These are the top three reasons, in reverse order, why I like to go out to dinner, even when I’m not working.
3. To enjoy good food and wine.
2. To spend time with friends.
1. To revel in a restaurant’s hospitality.
In other words, if I like a restaurant, it has more to do with the hospitality, and the experience of being there, than it is about the food.
I like Buenos Aires Grill, on the corner of 22nd and Arapahoe streets, mostly for the genuine welcoming vibe that pervades the place.
The food is fine. But the palpable hospitality is excellent.
The conceit of Buenos Aires Grill is simple: an Argentine steakhouse that also serves Spanish and Italian food. Makes sense, as Argentina has a population built mostly on immigrants from Europe the past couple hundred years or so, particularly Spain and Italy.
I imagine there are hundreds of similar restaurants in Buenos Aires, and it feels like a no-brainer to open one in Denver. After all, we’re a steak-loving, Italian food-loving town, and we’ve embraced malbec and chimichurri. Brazilian
steakhouses are sprouting like snapdragons in springtime.
Why not a full-fledged Argentine restaurant downtown?
And so, in the wake of his successful and rightfully beloved Buenos Aires Pizzeria (just around the corner on 22nd Street), Francis Carrera opened Buenos Aires Grill last June.
In the summertime, the restaurant seemed focused on its one-of-a-kind patio (which you may remember – previous tenants of the space include Saverino, Tiramisu, La Coupoule). The patio is stellar, an entirely pleasant spot to have an extended downtown lunch or endless summer supper.
Come winter, especially this one, we’re forced back inside. At first thought, this would seem like a bad thing, what with all the obvious pleasures of eating outdoors.
But the truth is, a steak and a bottle of Argentine wine in the friendly, seductively lit, polished-wood-and-brass-appointed Buenos Aires Grill is a perfectly cozy way to pass a blustery winter evening in Denver. (Buenos Aires Grill is closed for lunch until May 1.)
You’ll likely be greeted – gregariously and appreciatively – by Carrera himself. He’ll smile and gesture you toward the bar, and you’ll feel welcomed. In a city where far too many restaurants usher you in with a scowl and a sigh, Carrera’s graciousness stands out.
At the bar, or at your table, you’ll have a glass of wine while you peruse the menu. You may order a dish of sweet-salty higos envueltos, (bacon-wrapped figs, sometimes also called devils on horseback) or the herby provoleto al oreganato (grilled provolone with oregano), which will melt into your throat like a breadless grilled-cheese sandwich.
Next, you’ll come to a crossroads. The menu at Buenos Aires is big, perhaps too big, and narrowing down your entrée choice can be taxing.
Combat this by sticking to just one portion of the menu. If you’re here for meat, make it the parrilla (grill) side of the menu, and if you’re feeling especially carnivorous, spring for the $49 parrillada Argentina (mixed grill) platter, which claims to serve two but is really enough for about 14.
The platter is not designed for the faint of heart. On it you’ll find spicy chorizo, not red like Mexican or Spanish chorizo, but brown and rich and savory. You’ll find beef ribs, grilled flank and skirt steaks (cut beautifully against the grain to maximize flavor and enhance tenderness), crispy blood sausage (tasting like its name), tender sweetbreads and bracing tripe.
Then again, you always can order the luxuriously marbled 14-ounce rib-eye, or the soft, flavorful milk-and-garlic-marinated flank steak. Skip the straight-up skirt steak unless you need to give your jaws a workout.
The other side of the menu, consisting of nongrill entrees, is bigger and more flummoxing. Risotto with mushrooms! Ravioli with walnuts! Pesto- stuffed chicken breast! Sautéed lamb with white wine!
My recommendation: Order the bacalao a la Vasca (cod stew with clams and peas) or the 6-ounce lomo al malbec (filet with malbec wine sauce) and a couple of sides (cauliflower gratin or saffron rice, not sweet potato fries or garlic mashed potatoes).
Then, get rid of your menu and settle back into your glass of wine. Buenos Aires Grill was made for people- watching.
There’s a huge family at the big table over by the window, and it looks like Grandma might be tipsy. There’s a high-
roller huddle in the back, all leather blazers and open collars. A klatsch of women at the bar, draped in seasonally questionable garb, erupts into laughter.
And is that couple in the corner actually making out?
Soon, Francis will circulate back to your table to inquire how you liked your cod (you loved it) or filet (it wasn’t bad).
Your server, likely not as effusive as Carrera but efficient and friendly, will offer dessert, which you should order, if just for the show. House specialties include old-school-style bananas Foster and flambéed apple crepes, prepared on a table-side cart with flourish and vim. It’s fun to watch, and besides, a little flame at the table just adds to the warmth of the place.
Come May, Buenos Aires and its patio will reopen for lunch, and its focus will shift back to the patio.
But in the meantime, a visit to the indoor dining room to soak up Buenos Aires’ unique brand of hospitality makes an excellent antidote to a chilly winter weeknight.
You may not be blown away by the food, but you’ll feel welcome and taken care of. Which is exactly why you went out to dinner in the first place.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-954-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Buenos Aires Grill
Argentine
2191 Arapahoe St., 303-296-6709
** |Very Good
Atmosphere: Large but cozy dining room with spacious tables, low lights, and great big bar.
Service: Friendly and hospitable, especially upon arrival.
Wine: Solid wine list, with an emphasis on reds and Argentine imports.
Plates: Appetizers, $4-7. Entrees, $12-30.
Kitchen hours: 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. 5-11 p.m. Saturday. 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m (brunch) and 5-10 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Beautiful patio during open during warm months. Wheelchair accessible. Reservations encouraged but not necessary.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very good
*: Good
No stars: Needs work
