The Baires Insider's Guide

Description:

Author: elizabeth

Day 1 - Buenos Aires

Start of your underground tour of Buenos Aires with a dose of contemporary art at one of the city’s most renowned galleries, dedicated to both introducing the public to emerging local talent and advancing the careers of more established artists, Braga Menendez. Take a 180 degree turn, and a different look at modern art, at the anti-establishment junk sculpture, Nico Alligator, just a few blocks away, where the extremely well-priced original art objects make excellent off-beat souvenirs. Follow up your lunch at the eclectic French-Asian bistro Azema with an espresso at Crack-Up, where you can while away the afternoon browsing through English- and Spanish-language art and travel books or some of the city’s best culture guides. Look for the free, bi-monthly Argentimes newspaper or a copy of the bilingual underground publication, Wicked!. As night falls and you’re riding on your caffeine buzz, window shop your way through the lovely boutiques of Palermo Soho until you reach Niceto Club, host of the longest-running and most popular fringe fest in town, Club 69. Hopefully you logged onto Niceto’s website earlier in the day to add your name to the list for half-price entrance before midnight! Get your fill of gold-clad break-dancers and over-the-top drag queens and then it’s on to La Viruta for some electronic tango, the latest craze in the city where the dance was created a few hundred years ago. If you forgot your dance shoes, don’t fear - sip some cheap tasty wine while you watch dreadlocked hippies and pierced goths try their hand at the traditional tango to the beat of Bajofondo and the Gotan Project. Home - the hotel, that is - is just down the street; wind down poolside before turning into your antique Baroque wallpapered room for the night.


1

Braga Menendez Arte Contemporaneo

Location:

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Humboldt 1574
C1414CTN Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 4775 5577 / +54 11 4775 9255


2

Nico Alligator

Location:

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Uriarte 1857
1414 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 15 5763 6300


3

Azema Exotic Bistro

Location:

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Angel Carranza 1875
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4774 4191


4

Crack-Up

Location:

view in google maps
Costa Rica 4767
1175 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4831 3502


5

Club 69

Location:

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Federico Lacroze 3455
(intersection Alvarez Thomas)
1426 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

5411 6438 6777


6

Viruta Tango (La)

Location:

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Armenia 1366
At Cabrera
1414 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4774 6357 / 54 11 4779 0030


7

Home Hotel

Location:

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Honduras 5860
Between Carranza and Ravignani
1425 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

5411 4778 1008

Day 2 - Buenos Aires

Hang around the Home spa and grassy courtyard in the morning, then it’s off to lunch down the road at cozy Freud & Fahler, where, weather-permitting, the sidewalk tables are best. Well-priced rotating lunch specials come with wine or yummy cappuccino and dessert - try the baked pear crumble with ice cream. Spend the afternoon dawdling around the former home-turned-museum of Xul Solar, Buenos Aires’ oddest genius personality, and the stunning Palacio de Aguas Argentinas waterworks museum, where you will see more antique porcelain bidets and toilets than you thought could be contained in one building. Grab an early dinner at the quirky Sifones y Dragones - reservations are essential given the miniscule number of tables at this “kitchen.” Walk off your dinner with a stroll around the neighborhood before getting in gear for Zizek Urban Beats Club, the top hip-hop and mash-up party in Buenos Aires. Again, email the people behind Zizek (also the creators of the essential underground city events calendar at whatsupbuenosaires.com) ahead of time to get the early-bird discount. When your feet tired out from the reggaeton and cumbia stomping, switch the scene over to Mod Club, a massive rock-and-roll venue where the house beverage of choice, Budweiser, comes in cans, perfect for enjoying a little taste of punk in this otherwise chichi town.


1

Freud & Fahler

Location:

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Gurruchaga 1750
At El Salvador
C1414DHC Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4833 2153


2

Xul Solar

Location:

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Laprida 1212
1425 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 48243302


3

Palacio de Aguas Argentinas

Location:

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Avenida Córdoba 1750
1120 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 6319 1882 / +54 11 6319 1104


4

Sifones y Dragones

Location:

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Ciudad de la Paz 174
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4413 9871


5

Zizek

Location:

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Niceto Vega 5510
1414 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4779 9396


6

Mod Club

Location:

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Araoz 2424
1554 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4778 1500

Day 3 - Buenos Aires

Day 3 holds more quirks in store, starting with a peek into the Fundacion Federico Jorge Klemm, Buenos Aires’ resident venue for innovative media in art, such as projection, video, sound, or interactive installation. With any luck, the crazy International Video-Dance Festival is on while you’re in town... porteños go nuts for a good video and a great electronic beat, so the ongoing party is always tops. Pick up your dinner and the latest news headlines direct from Tokyo at San Telmo’s Comedor Nikkai, a tiny sushi salon within the Argentine Japanese Cultural Center behind a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wooden door on Avenida Independencia. Peek into the back room to catch a glimpse of martial arts classes peopled largely by representatives of the significant Japanese-Argentine population. Post-dinner is a date at Notorious, one of Buenos Aires’ best jazz and blues clubs. Catch a cab back down to Montserrat to the wacky boutique Youkali Kultur-Hotel for the night - don’t forget to check out the art exhibit hanging in the front room.


1

Fundación Federico Jorge Klemm

Location:

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Marcelo T de Alvear 626
1058 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 (0)11 4312 4443 / +54 (0)11 4312 3334


3

Comedor Nikkai

Location:

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Avenida Independencia 732
San Telmo
1098 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 43005848


4

Notorius

Location:

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Avenida Callao 966
1023 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 48136888


5

Boquitas Pintadas

Location:

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Estados Unidos 1393
1101 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 4381 6064

Day 4 - Buenos Aires

Stroll over to San Telmo in the morning, grabbing a coffee along the way at the classic, somewhat grungy, porteño establishment Bar Federal at the corner of Carlos Calvo and Peru, before moving on to a guided tour of the city’s centuries-old underground tunnels at El Zanjon. Call ahead of time to make sure that the tour you intend to attend will be given in your language. Hop on the #152 bus down on Paseo Colon and ride along until you reach Retiro train station - just across the street is the no-frills Club Sueco eatery, located on the top floor of a downtown high-rise, inside of the Swedish cultural center. Request a window table for a view of the Rio de la Plata and choose your lunch from a few of the day’s options, created by the head chef, an Argentinean who studied abroad in Scandinavia and brought the culture and cuisine - and a wife - back to Buenos Aires. After lunch, walk down Leandro M. Alem/Paseo Colon and take a sharp left at Viamonte - if you cross over Puerto Madero here, you will see the northern access to the paths in the Reserva Ecologica, which you can take up to the river’s peaceful grassy edge for a little post-lunch siesta. Exit the nature reserve at the southern end and walk due west into San Telmo, directly to Gibraltar pub for happy hour drink specials until 10 and some well-priced spicy curry or fish and chips for supper. When the final-call bell tolls, take a taxi up to Maluco Beleza for some Brazilian music and salsa dancing - luckily, no one seems to care if your moves are less than smooth; this place is for pure fun.


1

El Zanjón

Location:

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Defensa 755
1098 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 4361 3002


2

Club Sueco

Location:

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4334 7813


4

Gibraltar

Location:

view in google maps
Peru 895
1098 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

5411 4362 5310


5

647 Dinner Club

Location:

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Tacuari 647
1405 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4331 3026


6

Maluco Beleza

Location:

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Sarmiento 1728
1042 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 4372 1737 / 54 11 4373 0959

Day 5 - Buenos Aires

Your final day of off-beat Buenos Aires activities is going to take you out to the Feria de Mataderos in the outskirts of Capital Federal. The #126 bus conveniently picks you up just a block south of Youkali Kultur on Humberto Primo - take along some snacks for the hour-long ride through residential Buenos Aires. Hop off in Nuevo Chicago, named after the original Chicago in honor of the meat-packing industry that thrives in both places. Stroll through a little neighborhood street market for a taste of typical weekend life for typical Buenos Aires residents before arriving at the day’s main event, the Feria de Mataderos, a gaucho festival extraordinaire. Be sure to make your way to the food stalls, where the best of criollo country cuisine stars. Try the locro, a hearty pork and bean stew baked in a terra-cotta dish, or the corn tamales, and definitely don’t miss the fried empanadas. Hang around for the live folk music and dancing before heading back to the city center for an afternoon tea at El Gato Negro, a historic teahouse tucked between two huge modern theaters on Avenida Corrientes.


1

Feria de Mataderos

Location:

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Lisandro de la Torre y Avenida de los Corrales
Barrio de Mataderos
1440 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

+54 11 4323 9684


2

Gato Negro (El)

Location:

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Avenida Corrientes 1669
1042 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone:

54 11 43741730

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