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“appetizer,” and here includes a steak) to
postre
(dessert).
You’re barely able to make it the few
blocks to
Caminito (
2
)
, an unabashedly
touristy destination of shops, tango bars
and
conventillos
, the ricketyhouses built of
cheap wood or corrugated metal by immi-
grants anddressedupwithbrightlycolored
paint they “borrowed” from the port. By
1910, half the residentsofBuenosAireswere
immigrants,mostlyEurope-
ans, thanks toanopen-door
policy intended topopulate
the vast countryside ;
La Boca was the neighbor-
hood where many started
out. Itwashere, inLaBoca’s
plentiful brothels, that the
tango was invented. Today,
Caminito isasplashof color
in this sometimes sketchy
neighborhood. You snag a
sofa in the roo op café of
contemporaryartmuseum
Fundación Proa (
3
)
for
today’s
merienda
: the cus-
tomaryhothamandcheese
(
jamón y queso
) sandwich,
simple but delicious.
It’s time to move your
base of operations to the
north. You splurge on the
80-year-old
Alvear Palace
Hotel (
4
)
, considered the
ritziest hotel in South
America, with its gold
fixtures, marble embellish-
ments, personal butlers,
cigar bar and flawless
white-glove service. It’s
in the exclusive Recoleta
neighborhood, where you
discoverwide streets, green
spaces and mansions built
by the Argentine aristoc-
racy, whomovedhere from
San Telmo and made their
fortunes supplying the
world with beef and other
agricultural commodities.
Dinner tonight is at
Fervor (
5
)
, a steak-
house named for a poem by Jorge Luis
Borges, beloved bard of Buenos Aires.
Located just a short block from the hotel,
the art deco showpiece is appointed largely
in leather, with linen tablecloths and bow-
tied waiters in long aprons circulating
around the main floor and balcony. A er
enjoying the hot biscuits, you dig into the
rib strip, or
asado de tira
, from the same
part of the cow as the ribs Americans like
to barbecue, but cut crossways. You substi-
tute the ubiquitous seasoned
frites
—the
fries Argentines seem to eat with every-
thing—for a side of sublime mashed
potatoes. Thinking ahead, you request a
half portion ...
… Because it’s time to tango. Like every-
thingelse inArgentina, thisdramaticdance
is a blend of cultures: Spanish, French, Ital-
ian and African. The woman sits; the man
nods; they join and the dance begins. Skip-
ping the pricey tango dinner shows (which
are for tourists), youwatchand join inwith
the locals at
Salon Canning (
6
)
, a
milongo
in the Palermo Soho section.
Milongos
typically don’t open until a er 9, and don’t
really get going until well past that. This
one offers lessons, sowithout any excuses,
you end your day like an Argentine: very,
very late at night, dancing.
DAY THREE
| Following breakfast in the
Alvear’s winter garden, you take a short
walk to the
Cementerío de la Recoleta (
1
)
, a
necropolis crammedwith 6,400 tombs and
mausoleums. TheJimMorrisonof the cem-
etery is Eva Perón, buried with her sister
among, ironically, themon-
eyed aristocracy for whom
she had such disdain (see
“First Lady,” page 85). If you
have trouble finding her in
the labyrinthine cemetery,
follow the crowds.
You make your way
down picturesque Ave-
nida Presidente Figueroa
Alcorta to another of the
city’s jewels, the 10-year-old
Museo de Arte Latinoameri-
cano de Buenos Aires (
2
)
, or
MALBA, which showcases
what is arguably the conti-
nent’s finest modern Latin
American art collection in
galleries clustered around
a light-filled atrium. The
menu at the museum’s
standout caféwas designed
by Jean-Paul Bondoux, the
French chef at the elegant
La Bourgogne in Recoleta,
so you decide to grab an
outdoor table and order
a lunch of braised squid
paired with a nice Argen-
tine white.
Next, it’s time to shop
yourway throughRecoleta
and Palermo—a vibrant,
rapidly changing section
of the city—starting at
El AteneoGrand Splendid(
3
)
,
a former theater that is
now one of the grandest
bookstores you’ll ever see.
You then follow your nose
to
Fueguia (
4
)
, a shop selling candles, per-
fumes and room scents made from South
Americanflora; customers can even create
their own fragrances in a “lab” featuring
tiny sample drawers.
You cap off the culinary portion of
your visit with the nine-course tasting
menu at
Hernan Gipponi (
5
)
. Named for its
chef, who trained in Spain and cooked in
LATIN LUXURY
Clockwise from top, Alvear Palace Hotel; tango at Salon Canning;
white salmon at Hernan Gipponi; opposite, contemporary art at MALBA
86
JANUARY 2012
•
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