Casa Saltshaker, en Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, un restaurante de puertas cerradas
It was so fabulous the first time I went this past July (where the theme was the Spanish Fiesta de San Fermin (and the running of the bulls)), I had to go a second time several weeks later for the Peruvian independence feast. Creative (the quail for the quail and pochas bean stew was low one day, so all dishes were lovingly laid down with quail and partridge (!) cooked succulently, see http://www.casasaltshaker.com/20060707.htm and check out the blog too underneath the menu) yet faithful to the original cuisines (the Peruvian ceviche was divine http://www.casasaltshaker.com/2006073... this restaurante de puertas cerradas offers dishes so elegant you won't realize that you really should have loosened your belt a couple notches for the 4-5 courses. The clientele, both times I went, were mostly a medley of expats and we all got along nicely, as all foodies do. For those of you who love wine and even know something about Argentinian wine (or if you know nothing!) you'd be foolish to turn away the wine pairing. A sommelier who lacks the classic sommelier's ego, Dan will not reveal to you that his nose and repertoire are outstanding--both times I went I had a wonderful and interesting selection of the vino spectrum--wines that you might have passed in the shops, but turned a blind eye upon due to the absolutely horrible (but also horribly wonderful) disparity in wine prices versus other countries--we sometimes don't realize that wines that hover around $10US (and even less) in Argentina can be to die for. A factoid: Dan went to Peter Kump in NYC back in the day when it was in Kump's apartment! Don't leave without chatting a little with him and Henry, and picking their brains for other food gems in Buenos Aires. Try to call in advance, as some parties seem to book in groups, but if you're lucky you'll have a seat at his table in his gorgeous apartment, and you'll have a chill evening. I believe the meal when I went was $60AR, and the pairing an additional $30AR, excluding tip.
starfishandcoffee
Nov 13, 2006 04:10AM
Aww shucks... gracias!
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Hello Casa Saltshaker! is this in-home resturant more or less an illegal restaurant?
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Not really. Because of the loose zoning laws and virtually non-existent restaurant laws here, we're not really illegal. It's in our apartment, but technically our apartment is zoned as commercial space, so the restaurant is probably more legal than living here! And the three things that the city looks for are appropriate garbage collection, which given that we only seat 12 people, we have; two bathrooms, one of which is handicap accessible, which we have; and paying taxes, which we more or less do. It's what's called a "puertas cerradas", or "closed doors" place, meaning you 1) have to know we're here, but more importantly, 2) it's by reservation only.
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I look forward to my next trip to Buenos Aires and to having a meal at Casa Saltshaker.
Are there nights when the menu is not completely meat ? We don't eat red meat.
Ciao~
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Absolutely - in fact we rarely do red meat tasting menus, and even when we do if someone doesn't eat it I always offer an option. We've done fish/seafood menus, we've even done vegetarian menus.
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Thank you ! Seafood is fine too.. We are expecting to be back in the next few months , we will plan on having dinner at Casa Saltshaker :)
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