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© 2007 Dan Perlman
Casa SaltShaker
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chef: Dan Perlman
Host: Henry Tapia
December 13-14, 2007
I chose to celebrate the start of Sir Francis Drake’s round the world voyage. Given that he bounced from place to place, I had alot of latitude, no pun intended, to choose what I was going to prepare for dinner. Reading through various sources, I could have gone with any of a wide range or locales, in the end I picked one account, which emphasized the time that he and his men spent in various spots - and it happened that five were singled out as places where they dropped anchor and stayed for longer periods. Perfect to inspire five courses. Whether or not another interpretation of his voyage would have yielded an entirely different set of five locations is a moot point. Dinners’ over.
Thoughts from some of our guests:
"Muchísimas gracias, estuvo todo bárbaro y lo pasamos todos bárbaro! Muuuuuuuuuuuy inspirado el menú del viernes, realmente!" - E.T."It is bit of a late reaction maybe but travelling up and down, I did not have the chance earlier. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the dinner, we really enjoyed it, both the food and the company. I must say at first it was bit of a weird experience, since we've never been to a similar dinner arrangement before. I mean, it is like being invited to a friend's house, but it isn't, you feel somewhat uncomfortable and interfering, while at the same time it is not like being in a restaurant as a customer either. Hoping to sit at a bigger table with locals (without realizing that your guests were most of the time non-Argentine people) at first I was a little disappointed as well, but later on the ice was broken and we had a really enjoyable conversation and a very good time. As for the food, again I was a little worried at the beginning, since the ingredienst we do not eat make us somewhat difficult eaters. However we not only liked everything we tasted very much, but also the dishes which looked worrying on paper turned out to be those which we enjoyed the most! The wine pairing was also brilliant. The only thing I enjoyed somewhat less is maybe the texture of the chorizo...nothing wrong with the taste and the combination of flavours with the garnishes (the sour apple and the sweet sauce have worked out great by the way, nicely balancing the pimenton), but I wonder if it would have been better with a somewhat less crumbling texture. I don't know if that is something technically possible though... Anyway, I wish we had more time in Buenos Aires so that we could have tried another one of your creative menues. Well, we do like Argentina very much so I'm sure we will visit Buenos Aires again in the future...so next time, if you're still there, and meanwhile I will remain being tantalized by Casa SaltShaker website :)" - S.A.
