smitten over Astor, Colegiales

Ticol and I had the most magical night in Colegiales.

I wish I could afford to do it every week. One day, I WILL.

It all started in the early afternoon when I asked C for restaurant recommendations open on a Monday. Ya see, this city practically shuts down on Mondays, including most restaurants.

She named a few places and since Ticol hadn’t been to Astor (but had heard endless good things) I picked up the phone and made a reservation.

Astor is in Colegiales, a neighborhood next to Palermo Hollywood. It’s quiet, residential and full of trees and big old houses. I would gladly reside there one day…

Ticol ordered a bottle of tinto (red wine) and I decided on the food.

Astors food style- a small menu of 8-10 items that changes every two weeks. They’re all about local ingredients- they have a tomato guy, a lamb guy, a dairy guy, etc. At dinner there is no a la carte menu. You can either choose a 3 course, 5 course or 8 course. You decide which dishes you want from the weekly menu.

We both ordered the 5 course (everyone at the table has to have the same # of courses) and had literally everything on the menu, some items twice.

I can’t remember what the soup was, but it was rich, creamy and tasted like Fall.

Pinguinos are very old school here in Argentina. They are generally used to serve house wine at parrillas aka steakhouses.

This was Ticol’s favorite course.

Perfectly fried baby squid with ultra thin and crispy sweet potatoes. There was some sort of lemon & herb aioli. My only complaint, I wanted more sauce!!

I LOVED THIS.

Flavor, texture, light, fresh, meaty. It was all there!

The wild boar, here known as jabali, was smashing. I haven’t had much jabali in my life, this was tender, seasoned well and served with white grits and chimichurri! Obviously being served grits in BA brought me an immense amount of joy.

My first pork belly in Buenos Aires!

Thin crispy skin, melty fat and juicy meat. It was served with potatoes & bacon, bitter greens and a perfectly poached egg.

The only thing missing (for me) was a bit of spice, and kindly the waiter brought over Sriracha.

desserts came!

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think the tres leches was my second favorite course!

This cake was so light. Like a cloud or a pillow, filled with moisture and not overly sweet.

Lucky for me Ticol was very into his dessert and he oh so kindly allowed me to inhale the tres leches all on my own.

Moments I felt like I was back in Paris and others I felt like I was in a 1940s romance Italian film.

Service was also impeccable. The waiters knew when to come and when to let us be.

I couldn’t have asked for a better Monday night.

Afterwards we went down the street to Pipi Cuco for a night cap.

C and I ate there a couple of months back when her family was visiting. The name itself puts a smile on my face. Pipi Cuco has a big reputation for their cocktails. We grabbed a table outside and sipped on Negronis and Tom Collins until our bellies refused anymore.

I am quite smitten over Colegiales right now!

The things I would do to own one of those houses…!

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