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© 2008 Dan Perlman
Casa SaltShaker
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chef: Dan Perlman
Host: Henry Tapia
August 15-16, 2008
Indian Independence Day… it had been quite some time since we’d last offered up a “sub-continent” dinner, and I happen to like Indian food quite a bit, and besides, it was my friend Belli’s birthday, he’s Indian, and the owner of a local Indian restaurant. That was the one. But which Indian cuisine? We’d gone north before, with our Kashmiri dinner last October, and similar cuisine from neighboring Pakistan the previous March. I thought about splitting things up and offering one course from each of the five major regions of the country, but in the end, decided to focus on just one - but which? Leaving off the north, I randomly… more or less… picked the west, and from there decided on one dish each from five of the more interesting sounding cuisines of the area.
Comments from some of our guests:
"Thanks again for a great meal and the opportunity for good conversation. You are truly a genius with great style. My wife called me first thing this morning to see how it was. She is very disappointed she could attend." - C.O.
"Thank you again for a wonderful evening on Friday. J... and I really enjoyed it. I was wondering - would you mind sharing your recipe for the green bean and coconut salad? It was really delicious and I would love to make it again at home. J... and I very much enjoyed our evening with you and Henry and the rest of the guests. We can't think of a thing that you could change - we thought it was a very unique and fun experience." - S.R.
"Thank you for last night`s dinner . it was a wonderful experience. I hope I can get to visit you again in one of my escapades to Argentina." - R.V.
"It was nice meeting you on Saturday night. K... and our friends from Colorado really enjoyed the evening as well. The only big negative I heard around the table was "bones in the fish." I got a small one, but the diplomat fellow next to me was picking out quite a few. The mash was a big hit, as was the first course salad. For me the best pairing of the night was the rose with the fish. It was different, but it worked well with the flavors." - C.C.
"R... and I are really glad that we came to dinner at Casa SaltShaker, and consider it one of the highlights of our trip to BA. We were lucky to connect so well with the other people at our table, and we enjoyed the food and wine pairings quite a lot. There were only two areas where we could imagine improvement: 1) the table arrangement - this was not an issue for us, as we found a spot at the larger table, but we would not have enjoyed ourselves nearly as much if we'd ended up at the smaller table. It was good that you encouraged people to move around throughout dinner, but the reality was that no one did. I know that space is a limitation, but two tables of six, if possible, would have prevented what felt like a covert scramble to get a seat at the "good table." 2) the music - of course you'll never please everyone, but the music seemed a bit random. As fans of music as much as food and wine, we thought it was a missed opportunity to create a soundtrack that matched the theme. I think it really would have enhanced the evening if there had been Indian music in the background instead of Bruce Hornsby. That said, we still had a marvellous time, and would highly recommend the experience to others. Also, I can't wait to see what the menu is for the Fred MacMurray night." - G.E.
"Thank you so much! Dinner at Casa Saltshaker was one of the highlights of my trip. It was great to have a room of English speakers after a week surrounded by Spanish. I honestly can't think of a better way to have finished off my week there. Take care and if I know anyone who is headed your way, I'll definitely spread the word." - T.M.
