Day Fifty-Five: Cooking With Diego Felix

There are no stop signs here.  Getting through intersections involves negotiation.  Give and take a little, but you can’t stop.  I am walking around looking for a Movistar or Claro, local mobile phone providers, to buy a phone.  I discover an Argentinian quirk.  If you ask someone for directions and they don’t know, they don’t tell you that they don’t know.  Rather, they give you directions to a place sufficiently far away so that you won’t come back and ask again.  It happens to me four times before I catch on.  I finally wander long enough to stumble upon a Claro, where I play a successful game of charades and get the cheapest phone and a prepaid sim card.

I come back to the clubhouse for the cooking class tonight.  I meet Diego Felix, the chef.  He and his wife run a restaurant out of their home which they call Casa Felix.  He uses indigenous ingredients. Everything he makes at his home is from his garden.  He also travels with his wife and brings Casa Felix on the road.  They call it Felix Colectivo.  When they travel, he uses local ingredients to prepare the meals.  It’s a lot of improvisation.  It’s a great way for him to do what he loves to do, cook, without the difficulties of the restaurant business.

Steve arrives for the dinner.  Steve is a screen play writer who lives here and works from LA remotely.  “Nothing works here,” he tells me. “But you just have to embrace it.” He owns houses here and Oasis BA rents them for him when he travels.

Diego pours us mimosas with lemoncello, an herb that is typically used for beauty products.  Yummy.

Steve tells me that people here don’t think about the future.  It is very much about enjoying the present.  They drink their wine, eat their steak and they are happy.  To think about the future is a headache.  Who knows where Argentina will be in two years.

Judy arrives.  She is staying at one of the Oasis BA apartments for a month. She has four children.  Two of her sons are here. One son is starting a business and the other is spending his semester here studying abroad.  She thought it was a good opportunity to come and stay a while.  Her daughter and her husband are coming to visit soon for her daughter’s spring break.

Judy is originally from the UK but now she lives in Princeton, my hometown.  What a small world.  I admire what she is doing.  She doesn’t want to sit at home with an empty nest.  She is here, living in Buenos Aires, learning Spanish.

We talk about Princeton.  She likes the town.  She lived in Westchester before and complained that people there were too materialistic.  She didn’t fit that mold.  Princeton has more to offer in that regard.

It really was a wonderful place to grow up.  I had the forest in my backyard.  It is safe.  People are nice.  Education is held to the highest standard in the community.  Whereas in Westchester, your status is measured by the car you drive and the size of your house, in Princeton your status is measured by the intellectual value you add.  I can see myself raising a family in Princeton one day.

Parker and Katharine join us and we move to the kitchen, where Diego tells us more about his vision.  We take notes on the recipes we are preparing.  I have trouble keeping track of which dish we are working on but I just focus on the task at hand.

The Team: Diego, me, Parker, Katharine, Steve and Judy

After we finish, we sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  It’s a really good vegetarian meal.   A healthy break from steak for me.

I head to Rumi, where I was invited by Alexis on ASW.  I am exhausted but I want to go and meet a few people before calling it a night.  I sit at the table and chat with Cory.  Shes an M&A lawyer from New York.  She somehow convinced her firm to let her take a paid sabbatical here for a month.

I don’t stay long before heading back for a good night of sleep.  See more pictures.

See NY Times articles on Casa Felix:

Pop-Up Gourmet - Buenos Aires Comes to You

Travel:  Buenos Aires: For Those Who Shun Steak

Day Fifty-Four: New Friends

I feel more at home in BA.  It took 3 days, but now I’m beginning to feel situated here.  I checked the sites off of my list and now I can experience Buenos Aires the way I like to experience a place.  I’m a cultural tourist.

I sleep in and head down to the pool.  There are about 10 people here.  I start chatting with Victoria, she went to Georgetown to study foreign policy and now she is here working for a political campaign this year before going to Paris for her masters.

I meet Federica, Marine and Ana.  Ana is a member here.  Federica is from Milan and Marine is from France.  They are both students studying marketing here.  Ana buys some ingredients and we make guacamole.  They invite me to dinner later tonight.
Federica, Marine and Ana

The girls making guacamole and snacksEzequiel, Kike’s friend who I met last night, picks me and takes me for a drive around the city.  He is a musician.   He played the bass in his band, Mole, but his passion is playing the drums. 

Ezequiel is on the far leftI ask him to play his music for me.  I like it.  Click to listen.  He wrote all of the lyrics, which he translates for me. He uses a lot of metaphors.  El Bato is about a boat that capsizes and the only thing to do is swim.  He wants nothing but to survive.  It’s him or the sea.

Y el bote se volcó
en nuestro océano gris
No hay nada que decir, solo nadar.
Y todo terminó
y nadie pudo elegir
más que sobrevivir.
Soy yo o el mar

He has a background in classical music so he composed the arrangement as well.  He isn’t in the band anymore because his other job has taken up too much time, but its clear that his passion is music. 

Cups for Mate, an Argentinian drinkHe takes me to a little dessert place called Dulce where we have a delicious cake.

Cake at DulceWhen I get back to my hotel I decide to have a drink at the bar before heading to dinner.  I am talking Gus at the bar.   He plays the drums and is going to play here next Saturday.  He worked for Accenture but quit to follow his passion, music.  Maybe its just today and yesterday, but it seems like there are a lot of musicians in this city.

Parker, the owner of the clubhouse, comes by to say hello.  He is from New York.  I ask him how he ended up here.  “I came a few years ago on a trip and I loved it, so I came back.  When I was supposed to leave, it was mid-January in New York.  I decided to stay.”  He first stayed for four months and then another four.  Then he decided to do something, which is when he founded Oasis (see website, www.oasisba.com).  The company rents apartments in Bueno Aires, Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, Rio De Janiro, Colombia and Punta Del Este.  He decided to open his own property, which is the clubhouse. 

I meet Federica and Mary at La Cholas, where we have three massive steaks and a good bottle of Malbec for 179 pesos, about $44.  Apparently this kind of deal was once easy to find here, but now things have gotten more expensive at most places.  La Cholas is a gem.

Steak + wine = $15 per personThe girls tell me how rare it is to meet a nice girlfriend here.  “Argentine woman are all so beautiful, but they aren’t very friendly,” Federica explains.  “They want to be the best and they don’t want you around.”  I am reminded of the rude customs lady when I first got here.  I am happy to find such nice girls here.

Dinner at La CholasI quote Nacho (see post), “good energy attracts good energy.”  These girls have a great energy.  Marine is 21 and Federica is 26.  They don’t know what they want to do with their marketing degree.  I tell them to just meet as many people as possible and network.  I am not worried about them though.  They are beautiful, outgoing and intelligent girls.  They shouldn’t have a problem.

Marine and FedericaWe come back to the house where it is last call.  I say goodbye to Emily.  She is leaving tomorrow for Thailand for a holiday with her family.  I’ll miss her.    See more pictures.

Day Fifty-Three: My Move To Palermo Soho

After two nights in the center of the city, I feel it’s time to move to Palermo on the recommendation of my cousin Ali, who lived here for her semester abroad. She sent me pages of tips and recommendations I plan to use.

Urban art in Palermo

I am on my way to check into the Palermo soho clubhouse. Palermo is about a fifteen minute drive from the center of the city. It is green and residential. It’s also a chic part of town, with cute boutiques and good restaurants.

Palermo SohoI arrive at the address I was given. it wasn’t posted on the internet. I find an unassuming facade. I must be in the wrong place. I call before leaving the taxi. This is it. I’m not optimistic.

Behind the unassuming facade is a chic lobby and pool. The hotel pool is a members club, similar to the Soho House in New York. They don’t have a sign. It’s hidden. I found it in Time Out. It is a property managed by Oasis BA, a company that rents out luxury apartments in the city. It was advertised as a place to lounge by the pool, but the article said they had rooms. I thought it looked like a cool place to stay, so I inquired this morning and here I am.

There are three rooms and I am the only guest staying here. It is open Tuesday through Sunday so it’s empty today, Monday. But the staff is very nice and helpful.

I can’t check into my room until two so I spend some time wandering around my new hood. There are lots of boutiques and trendy restaurants. I settle at Mama Racha for lunch. I order a caiparinha and wow, it is strong. Maybe it’s just me this afternoon, but i am afraid if I finish it I will be out of commission for the next few hours. It starts to rain so I pay the check and head back to the hotel.

When I return to the hotel I am offered at 25% discount because the tv doesn’t work. I am the first guest to stay here. It just opened as a member club two months ago. This place is unbelievable. I have my own sauna, bath tub, two showers and a terrace. Yes, my own sauna, in the bathroom. Most importantly, Emily, who works here, is so sweet and helpful. She is so accommodating. “You are our first guest, we are so excited to have you!” she tells me. 

My bathroomIt’s three o’clock and I’m still slightly tipsy from my super strong caiparinha. But I decide to take a little jog. I am heading to the recoleta cemetery on Emily’s suggestion. I run through park after park after park and in about ten circles before I get there an hour and a half later. I must look a little silly running with a map in front of me.

On my runI walk into the cemetery. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a little town of homes for graves. Small alleyways, ornate little buildings, each with their own character, trying their best to outdo their neighbors, like the houses on ocean drive in palm beach. Some of them are at least three stories high. I wonder if they have air rights and what the market is like for one of these places. It’s amazing what people do for their dead bodies to be remembered. I think about the pyramids.

I am an organ donor. When I’m gone, I’m gone. I don’t want a shrine to be remembered.  I don’t have a view on the afterlife because anything I could come up with would only be speculation. Life is too short to spend it preparing for when you die. Heaven, purgatory, reincarnation, endless sleep or maybe something we haven’t even considered yet.  Sure, you can hedge yourself, but it seems pretty silly to me.  You should live your life so you feel good about yourself and the decisions you make along the way. Whatever that may mean to you. And doing so shouldn’t harm others. Treat people with respect, no matter their walk in life.  I’m pretty sure I’ve found my heaven on earth.  I’m not perfect of course, but I love my life. I do realize how fortunate I am though. I cant fully understand but i do appreciate that many, if not most, people in this world are born into hard situations and believing in the afterlife is all they have to get them through the day. I don’t doubt that we are all connected, I am just not sure what it is and I choose not to guess.

Recoleta Cemetery

This cemetery is a pretty creepy place. I wander through endless rows and find myself alone at the dead end of a long corridor. I get the heebie jeebies and decide it’s time to go. I walk around recoleta. My cousin Ali likened it to the upper east side of BA. I can see that. It’s not quite as pretentious however, just really nice.

In RecoletaThe buildings are much bigger than in Palermo, about 10 to 15 stories. After about 15 minutes I find myself back at the cemetery. I am really not very good at following this map. I try again. Twenty minutes later, another large circle back to the cemetery and I decide to wave down a radio taxi to take me back. The driver is friendly and teaches me some new words. Mujer Bonita. Muy Bonita. He is harmless though.

I shower and head out for a bite to eat. First I catch up with Catherine and Emily. They tell me about a chef coming to teach a cooking class with members and guests on Wednesday. Sign me up! They are so accommodating. It’s fun to be the only guest. They stack the fridge with yogurt and the cabinets with cereal and snacks. It’s not a mini bar. I can help myself. “Please make yourself comfortable and at home,” Emily tells me. I love this place.

I also love this neighborhood, Palermo Soho.  I wander around for about an hour before I settle down at Minga where I enjoy a delicious Argentinian steak.  I am not coming back from here skinny.  So much for all of that yoga.  I did run About 12 miles today though.

In PalermoFinally I hear from Inez.  She is in Cordoba.  I am relieved to hear she is ok.  I need to figure out my plan. Perhaps we will meet in Bariloche or Mendoza.

I meet Kike, Max’s friend, at Franks in Palermo Hollywood.  He is with his sister Rosario.  Kike is a musician. Franks is a lounge.  You walk in the door and type number into a telephone booth to get in the door, similar to PDT in New York except that there is a sign outside and you don’t need a reservation.  It appears that the place is trying to be exclusive, but it isn’t.  It’s a cool place though.  Good drinks and good music.  A few of Kike’s friends wander in, mostly musicians, all from different bands.  They all meet backstage and become friends.

Sergio, Ezequiel and me at Franks

After a few drinks I call it a night around three in the morning when Kike and pals head to a club.  My room is dreadfully hot and I can’t sleep.  I go to the room upstairs.  The door is unlocked and the air is on.  Like goldilocks, I’ve tested the options and this room is just right.  See more pictures