In My Glass – Steak Malbec and Buenos Aires

The Paris of South America

Steak, wine & special treatment in Buenos Aires

BY » Trevor Burton | PHOTOGRAPHY BY » Trevor Burton

We spend as much time as we can in Buenos Aires. Not much touristy stuff, just hanging out and soaking up the city’s culture. Part of our soaking is a favorite south Atlantic seafood and cook them in classic Argentinean style over a smoldering fire of embers. Simple; great ingredients, exquisite preparation, cozy, family atmosphere—right up our alley. Our approach is also simple. We go with a dish of campo y mar, the restaurant’s description of itself, surf restaurant, Fervor, in the Recoleta district of the city. Buenos Aires is full of old, touristy steakhouses that fill every guidebook. Fervor is not one of them. Located on a small side-street, it has a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. Buenos Aires has the nickname, “the Paris of South America.” Sitting at a table in Fervor with few, if any, tourists in sight, closing your ears to conversations, you would swear you were in the City of Light— and that’s very okay with us.

Fervor’s approach is simple, feature the finest steaks along with ultra-fresh, and turf to us. Add to that a special preparation of potatoes and you’re on to something. Perfection on a plate. As for wine, we always have a great time perusing Fervor’s wine list. With absolutely no data to back my opinion, a wine tastes better the closer it is to home. So we stay with Argentinian wine. The last time we were there, we went for a Malbec from Catena Zapata’s Nicasia vineyard in the Uco Valley sub-region of Mendoza. Maybe a little strong for the “surf”part of our dish but right on for the “turf” part.

Treated as “regulars”

We’ve become buddies with Fervor’s owner, we’re truly treated as “regulars.” And that brings me to a fun tale. Fervor’s dinner service begins at 7:30. One time we arrived a little early and joined the porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) waiting in the lobby area. Right away, up came the owner with two glasses of champagne and, ahead of the crowd, he led us to “our table.” We got a kick out of locals seeing us get special treatment. My command of Spanish is close to zero but I’m pretty sure that I heard porteño whisperings that we were probably George and Amal Clooney—at least, I like to think I did.

One time we did drop into some touristy stuff. After about an hour’s drive out of the city, you’re way

into the countryside. We were on a mission to visit one of Buenos Aires’ estancias—a horse ranch. Something I highly recommend.

This was a gorgeous place. We toured the old family home and private chapel and then got down to business. We stopped by the barbecue pit where there was a massive amount of chicken, sausage and beef being slowly cooked. The meats were being cooked in that traditional Argentinian way, over embers. Just watching the process developed, in us, a huge appetite. But there was still some time to go before lunch, so we jumped onto a horsedrawn carriage to explore the ranch.

A tango to remember

Then came lunch. Served by gauchos (more on them to follow), we were treated to plates of food that made us happy that the tables were sturdy—in fact, our table did groan. The main dish, of course, was a huge piece of Argentinian steak. And, naturally, there was a bottle of Malbec on the table. We got to digest all of this watching a tango presentation and an exhibition of traditional gaucho dancing. All a little breathtaking but perfect for the digestion.

Back to the gauchos. Dancing and digestion finished, we sauntered out to the ranch to watch our gauchos in action. The guys who served us lunch were pretty good on horseback— amazingly good. We watched them herding horses into several groups and then watched, jaws dropping, as they displayed high speed and accuracy riding skills. Truly awesome.

I can’t wait for all this COVID-19 chaos to simmer down. Buenos Aires has a huge pull on us. I want to go Fervor and hang out with my wife. I want to peruse the wine list and then dig into some of that perfection on a plate. Soon!

Trevor Burton and wife Mary Ellen are treated like family at Fervor in Buenos Aires.

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