Mendoza

Mendoza.

Mendoza, home of Argentina's wine. The city is larger than I expected. The city is smellier than I expected. In all the travel guides I read, none prepared us for the stench of the open sewer system.

We had some delicious steak in a cute little garden bistro (Anna Bistro) and we had amazing pasta at a little restaurant along side the Italia Plaza ( Ciao Cuoco).

Mendoza is all about the wine however. We signed up for a tour that looked good, no idea whether or not it was a great pick. Low and behold Dave's wonderful determination to truly experience all Argentina has to offer landed us on a tour with a wonderful guide and group of fellow tasters. (Other than the Swiss asking about the bloody war over the Falklands/Malvinas War.. a taboo in our travel guide)

The tour ended at Urban, the one place we had wished to see from all our wine tasting before our trip. (Can you believe the luck?) This wine tour at Urban also ended with a truly gourmet meal, which also couldn't be more perfect for the love of food, wine, and desire to share these experiences with you.

The Menu:

Appetizers:

A potato cake with picked vegetables and a Tabasco sauce: This was a little and beautifully constructed egg shaped ball of mashed potatoes. The picked vegetables tasted complimented the potato and never revealed their true identity. The Tabasco sauce was a surprising kick of flavor and spice to make the heavenly bite sing on our taste buds.

Cappuccino pumpkin with goat cheese foam: This was an amazing delectable little taste of pumpkin like I never could imagine before tasting the treat. It tasted more like a soft boiled egg in a cup, soft and creamy like my mom used to make for me. I imagined the soft boiled egg with a healthy dose of table salt lightly blended together. Instead I was eating a pumpkin puree with a drop of locally made goat cheese.

Starter:

A creamy tomato puree with eggplant chips. This was a very creamy but tart dish. I have to say that this was my least favorite on the menu. The bitterness of the tomato puree was a little too acidic without the right balance of sweet or savory flavors to balance the tang. The croutons and crunch of the crispy eggplant were a light and refreshing texture and flavor along side the thick puree. This is a Spanish dish (all prepared by the owner's wife, a couple from Spain) and without much exposure to the cuisine I must give the disclaimer, and I did eat it all since it was perfectly prepared, it just wasn't well paired to my taste buds.

Main Course:

Rabbit Confit with crispy potatoes and a green bouquet: (I gagged due to my love of bunnies, but did not want the risotto). The protein was topped with small crunch potatoes, and it was the most delicious and tender white (dark) meat that has been put on a plate. My insides were torn due to the type of meat on the plate, but those feelings aside, YUM. The bouquet of greens was also a more pickled group of tomatoes and peppers, as you mixed all the flavors and textures together the experience was a perfect. The pickled vegetables were slightly tart and the rabbit was sweet and savory. This meal was perfectly balanced and achieved what the starter lacked. 

Dessert:

Honey and Rum tulip with meringue ice cream and lemon rosemary jam: The shell was thin and crispy, the honey and rum gave the cone an unusual brightness to the usual sugar-like cones I usually have. As I hit the edge of the tulip with my spoon and the side had shattered into pieces ready to be eaten. With a piece of the tulip and a shaving of the ice cream on my spoon I was ready for my first bite. I made sure to include some of the cinnamon that had been delicately dusted on top. The rosemary and lemon jam added another layer of complexity, but the flavors were so faint they were there to compliment and highlight the balance of rich flavors. The theme of these descriptions is balance. All the courses had savory and sweet, heavy and light, this dish was a combination of all the contrasting textures and flavors and a wonderful finish to the truly gourmet lunch.

all the amazing photography was taken by Dave.