Hey, in fact pretty fair!
I didn't realize the general manager was an El Alamo frequenter! Well, like I said the place was professionally run!
BsAS Seafood - Bowdie are you there?
Since I was a commercial fisherman for about 25 years, I feel entitled to at least have an opinion about Argentine seafood!
IMHO, when you are in a country you should focus on local seafood if you want fresh. Both Tuna and Swordfish have come at LEAST as far as you did to get here, and probably had a harder flight, even if they were lucky enough to arrive by plane!
Argentine seafood is really not all that great, as most of the local produce is somewhat uniformly brown and bland. A notable exception, as has been stated before, is salmon (rosado, not blanco) that comes from Chile and although NOT wild salmon is very tasty and fresh.
There is a type of crab caught down south, and although I can't remember what it's called it is fairly tasty albeit a little pricey.
There is some availability of reasonably fresh trout, which comes from down south. I find trout is delicate but fairly tasteless, and Argentine trout is no exception.
Local shrimp are very small, larger shrimp are all imported, expensive and seldom very tasty to anyone who has gotten used to shrimp in the US.
There is an availabilty of IQF mussels, but they seldom have much flavor unless they are spoiled, in which case they can be EXTREMELY flavorful!
Merluza, which appears to be a type of Hake, is a favorite of the locals but not one of mine.
Pejerey, a sort of smallish herring-like critter, appears in the winter when they migrate from the ocean to spawn in the river, but again is not all that flavorful even when fresh. The catch a land-locked version in some lakes, but they are even more uninteresting flavored then the migratory ones.
There is a fishery for what they call "cornelitos" which are small minnow-like things that they cook and eat deep fried and whole - not for me!
Other fish that are locally available are lenguado (flounder) ratfish (they call them something else, but that's what the were in Oregon and no one would even THINK of eating one!), Shark (both large and small, but still shark so who cares!), Salmon blanco (not really a salmon at all, so be advised) corvina (not too great) various types of catfish, and a host of other slimey, brown, reasonably tasteless fish that don't really tempt me.
What I have not found is any type of "snapper", except for Chilean sea bass which seem to be functionaly extinct!
At this point, I am going to pass this on to Bowdie, if he is listening, who really is far more of an expert then I (since he is in the business and has a much more up-to-date take on what's the state of Argentinas fisheries)
I pretty much stick to steak and pasta, except for an occasional piece of salmon!
David
Kansas (Libertador 4625) Palermo
Tried this place out the other night,
I arrived with a fellow monger around 7pm, the place was pretty full, filled with stuffy Argentine upper crust types and some tourists, A good mix of both. A big plus is they have valet parking.
The service was very good, english speaking staff. The menu was exactly the same as the Houston's chain back home the only difference is the $32 dollar filet mignon was $32 pesos here, AMAZING prices. As an appetizer I had the spinach artichoke dip and my buddy had some chicken rolls. For the main course I had the filet mignon butterflied, the Ceasar salad and the mashed potatos.
Everything on the menu was very good, the mashed potatos were ok, not great but very good. The decor of the place was also a carbon copy of most Houston's in the US sans the koi pond. And you also get a good view of the race track at the hipodromo. Total price of the meal was just about $100 pesos, amazing considering the same meal would have cost $100 dollars back in the US.
Good food, good service, good prices from a Tourist stand point and the location and views are also pretty nice. If you get there after 9 pm, you might try to call in advance and make reservations, the place looks like it is quite popular.
Heres the number: 4776-4100
Bad.