ACZoom  ·  Archive-2016

Traveling between cities in the US and other countries requires conversions between Centigrade and Fahrenheit, as well as between Kilos and Pounds. Here's a easy way to do the calculations, inspired by the faint childhood memories of the Trachtenberg method of arithmetic manipulations, and achieving error rates of 1% or less.

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205 E Houston Street (corner of Ludlow St), New York, New York.

Given that the smoked meat available at Schwartz's in Montreal is my number one food choice, there needs to be some mention of corned beef and pastrami in New York too - the other big city in the world for cured meat.

Katz's Delicatessen is pretty good. It certainly exhibits quite a few quirks and oddities that provide a quintessential New York experience - but the food is good too, better than some of the other similarly famous pastrami and corned beef places in New York City. It has been in business since 1888 - a long time - which is usually a very good indication of a good restaurant.

When you enter the place, you are handed a ticket - hold on to it, and get it filled in when you order food - loose this, and they they will charge you $50! Diners also have to enter and exit in a single file.

The meat is quite good - nice, spicy enough - certainly still not comparable to Schwartz's - Schwartz's is more spicy, more tender, but Katz's is a pretty good alternative. And like all things American (US-American), the quantity is outrageous - too much meat. So, too much for one person, but great to share between 2-3 persons. And smoked meat fans won't need to be told this, but these sandwiches are best with rye bread, with mustard, and nothing else. Black Cherry soda for a drink, or hot black tea (well, hot black tea is probably just me). The sandwiches go for around $15, not including tax and tip.

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2077 Ste-Catherine W, 514-937-0156. On Ste-Catherine, just west of Rue du Fort.

This Turkish restaurant has a unique window display of the cooks making lavash - basically huge chappatis/tortillas.

The appetizers - Mezze platters - are good enough for a meal, many choices to pick from, and come with a freshly made lavash bread. The appetizers include Baba Ghannouj - charbroiled eggplant puree with pomegranate paste and roasted vegetables, Hummus - chickpeas puree with tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil, Muhammara d'Alep - pomegranate paste with mixture of walnuts, pine nuts, pepper.

The borek - Turkish feuillette - is excellent. These are flaky phyllo dough pastries filled with feta and spinach or beef and potatoes along with a splash of hot spice - really good. The spinach and feta borek is a great accompaniment to main dishes like Manti, or to a sampling of the mezzes. With a main dish, you can request an half-order of borek so you have chance of finishing it all. 2015 update: They heard me! Now the borek is half-size - a single large square instead of two, so it is now the perfect accompaniment to Manti. 2015 Manti and Borek picture.

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191 Jean-Talon Street East in Montreal - walk West towards St-Laurent from the Jean-Talon metro station. Phone: +1-514-270-9361.
Open Tue-Sat for lunch and dinner.

2013: Le Petit Alep Official Website is now online with details and the whole menu.

Great food and excellent ambiance in the converted garage that houses this cafe.

Syrian/Armenian food.
Filet-mignon with a special spicy sauce - Chiche Kebab Terbialy. Absolutely the best, this is always a safe choice.
Pureed eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon - Métabal.
Chicken in tahini - Poulet Trator.
Grilled Pita sandwich - Pitas grillés poulet. Chicken, mayo, garlic, with a nice kick - hint of spicy red-pepper?

For pictures, including a picture of the menu, visit the travel gallery Le Petit Alep in the Montreal album section.

The terbialy sauce is a nice, medium-to-hot spicy sauce,
and it makes the difference, best on the beef kababs (medium-rare), but also available with shrimp.

And then there are the weekday daily lunch specials with great soups -- just remember to get there during lunch Tuesday through Friday.
Kebbe Labanie (Kibbe Lebanese) - large meatballs in yogurt, garlic, mint sauce.
As they describe it: "boulettes de bœuf, blé concassé, noix, souce yogourt, ail, menthe".
Filet de sole Amandine
Soupe Harira - tomatoes, beef, fennel, cardamom - nice spicy soup.

Google Earth users may be interested in the KML File for these locations.
Microsoft Live Search Maps is also a good way to view the KML file data.
If the map does not display below, this link may work: Google Maps - My Maps - Montreal Restaurants

Café Tortoni at Av. de Mayo 825 is well written about on the web, they have absolutely amazing chocolate. They serve churros too, but frankly, the churros are not as good as they are in México and are cold and more salty than sweet. On the back of the menu they claim churro is a national pastry - but this was the only place in Buenos Aires that I found serving it.

The chocolate drink is very delicious, thick, feels like it is just melted chocolate with some magical transformation so that there is no watery taste, but is still flowing liquid. This comes with a small pot of hot milk, and of course, three packets of sugar - everywhere in Buenos Aires, sugar is always available. In this case, skip the sugar, the chocolate is great just as is, and if needed, dilute it with the hot milk. This is definitely something not to be missed if visiting Buenos Aires. And then alternate between dunking the churro in the chocolate, and drinking the chocolate. This is good living!

While the cholocate is excellent, this place also has a lot of history, it has been open since 1858, visit the Café Tortoni web site for more info. The downside is that it is now on every tourists itinerary so there is a line to get in in the evening but it was never full in mid- to late-afternoon.

One more city to add to the amazing list - so much to see in Buenos Aires, great food (beef, beef, and beef), incredibly clean city, lots of green spaces, and good transportation.

Short takes and tips for travelers to Buenos Aires. There are many web sites with information, so this is only the list of things I did not find at other web sites after a web search, or things that were really interesting.

Click here for: Buenos Aires Photo Album

You can get by with English, but note that most people will only be able to speak in Spanish, so knowing a bit of Spanish is recommended.

Arrival: After a long flight from the US, you want to get to your room with least amount of trouble - take the taxi if you are in a hurry, or take the Manuel Tienda Leon bus. The bus is air-conditioned and quite comfortable, but requires a transfer to another bus to get to your final destination. The bus is half the price of the taxis, so if there are two or more people, taxi is a better option. There are many stalls selling taxi/remis services, but the best option is at the Taxi Ezeiza's blue/white circular, stand-alone booth, just outside the exit from the customs area. For the return trip, call their number (+54 11) 5480-0066 to reserve a taxi. Airport to the City costs under AR$65, while City to the Airport is under AR$55 (this includes tolls). [2007 Prices - factor in 10%-20% inflation! In 2008, the prices were AR$88 and AR$60 respectively!]. They also respond very quickly to email at their info@taxiezeiza.com.ar address, you have to communicate in Spanish - use the free translation services available on the web if you need it!

The Buenos Aires Photo Album pages include some restaurant and food photos.

Buenos Aires has its unique food style - anything you want as long as it is some cut of beef, and grilled. Cut of beef may be a restrictive definition, you can get any body part of cow grilled! The range and taste is not as good as one might find in New York, Montreal, or Chicago, so prepare accordingly. There was a period between 2002 and 2007 when prices in US$ were quite good, but inflation is very high in Argentina and by 2008, the mid-range restaurants would range around US$15 to US$20 (not including wine) for lunch and higher for dinner. This type of food would be a minimum for good eating as far as tourists may be concerned. And just like Europe, no restaurant serves plain water for free so have to order water for around US$2-3 per bottle.

These external links are great guides to refer to:
Guía de Restaurantes de Buenos Aires which seems to be a popular local site, with many customer comments. Even if you don't understand Spanish, they have great summaries that rate the food, the service, and provide an indication of the cost of one meal (without drinks).
Asado Argentina » Beef has pictures, explanations of different cuts of meat. Given the amount of beef you might eat in Buenos Aires, this is a good site to read about what you may be eating!

Food: Yes, grilled food is only thing they eat here in Buenos Aires! Seriously, the beef at any parrilla is excellent, Bife de lomo or bife de chorizo were good at all price points - even at under US$15. They do have better beef down in Argenttina, grass-fed cattle make better beef than US grain-fed cattle! French Fries are common side dish, but if you need ketchup, must ask for it, it is not normally served here.

2651 Broadway, between 100th and 101st streets, The Upper West Side.
Also at 484 Amsterdam Ave, between 83rd and 84th streets.
Spanish & Chinese Cuisine

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Their rotisserie chicken is superb. From the menu, Pollo a la brasa - Peruvian Special Chicken, Whole - "looks like a regular roast chicken, but the difference is our special ingredients". And this is true, fantastic chicken, nicely spiced (lemon? garlic? cilantro?).

Have not eaten anything else from their extensive menu, always go for the takeout - "two whole chickens cut-up". The menu has Peruvian dishes, Hong Kong Special items, Spanish items, as well as the standard Americanized-Chinese dishes.

This restaurant find is courtesy of the New York Times article "In Quest of the Perfect Roast Chicken", dated February 23, 2005, by Julia Moskin.

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37 Spring St, between Mott and Mulberry St, New York City.
Across from Lombardi Pizza.

Heavenly Rice Pudding, in a Funky, High-Tech, Modern Decor.

Not only is the pudding great, with many cool flavors, the packaging is also unique - deep saucer like containers add to the out-of-this-world look of this place.

Choose from a varied list of flavors, around 15 each day.

The servings are Solo, Sumo, and Moby. Even the Solo ($5) is big enough to substitute as lunch for one - it is more than just dessert. Add toppings like mischief- buttery graham cracker crumble - and this will leave you full.

See photos of this place in the New York City section of the travel gallery