Sundays in Buenos Aires
Sundays in Buenos Aires are a day for rest. Many restaurants are closed on this day and there isn't a whole lot to do on a nice day except be outside. The main activities are:
**A Big Lunch - oftentimes a barbecue at a friends house
**Hanging out in the Parks
**Checking out the many flea markets and street fairs that are only open on Sundays
**Go to a Futbol (Soccer) game
This past Sunday Seth and I started off by going to a restaurant called Olsen.
Olsen Restaurant
Gorriti 5870, Palermo
Olsen is one of the few restaurants in Buenos Aires that offers a Sunday brunch and it is very good. Brunch as we know it is a concept that has only very recently been introduced here. There are several different combination choices; no pancakes as we know them but they do have waffles (no syrup). You enter in a gate and then there is a long grassy rectangular yard that leads to the entrance of the restaurant. The entire inside is designed from blond wood. For $22 pesos we had a leisurely brunch outside on Olsen’s patio. I had an omelette, champagne, orange juice, fruit salad, yogurt, cereal, coffee… all very good. They also offer items such as smoked salmon, herring, grilled chicken, scrambled eggs and bacon. Under normal circumstances, Olsen is an acclaimed Nordic restaurant that has an extensive Vodka selection. I have yet to try the other foods they serve.Seth spent a few hours in the afternoon playing Basketball Argentine style at this place called Club de Amigos (which he wrote about).
Later that afternoon we checked out the flea market/fair in Recoleta. The market is huge and filled with vendors selling snacks, jewelry, leather, clothing, art and other artesian items. On the grassy areas in the middle of the market area there are hippies and other people juggling, playing drums, doing capoiera and just hanging out. This happens every sunny Sunday. The fair takes place right outside the gates of the somewhat creepy Recoleta cemetery. This cemetery is where all the high society rich people go to Rest in Peace. It is filled with Mausoleums, each one more elaborate than the next and some larger than studio apartments I have seen in NYC. I will write more about the cemetery in the future. I have walked around the grounds, but am interested in taking a tour.
We later ate dinner at a great restaurant called Ifresh Market in the Puerto Madero area. Puerto Madero (literally means Wood Port) is Buenos Aires riverfront port area and it is filled with waterfront restaurants that extend for several blocks (there are 4 diques or dams). This is also an area where many tourists go to eat, but there are also plenty of locals.
ifresh Markets
Bvd Azcena Villaflor esq Olga Cossettini, Madero Este
I would definitely recommend this restaurant. It is a restaurant that is also a market with sections for patisserie, wine bar, deli, flowers, cheeses, fruits and vegetables. It was kind of quiet on that Sunday evening. Their daytime menu is quite extensive and looks like this would be a great place to stop by for lunch. It is also probably livelier with the hustle and bustle of the market. It was more on the high end side costwise (25 Pesos per entrée approx), but was very good. We had a great shrimp kebab appetizer with mango and avocado salsa. Seth had a tuna steak (very rare to find this in BA – the first time we have seen it on a menu and they have actually had it) and I had a corn and red pepper risotto. We also shared some tea and a Chocolate cake with a warm liquid center. These desserts are very popular at the nice restaurants in BA. And they are very good!! I am looking forward to bringing my family here to try the restaurant.
On Sundays in the future we plan on checking out some Futbol games!!
posted by Kathy T @ 1:01 PM
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