La Vineria De Gualterio Bolivar

Creative — By DiegoM on January 30, 2010 at 1:32 am

La Vineria is one of the most unique and original restaurants you will eat in when dining in Buenos Aires. People often consider a good meal an experience, something more than just eating in a restaurant. Eating at La Vineria de Gualterio Bolivar is the ultimate dining experience, which you are not likely to forget.

The chef from La Vineria (alejandro diglio) worked at El Bulli restaurant, which is one of the highest regarded restaurants in the world (voted #1 5 times http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Bulli). The idea of El Bulli is to not only serve gourmet food, but to entertain and provide ultra creative dishes, often through the use of molecular gastronomy (changing the state of the food, such as making a liquid a jelly,a foam, or a solid). These same principles have been applied to La Vineria, and with outstanding success. The menu is always fixed at La Vineria, and only changes every few months.

The only menu option at La Vineria is the tasting menu. You don´t select anything, except for the wines (unless you choose their wine pairing option). If you have allergies, or really don´t like a certain type of food, you can let them know, and they will alter the menu for you. Basically, you sit down, the waiter gives you a brief introduction, and they start to bring you food at a leisurely pace.

Personally, I am a huge fan of tasting menus, and I have been to some really amazing ones over the years. There is something very liberating and exciting, when you have no idea what you will be served….you just eat what arrives on the table. The first time I ate at La Vineria, I was excited to see how it compared to my favorite ones of the past…..and I was very impressed. The food was delicious, but what blew me away was the shear creativity – crazy combinations of flavors (imagine chocolate covered blue cheese) with sauces or other ingredients served in different states. It was a real treat, and I couldn´t wait to try it again. I must say though, I was a little worried that this second time it wouldn´t live up to my expectations.

On this particular night, they were serving a 14 course meal for $130 pesos. Here is a list of the different courses:

1. Aperitifs: Dried fish with soy air; Cauliflower shot (soup in a shot glass); Ceviche with frozen leche de tigre/egg with bread and bacon/sorbet (3 mini items served at once).

o The 3 items were served in 3 different “dishes” all presented on a larger dish. The result was most impressive.

2. Almonds, walnut and edible flower salad with beet caviar and parmesan dressing

3. Bread stuffed with liquid egg yolk and truffles with liquid sheep cheese

4. Calamari in a can

5. Shredded dried scallops, pumpkin ravioli stuffed with lamb, and seaweed, all covered with broth

6. Pink salmon with artichoke puree, toasted garlic and pepper

7. Beef cheek with regular and crispy quinoa

8. Pork with green apple air and green apple gelatin

9. Lambless lamb – peas and carrots with solid onion on top with concentrated lamb juice dressing

10. Lamb rib-eye with a “single” french fry (crispy potato on the outside, and pureed potato on the inside)

11. Sugarcane and strawberry sweet ice dessert

12. Chocolate in a variety of textures with goat cheese ice cream

13. Liquid maicena alfajor (liquid dulce de leche and coconut, paired with corn starch cookie crumbs)

14. Chocolate caramel

I can definitely say I was not disappointed in the least, and that the second time around was just as exciting as the first. All of the dishes were very good, but the four that really stood out were the Ceviche with Frozen Leche de Tigre, the Bread stuffed with liquid egg yolk and truffles with liquid sheep cheese, the French fry that accompanied the lamb rib-eye, and the liquid alfajor. All were phenomenal, in flavor and presentation.

Perhaps the best thing about a tasting menu are the wine pairings, which if done properly, can bring a meal to a completely new level (and also double the cost)!. The first time I came, we also got the wine pairings, and they did a fantastic job. The only problem, was they were serving us an entire glass with each plate, which is far too much. When it is a meal with many courses, the wine pairings should be smaller, so that you can have a different wine with each plate. This time around, we asked our server to split two glasses between the three of us, and this worked out really well. If we had been two people, I would have asked for one glass between two people for each course.

Once again, the wine pairings were very well chosen. The three that really stood out were a Jose Mounier Torrontes, a Tapiz Merlot 2005, and a Pulenta Gran Cabernet Franc 2005. For those that do not want to do wine pairings, La Vineria has a very nice wine list, and all wines can be purchased by the glass.

The service at La Vineria was very attentive, professional, and friendly, and certainly adds to the experience. The servers are very knowledgeable, speak good English and its obvious they are passionate about their job. Its some of the best service I have had in Argentina. The food comes out fairly quickly, meaning you never have to wait too long before trying a new dish.

The atmosphere at La Vineria is nothing special, and perhaps this is where some other restaurants would come out on top. Decor is simple and clean, with a modern look. It is a very small restaurant, with seating for about 30-40, split between a section downstairs and an upstairs loft. Although there is nothing overly impressive about the atmosphere, its it small and intimate, resulting in very personalized service. It creates a very comfortable, relaxing environment.

La Vineria de Gaulterio Bolivar is definitely not an everday restaurant. This is the kind of place you go to if you want a special meal, and you want to try some cutting edge cuising. The meal is a true dining experience, and should be experienced if you like trying new things. If you´re a meat and potatoes kind of guy, this is not the place for you.

Bottom Line: Gourmet food at its best in Buenos Aires, La Vineria is for anyone interested in unique flavors and combinations, creating an unforgettable experience.