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November 27, 2004
A wonderful restaurant - Agraz
I have to fill you in on my lunch yesterday. I ate in the dining room of the Hotel Caesar in the Recoleta. The name of the place is Agraz, which means ice cream with almonds in spanish. The Chef named the place.
The food was really special. It started with the most amazing bread and three pats of butter...one herbed, one garlic, and one olive.
The breads were so light, but very cruncy and filled with grains. So delicious. The butter came at room temperature, just the way it should. One thing about butter in Argentina. Any small grocery store will carry 10 to 15 vartieties of butter in different packaging. The people here are European discent, so they know their butter and cheese. Its all good.
Back to the restaurant. I chose a salad of beet and radish micro greens with radicchio, and baby lettuces. The greens were dressed ever so lightly with a horseradish dressing. I mean it..it was sublime!
Next I had a skinnless chicken breast that was grilled crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was sitting on some crispy potatoes sliced thin, a swirl of dried tomato relish with toasted pistachios and olives. On top of the chicken breast was a lathering of crushed herbs in olive oil..a take off on their chimmicurro sauce. The plate was attractive and well presented.
The service was performed by all women. Their outfits were so original..a cool fashion idea for someone opening in SF. They wear black baggie pants and a lounge length ..almost Nehru type of tunic. They carry a small bag over their shoulder where they place their pens and paper.
They were very attractive and professional but chic. These young girls really worked it as a team. The service was flawless. One woman seemed to be in charge of a large marbletop table where the food came off the line. I was sitting alone in front of the kitchen window watching the action as the place filled up with all kinds of people dressed to the nines on a Friday lunch. The service was quiet, and very austere. A true ballet performed by everyone in perfect balance. I tried to get a smile out of the cooks but didn´t get a wink or a smirk of any kind. These guys were serious.
So there is a fine dining element here that is matched with any great cosmopoitan city in the World. You can do the cafes on the boulevards or the upper class restaurants in the Recoleta and the Puerto Moreno. Its all delicious.
I´m looking forward to my next meal. Take care...hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Posted by sandra at November 27, 2004 07:53 AM