There was no way I was going to jump straight back into a parrilla joint for my next meal experience, I understood I needed to soon enough, but with nearly 2 weeks in Uruguay I had to stick to my strategy.
A strategy that is to avoid too many plain cooked parrilla meals while I could, I am fully aware that I will next be visiting Argentina and I don’t want to get bored of beef before I arrive there.
Montevideo is a capital city with a very European feel to it, it doesn’t feel Hispanic or Latino in any way to me. The interesting graffiti I see adorning many buildings as I explore the city made me think that some modern European food would be a good option to try while here. Something a little funky, a little twisted if possible, certainly no gritty tasting chimichurri if I can avoid it.
I found the contemporary food I was seeking without too much trouble, a small modern French venue was my first stop. The walls adorned with typical Parisian stock images and simple Eiffel caricatures, the French bread was served warm in a little brown paper bag, yeah, I think this was a good choice.
The menu was limited and I was keen to see what my expectations for the meal should be so I ordered a leek bacon and cheese tartlet to see what sort of standard was present. I must admit I hadn’t expected to have a tartlet this good, the butter laden pastry was perfectly crisp, the filling well balanced, creamy and not too salty, the lightly dressed salad, simple and herbaceous. I was enthused by the prospect of eating more.
My partners salmon came out perfectly cooked, the skin beautifully crisp and the flesh moist, just flaking when pressed, the lemon butter sauce had a delightful astringency and the Anna potato was crisp and buttery, the eclectic plating showed an attempt at contemporary presentation.
From the limited menu I opted for vacio, a cut of beef I currently view as my nemesis, I really wanted to see if some good French cookery could deliver a good experience from this bastard piece of meat, in my mind I considered marinades and aging. The delivery of the beef showed the same contemporary design as my partners, the beef was well browned, perfectly seasoned and yet disappointingly unrested, I began to assume resting meats is just not done here. The toothsome beef was delicious, and by nature it should have been, flank always will be, I focused more on the pumpkin puree and charred vegetable garnish as I strove to internally accept that I was visiting a beef obsessed nation that doesn’t rest its meat.
I don’t usually take a dessert, preferring to have cake with a coffee in the afternoon, but as they were included along with the main course it would have been rude not to, besides I was interested to see if the quality of cooking faulted at the sweet course.
The chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream my partner ordered was bang on! The moist dense cake was lightly bitter, sweet and moreish the light fluffy ice cream had a clean white chocolate flavour.
My Peach Melba was also executed well, the poached peach not too firm, nor soft, the raspberry coulis tart but not sharp and the vanilla ice cream one again spot on, studded with vanilla seeds. A lovely finish to a meal, also one that re energised my thoughts on Uruguayan culinary ability.
These positive thoughts would continue with my next contemporary meal, a cool little lunch only joint with bar side only service. The restaurant set up reminded me of some of the Japanese venues I experienced in Tokyo, where guests sit at the long bar and face the fully open kitchen, the chefs literally within reaching distance across the counter. Propped up and happy to watch someone else work, we opted for a light lunch from the small menu.
My partner opting for delicious prawn and crumbed avocado salad with caramelised nuts and seeds, whereas I opted for a single medallion of beef fillet with smoked hollandaise sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Sure the salad doesn’t look like all that much, but to be fair it’s a salad, they are hard things to present in a way that makes them look especially appealing.
The beef fillet on the other hand was presented in a simple and contemporary fashion, I lived the little injection of flair utilised. Stepping out into the world refreshed, full and happy I look forward to finding a little square to bask under the mottled light of some trees.
Gustatory travels 