Travel Deals – It was over a bowl of delicious, spicy-sweet peanut soup with pesto made from huacatay, or Andean black mint, that I realized the vegetarian diner was now perfectly welcome in Buenos Aires. As a vegetarian traveling in a country where beef takes center stage, I expected my meals to be relegated to an assortment of side dishes — sautéed greens, some variation of potatoes — supplemented by the occasional granola bar. For many, myself included, the diet is not just a daily choice, but a way of life. I am a practicing Jain — a member of an ancient Indian religion that espouses ahimsa, or nonviolence toward all living beings — and my diet forbids all meat, poultry, fish and even eggs, though it does allow milk and cheese.
But during a recent visit, I was happily surprised, if not downright triumphant, to discover a cluster of recently opened restaurants serving tasty and fresh vegetarian fare. Largely concentrated in the fashionable Palermo Hollywood neighborhood and its fringes, the restaurants tend toward the homey and casual — and they cater to the full spectrum of diners who don’t eat meat.
Casa Felix
A puertas cerradas (literally “closed doors”) or private restaurant, Casa Felix offers a fine-dining experience in the charming whitewashed home of the Argentine chef Diego Felix and his wife, Sanra, in the Chacarita neighborhood. Guests, generally a dozen or so per meal, dine by appointment only (reservations can be made by phone or e-mail) and to their personal specifications (e-mailed well in advance): vegan, gluten-free, pescetarian and so forth. (Meat eaters are also welcome.) Dimly lighted and cozy, the setting provides ample opportunity to mingle with other diners.
My five-course meal began with a botanical lesson in the Felixes’ backyard, where the chef pulled at branches, plucking leaves of pineapple sage and lemon balm before passing them off to be scratched and sniffed. Those homegrown herbs and vegetables (he also grows heirloom tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, arugula and more) were the centerpieces of the menu to come.
First up, that revelatory peanut soup. Though I tend to prefer to keep my spicy and sweet separate, I was impressed by the creamy soup, which balanced nutty sweetness with just a few drops of chili oil and a teaspoon of pesto. The corn-and-squash humita — a South American dish similar to the Mexican tamale — was comforting, moist and filling. Served with a dollop of organic ricotta on top, it resembled pie à la mode. Soon the real dessert arrived: rum-soaked and sautéed apple slices, paired with a granola-like almond and date crust and kumquat cream. I quickly gobbled it up.