pesos! Which was the only fish on the menu. Because it's a nice place I expected the salmon to be fresh, but it obviously was not. My bad maybe for not asking, but I didn't think such a nice place would offer any fish which was not fresh.
I ordered a side of puré de batatas (mashed sweet potatoes) and they were pretty much flavorless.
When the waiter cleared the used dishes I sort of expected him to ask if I wanted dessert. He didn't, but maybe that's the custom here. It took a while to get his attention to ask to see a menu. Then, when I had decided, I laid the menu down thinking that would signal the waiter that I had made a decision and was ready to order. But he didn't return to pick up the menu and take my dessert order until I was finally able to catch his eye. The chocolate mousse that I ordered was pretty good.
I normally don't pay much attention to the receipt beyond looking at the total damage. But I noticed that when the waiter brought my change the receipt had disappeared. Maybe that's custom here, I think I've noticed it in other restaurants, but I find it sort of annoying.
At the outset I was offered a glass of champagne which was supposed to be free. But since I didn't study the receipt before it disappeared I can't verify that. Total damage for the (free) glass of champagne, salmon, side dish, one glass of wine, coffee, and the mousse was $106 pesos.
I won't repeat but I suspect that the other dishes are much better than the salmon I had. Otherwise the place would be out of business. Most tables were occupied but not all.
Bob
Fish (particularly sushi) in Bs As
[QUOTE=Argento]Never, ever try fish in Argentine restaurants. There are a few Peruvian restaurants that are just OK. Main reason is the raw product. Go into a few pescaderias and you will see why immediately. The fish is half rotten when it is offered for sale. This despite the fact that if you shop in China Town, (Belgrano) you can buy first class fish. I have noticed a few restaurateurs are now buying fish there, one from La Boca, but they are few and far between. The culture and preference is for beef. Fish is for gays and gals. Argento[/QUOTE]I am not sure into which of Argento's categories I fall, but I have had fish and in particular sushi on a couple of occasions, in Bs As.
From my experiences, I have learned that Japanese-to-American translations are not quite the same Japanese-to-Argentinian Castellano. For instance, many Japanese words translate into a single Argie / Cast word. While ika, toro, sake (the salmon not the rice wine) unagi, uni, aji and tako translate into seven different sea creatures when translated to English, they all translate to "salmon" in Argie / Cast.
As for shellfish, the only type of shellfish you should consume in Bs As is "hi ge wo hayashi ta hamaguri" (it is a special type of clam) However, you won't typically find this on the menu in Japanese restaurants (at least the ones in Bs As) Here is a link to the best resource for find this rare treat (in Bs As): [url]www.argentinaprivate.com[/url]
I didn't say I wouldn't enjoy them
[QUOTE=Argento]even biggish clams need attention.[/QUOTE]Just that the a lot of the market and my own tastes have a declining marginal utility for the excess clamage. Above some point, which point is a moving target (movement directly proportional to number of drinks consumed)