Ovieda…and Volta

Ovieda, although expensive for Buenos Aires, has been our best meal so far.  Their specialty is fish.  A white table cloth restaurant with old fashioned balled chandeliers.  The vibe and decor reminded me of being in Italy.  Classic.  They do have other things besides fish but we went with what they are all about.

The bread basket is fantastic.  Each of us were served a small portion of a guacamole that had a hint of balsamic vinegar in it with the bread to start.  There were long flat bread sticks that were powered with a brushing of chili pepper, warm white and brown breads and melba toast like crackers.  All delicious and all necessary for mopping up all the delicious sauces.

The first course, well, the pictures almost speak for themselves.  Fred and I went with the baby squid.  Tiny squid, grilled and served across the plate layered with grilled peppers and onions in between with a parsley olive oil sauce.  The squid cut like butter. 

Jess went with the shrimp.  A round disc of chopped tomatoes to create a tartar with grilled shrimp layered on top.  Beautiful and the flavors mixed perfectly.

Josh and Em went with the tuna.  2 large pieces of raw tuna with raw onions over the top sitting in a lemony olive oil dressing.  Excellent. 

For dinner, we went really 2 ways.  Jess and I had the sea bream with veggies and Fred had his with spinach and potatoes.  Grilled sea bream underneath a layer of zucchini and eggplant that was perfectly draped on top.  This sat over a mixture of peppers sauteed and sliced cherry tomatoes.  Fred had spinach on top of his with layers of potatoes underneath.

Josh and Em went with the salmon.  Grilled salmon sitting over a simple butter sauce with spinach croquettes.  That is Josh's finger to the left. 

What always works is returning to the roots of French cooking.  Although there is certainly Italian origins in Buenos Aires, this meal took from not only Italy but France.  Simply cooked fish with a sauce to add flavor.  All well done.  A place I'd return to again and again.  Just an fyi on price.  Everything I described plus 8 bottles of water ( yes, we drink a lot of water ) and 2 bottles of wine came to $250 American dollars. In Italy or France or the US…this meal would run us about $800.

After, we grabbed a couple of taxis and headed over to Volta.  At midnight, the place was hopping.  I believe we went to the original Volta in the Recoleta area of BA.  Open doors with tables throughout that streamed out on to the sidewalk.  The ice cream, well, what can I say…rich and delicious.  Truthfully…how bad can a scoop of chocolate ice cream with almonds and dulce de leche with pieces of brownie in it be?