Text 16737, 97 rader
Skriven 2014-09-06 08:52:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: BsAs trip 923
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The trip in town took longer than anyone had expected, but
eventually we got there, dropped our traps in a nice room on
the 20th floor, and hustled out to meet Alex, the organizer
of these tastings and dinners, and the rest of the crew.

Strolling mostly along Libertador, whose noise and incessant
whizzing traffic displeased Lilli, we got to Sotto Voce just
a couple minutes late; we were the last to arrive, it turns
out - there were a couple expected who didn't manage to get
there, and they missed a nice time.

I can't speak for most of the food, as it was a long table
and we were at one end, with the empties near us. We got a
taste of the appropriately named Bobo's risotto, pleasant
but I wouldn't care to make a whole meal of it.

Lilli and I split a carpaccio di manzo; it came divided,
two very artistically plated dishes that looked like two
full servings, but we were assured it was one only - this
was borne out by the sighting of a full salmon carpaccio
down the way, which was huge. Hearty eaters in this town.

My first Latin American meal of ever, back in the mid-1960s,
was going to be cannelloni, only I had just been held up (in
a city that I will not name) so could only afford the menu
del dia, so I've had a thing about the dish, ordering it
even in unpromising situations ever since; I have similar
odd yens for various other dishes for various reasons -
milanesa/schnitzel, Stroganoff, luohan tsai, et cetera.

Anyhow, I was delighted to hear that the cannelloni of the
day was spinach and ground beef, a combination with which I
have become familiar and rather fond of over the decades.
Sadly, it came with beef and mushrooms instead, not a bad
marriage at all but not what I'd set my expectations for.
Worse, it was gratinated with lots and lots of unidentified
melting cheese that had a blue component that I didn't care
for. Not that big a deal, I twirled vast sheets of the stuff
around my fork and gave them to Lilli, who loves cheese in
all its manifold variations.

Having the appetite of a bird (this improved over the course
of the weekend), she just had a bowl of minestrone as her
main course. It was peculiar, rather sweet with carrots, I
believe onions, and maybe the overripe tomato or two, and
came with handfuls of spinach, which she doesn't eat and
which I gladly added to my cannelloni.

Alex chose the wine - from a winery he knows well and that
I believe he offers from time to time - Escorihuela Gascon
Small Productions Malbec 11, a rich very dark red (i.e. on
the young side) wine with a nice aroma and a mouth-filling
plumminess. He indicated that it was a relative bargain on
the list - here, as most places, the restaurant wine markups
are wildly variable; this was one of the less extortionate.

After a leisurely time, ended with complimentary portions of
excellent ice creams and glasses of limoncello, we broke up
the party and headed back, along a circuitous route, for a
much needed wash-up.

Up at the Sheraton our room was not what it appeared to be;
all these glitches, mostly laughable and get-aroundable, but
still they added up.

For example, it was difficult to get our anticipated shower,
because the water ran hot or cold but not both, both out of
the rainshower and the tub spigot. One could solve this by
turning on the hot, then turning on the cold, then washing
one limb or another in the ten seconds it took for the cold
to take over the hot, then starting the process over again.
My solution was to take a bath.

The key cards sometimes worked after several tries. We got
them adjusted (there was a line at the temporary checkin -
the lobby is being renovated, so the desk has been relocated
to the former Link@Sheraton area) and reported the water
issue; during Lilli's recitation the guy sort of grimaced and
interrupted her, saying, the water runs either hot or cold,
right? as if this was something he heard ten times a day. He
promised to send engineering to come up and fix the problem.

It was an okay room in general, just there were substantial
boobooes, ending up with Lilli's being charged again for a
prepaid stay.

The executive lounge obviously has been burned by hordes of
Norteamericanos, as it has instituted a policy of one free
glass of wine or beer per person, afterwards, charge it to
your room at I think about 50 pesos a glass, maybe more. The
wine being poured, Latitud 33 Malbec, is a fresh-tasting,
fruity Chandon product that is one step above airline wine
and one step below real wine.

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