Dining or shopping in Mendoza near Vistalba

[chicagowinediva]

Any recommendations for great dining or food shopping in the Mendoza wine region? I'm renting a house near Vistalba with a full kitchen and traditional outdoor grill at the end of the month. I would welcome fine dining and casual recommendations as well as food markets, butchers, etc.

[aledm]

Hi! Here's an excerpt from my travelogue from Northwest Argentina:
Speaking of restaurants we have been eating well at a very reasonable price in Mendoza. Although it is generally not as cheap as we had been given to expect, we can eat very well for US $30. We were not overwhelmed by 1884 Francis Mellmann (supposedly the 7th best restaurant in the world according to someone at some time), but we have found restaurants that would be considered very good anywhere in the world. Apparently, US wine drinkers are patronizing the restaurants with enough regularity to sustain them. La Bourgogne in Luján de Cuyo, at the Vistalba Winery, is certainly world class. We ate there for AP$150/US $49, with wine! We do not recommend La Barra even though it is “The Author’s Choice” in Lonely Planet. The meat was tough and it was expensive.

If you'd like to read about our stay in Mendoza and our roadtrip in Northwest Argentina, go to our blog: http://travelingloveaffair.blogspot.com and look at the list on the right to find the appropriate portions. Enjoy Argentina!