Serendipity in the Storm

I think I did mention that I walk long ways for food but never did I think that I'd walk a long way, drenched in rain for a scoop of ice-cream. As all guidebooks said, never leave BA without trying their ice-cream.

We got the recommendation from our hotel this afternoon and decided to walk 12 or so blocks in Palermo Hollywood to find the best ice-cream at Freddo (crossing Honduras and Armenia street). This is before dinner since all restaurants are closed until 8 PM. Only tourists eat around 8. Locals don't show up until after 9:30 PM.

And was it worth it? Absolutely. Gigantic scoop of one Italian chocolate with nuts and another scoop of strawberry in thick crispy cone. Street fairs in Palermo were closing and restaurants were starting to open up. And drops of rain fell as the wind picked up. We had to quickly decide on our dinner choice. We selected La Cabrera, another parrilla with fame. As we arrived there in the rain, the hostess informed us it was reservation only. Dejected, we left. This time, up came the storm. Leaves were falling, puddles were forming. I wrapped my hair in my scarf and tucked in my purse to protect the camera. The next closest choice was Tequi, the French restaurant newly opened in Jan. and was very popular according to Home's precious little guidebook. As we ducked under the awnings of buildings, hopping over puddles, hiding and running interchangeably to get to our destination, I was cursing that if this place were also reservation only, I'd be hating life. When we were standing under yet another awning, we realized this was Tequi itself. There was no window anywhere. There was a sign of the restaurant as big as a book. No lights were lit. The facade was painted full with street art. We hesitated and thought the restaurant was no longer in business.

Post note 11/13/09: This photo was borrowed from the web and here is the facade of Tequi. That stormy night, there was barely anything visible, not even the vibrant colors of the wall art. It was odd enough that we called through the thick door and even odder that it opened to us with its light and warmth. Because of this, Tequi would always have a special little place in my heart.

A cab stopped by, someone looked at us, apparently other customers looking for the same place. A minute later, they must have registered it was closed, the cab took off. We were still under the roof, shivering from the rain but too drenched to step out again. I saw this tiny door four feet away and decided to hop onto it. There was a call button on the side of the wall with green light flickering. As I pressed on it, Mike also came by. We desperately called into the button as into a dark abyss. "Hola, Hola!" A moment later, a girl responded and said something in Spanish I could not understand. Mike said "she wanted us to move away from the door". We stepped back... The door opened, a pretty girl in black dress appeared. She led us in, looking at us, two raggidy rats, messed up hair, and wet shirts. "Do you have a reservation?" OH NO!. "no we don't..." My stomach dropped. "But I can't turn you back into the rain..." she smiled gently, "I will find you a table". Oh, thank you thank you. I wanted to kiss her. What an angel!

We sat down facing the glass side of the restaurant. The tall glass covered from ceiling to floor. We could see the chefs working from our table. Outside there was a palm tree-covered courtyard, which turned into a cafe during the day. We saw the pouring rain and occassional lightening as our three course meal passed through our plates.Mine was: Warm oysters with salmon roe and tapiokas, wild duck, quince and sweet bread, and three chocolates with mango sorbet. It was absolutely delicious. To top it all, I had some more Malbec, which I fell in love with as I came to BA and another sweet red wine whose name I now forgot. The evening turned out to be lovely, thanks to the kind hostess from Tequi and its wonderful waiters and exquisite food.

Now I am intoxicated with Malbec, sitting in my wet jeans. No time to document our day at the San Antonio de Areco and the Ombu estancia. That will have to be another entry.