12-30 Dinner at Aqva

So. Dinner.  Ed had read about Aqva online. People raved about it, but said you needed reservations, and if you were lucky you could get in.  We had scoped it out the night before and looked at the menu and decided to try to go for it.

Our strategy was to arrive early (around 7) since Argentineans eat even later than Spaniards.  Figured we’d have a better chance.

We trundled up the hill, past the bus station, and wandered in to the restaurant.  It’s a great big open space with a loft that can seat 40 or 50 people in addition to the main floor. Wooden beamed structure with large windows looking out over the street.

They greeted us and asked us if we had reservations. Which of course we didn’t!  After a few moments conversation between the waiter and what appeared to be the bar manager, they acquiesced to give us a table.  Yay!

We were so lucky!  The food was incredible – it was the best meal we’ve have in years.  We started out with appetizers.  I got an assortment of local specialties which included hearts of palm in a thousand island type sauce, grilled vegetables, marinated avocado and 3 little slices of local “sopa” which are like dense quiches.  One was seafood, one was potato, and one was onion maybe?  All were excellent!  Ed got a Caesar salad with parmesan cheese slivers/slices; huge and crisp with a great dressing.

Then for dinner – Ed got the local fish – Surubi – with a lobster and shrimp sauce.  It was a nice size piece of fish, very sweet and tender, and the sauce was excellent.  A perfect accompaniment to the sweetness of the fish and the vegetables with it.  I got filet stuffed with “foi” served with a mushroom sauce.  Oh my god!  The piece of meat that was on the plate was enormous – at least 16 ounces – done perfectly with a huge slab of foi gras on top and stuffed inside with mushrooms.  It was absolutely the best dish we’ve tasted. Of course Ed had to help me finish it, since it was WAY too big for me. But it was so good, we couldn’t leave anything on the plate. 

We sat around for a while afterward digesting our food, sipping our wine and beer and watching the restaurant fill up. It was packed. And we were so lucky – they were turning people away while we were eating.  What a great find!  We paid our bill, and stuffed to the gills, walked back to the hotel, had a night cap and fell into a deep food induced sleep!

Next up – the Brazilian side of Iguazu.