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© 2007 Dan Perlman
Casa SaltShaker
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chef: Dan Perlman
Host: Henry Tapia
January 18-20, 2007
As many of you have noted, sometimes my “themes” for Casa SaltShaker menus seem to have little to do with food. But come on, the movie Grapes of Wrath… that’s food, right? Grapes! Just because no one in the book/film had any food is no reason it can’t inspire me. A menu based on grapes to celebrate the release of the film… in 1940. One of the things that’s interesting when I’ve proposed menus that are focused on a particular ingredient is the reaction to the idea of a “single item” menu. I received several queries in advance from people sort of hinting that they weren’t so sure they wanted to come after all given that they were just going to have grapes piled on plate after plate. (The same thing happened way back with our early on chocolate menu.) What gets forgotten is that ingredients come in many forms. Grapes come in different varieties, plus raisins, wine, grappa, brandy, verjus, juice, powders, and that’s just off the top of my head.
Comments from some of our guests:
"We had a fabulous time. We were all very impressed. You will see us again soon." - T.G.
"We have a great evening. The food was a great experience. I always hate cauliflower and eaten this last Thursday was amazing." - L.M.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening, we had a great time and the food was excellent. It was an enjoyable experience and we look forward to our next trip to Buenos Aires to do it again, we will also suggest it to friends going to Buenos Aires." - P.G.
"Dan, we had a wonderful time - thanks so much for the experience. the food was fabulous, and we very much enjoyed especially H..., our funny, chatty tablemate. it was affordable and different and fun, and you are wonderful hosts. only suggestions - we were sad the table didn´t hold everyone, as we wished we could have talked more with the other four, and copies of the menu would be a fun take away for everyone. also we thought perhaps there would be more argentines - something we were hoping for - but i suppose that´s the risk of being in the NYTimes. and mixed languages could complicate matters I suppose. that´s it. It was great and we would recommend it to others." - L.C.
"L... and I are still singing your praises here in the Washington, DC area. We loved the "60th anniversary of Grapes of Wrath" dinner. And what a surprise to be seated with another poet! Wow. You pick them. Or they pick you. I will try to work you into a piece on Buenos Aires.... In the meantime, thanks so much for an unforgettable, yummy evening." - D.W.
What we do isn't always a winning formula for everyone, and different people have different tastes and expectations. From the same evening as other comments above:
"I don't like to evaluate a restaurant on the basis of one visit. I'm sure I would enjoy other menus that you offer. If you want to know what I thought of this experience I'll share this much. Ambiance and service was good although a quicker mosquito check might have been in order. Sadly, I found none of the 5 courses good, though the pasta was okay. Despite the color the presentation of the cauliflower was poor. Flavor, unremarkable. IMHO notwithstanding the wine sauce the fish itself was dry and tasteless (overcooked?), and the chicken was more of a disappointment than the fish. Was it boiled? Very little flavor (I do not really like chicken legs). Sorry, as I know this is not pleasant , but again it was just one visit and the concept is such as to warrant at least another. Your success makes me believe I would enjoy it more the next time around with different preparations." - D.D.
