Inside on Cafe Tortoni on Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires

In my library, I have an entire bookcase dedicated to works relating mostly to Mexico and South America. Today I picked up one of my favorite titles—Gabriela Kogan’s The Authentic Bars, Cafés and Restaurants of Buenos Aires—and felt waves of nostalgia breaking over me as I turned the pages.

I have been to Buenos Aires three times. The first time, even though I broke my right shoulder later in the trip, I fell in love with the country and its capital. One of the things that impressed me most was the café culture—and I don’t mean coffee, which I never drink.

There are dozens of neighborhood eating spots, many of which was been around since the late 19th century. In my visits to the city, I patronized the following traditional cafés:

• La Puerto Rico in the Montserrat neighborhood
• El Tortoni, also in Montserrat
• El Preferido de Palermo in Palermo
• El Rincon in Recoleta, right across from the famous cemetery

I cannot look at the book’s glossary without licking my lips:

• Berenjenas en Escabeche: eggplant marinated in a sauce of vinegar, onions, carrots, and peppercorns
• Conejito a la Cazadora: traditional preparation of rabbit, with garlic, vegetables, white wine, tomatoes and mushrooms
• Choripán: spiced pork sausage sandwich (my favorite)
• Fabada Asturiana: bean and bacon soup
• Fugazetta Rellena: “folded” pizza with onion, filled with cheese
• Matambre: meat roulade filled with vegetables and hard-boiled eggs (another favorite)
• Pejerrey Gran Paraná: a white meat river fish from the Rio Paraná served with boiled potatoes
• Suprema Maryland: a dish made with breaded chicken, fried banana, french fries, and corn custard

In 2011, I went to Argentina with Martine. She is an incredibly picky eater who eschews the slightest hint of spiciness. Yet she loved the food she ate at the Buenois Aires cafés.