peachy keen: dinner at má pêche

AMO the ARG: the "i am very juicy" edition (cabaña las lilas, puerto madero, day 3)

so day 3 didn't unfold smoothly. but it sure ended that way, with a perfect dinner at cabaña las lilas.

z had read about the restaurant in travel & leisure magazine and it was high on our list of places to dine. though it required going all the way "home" to recoleta (to change, because we were feeling less than lovely) and back on the subway to puerto madero, we liked the area so much (and felt so sure of diego's endorsement of the neighborhood) that we didn't hesitate.

cabaña was hopping that night. the 45 minute wait at the bar was mitigated by this delicious malbec (also the flaky, rich beef empanaditas they offer to tide you over).


like a loving mom greeting her child home for the long weekend, at cabaña they throw tons of food at you. even before we placed our order, they served up this pretty platter: grilled tomatoes, slices of rare roast beef with hollandaise, an egg cake...

for dinner, z opted for octopus; i chose the ribeye. we decided to share a side of farofa--a brazilian dish made of toasted manioc (cassava) flour.

we were giddy--there was a such nice buzz in the full room, the servers so warm and friendly. we were relishing the treats (and the treatment). this was the perfect place, the best idea, so happy we came here tonight. (we repeated those lines all night.)

when the food showed up we went a little bit bananas. our waiter didn't quite know what to do.

check out the ribeye...

"i am very juicy"

(he was very juicy. not bloody. juicy.)
all the hype about argentinian beef? believe it.

and...with room (made) for dessert: the finest rice pudding i've ever had.

happy girl.

all photos ©anita aguilar

hot/curry

curry. (beef.)
bayard street, nyc.
photo © anita aguilar

Take this curry, this fine-tuned

balance of humors, coconut liquor thinned
by broth, sour pulp of tamarind

cut through by salt, set off by fragrant
galangal, ginger, basil, cilantro, mint,

the warp and woof of texture, aubergines
that barely hold their shape, snap beans

heaped on jasmine, basmati rice
—it’s a lie, all of it—pretext—artifice

—ornament—sugar-coating—for . . .

***

read the full poem by craig arnold on slate...

testing testing: the sigma at cu

last night i joined a college friend, who's visiting from california, at a great teachers event at low library on columbia's campus. it was kind of a fancy affair. men in dark suits, and ladies in floor-length gowns, sporting big baubles, bangles and beads. i was decidedly more casual, though i tried to give it a little ooh-la-la: a favorite top that i bought a couple of years ago at a boutique in le marais, and slim black slacks and slate grey heels from comptoir des cotonniers. it turned out to be a smart choice, as one gentleman that we became acquainted with that night, mr. hooper (i think he said he was class of '68?), asked me to take a few photos for him. having only my 50mm portrait lens with me, i had to sneak my way up to the front of the room, crouch down, crawl around to have any chance at a decent shot. i welcomed the opportunity though the photos, in the end, were not great. but i couldn't have tried to oblige him if i'd been in any kind of gown.

mr. hooper is himself a serious photographer (he taught digital photography at parsons, while working at citigroup) but i'm pretty sure he wasn't looking for photos of the dinner we were served. so i took these for me! the light was acceptable, and the plating was pretty. i wanted another chance to see what i could do with this lens, since i'd been a little frustrated before.

all of these are at 2.0 (and btw, delicious)...









these are not classic food shots, and the focus is a bit off, but i sort of like the look of them...

thoughts? i'm open to critiquing.

***

a quick note about the event: the great teacher honorees were professors austin quigley, who was dean of the college from 1995-2009 and zvi galil, who served as dean of seas from 1997-2007.
also in attendance was the college's new dean, dr. michele m. moody-adams, the first female and first black dean in the college's history...