Cups and saucers softly clinked at Las Violetas, a soaring Buenos Aires, Argentina, cathedral of confections, as I prepared to devour my breakfast, a sticky, sweet medialuna and a cortado.
asserted
I → clink → breakfast
I had biked to the cafe, in the Almagro neighbourhood, at 8:30 on a Saturday morning to kick off my daylong tour of some of the city’s most beloved establishments.
asserted
I → bike → establishments
Exquisite stained-glass windows cast a warm glow over the space, adorned with Carrara marble counters and art nouveau bronze chandeliers.
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windows → stain → counters
All this splendour contrasted with the cafe’s history as a place where the grandmothers of children abducted by the Argentine government during the “dirty war,” from 1976 to 1983, conducted clandestine organizing meetings under the cover of staged birthday parties.
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grandmothers → contrast → parties
Yes, I was enjoying a pastry, but the richness of the past filled me with wonder.
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richness → enjoy → wonder
Buenos Aires has an abundance of venerable bar-cafes, many built during Argentina’s belle epoque, from around 1880 to 1920, when it was among the world’s wealthiest nations.
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it → have → nations
The city officially recognizes about 100 of these establishments for their cultural, architectural or historical significance.
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city → recognize → significance
Today, these designated “bares notables” preserve a vanishing era of graceful cafe culture.
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notables → designate → culture
My tour started in the early morning and extended late into the night.
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tour → start → night
Luckily, the city has one of these treasures for every hour of the day.
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city → have → day
The small storefront at El Gato Negro, in the San Nicolás theatre district, beckoned with spices arrayed in an intricate window display.
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storefront → beckon → display
Inside, a swirling, aromatic bouquet enveloped me.
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bouquet → swirl → me
The space has hardly changed in the 98 years since Victoriano López Robredo, a Spanish immigrant, opened it.
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Robredo → change → it
He was an explorer and adventurer who had lived in Singapore, the Philippines and Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka.
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who → live → Singapore
Today, Don Victoriano’s family still runs the shop, using his original coffee roaster.
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family → run → roaster
Along a wall running the depth of the building, antique wooden display cases packed with spices, teas and coffees stretched almost to the ceiling.
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cases → run → ceiling
The smells of cardamom, curry, paprika, parsley, oolong and oregano left me delightfully overwhelmed.
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smells → leave → me
Opposite the retail counter, a cafe space with wooden chairs and small, round tables provided a comfortable place to sample the teas and coffees and order food from a surprisingly extensive menu.
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space → provide → menu
I bought a small bag of dulce de leche tea, flavoured with a milk caramel that’s ubiquitous in Argentina, as a gift for an aficionado back home.
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that → buy → aficionado
Drinking up the lore at Bar El Federal
asserted
Drinking → drink → Federal
For lunch, I headed to San Telmo, the city’s oldest neighbourhood.
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I → head → Telmo
It’s home to bohemian shops, funky galleries and a famous market, as well as Bar El Federal, whose colourful history does justice to its surroundings.
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history → ’ → surroundings
El Federal, established in 1864 as a grocery store and tavern, has spawned endless folk tales (and a few true ones).
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Federal → establish → tales
Its second floor reportedly once hosted a brothel, and legend says a former owner’s daughter was murdered at the front door.
uncertain
daughter → host → door
The atmosphere, while hardly gloomy, would support almost any Gothic yarn.
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atmosphere → support → yarn
A long cedar bar with a distinctive green stained-glass arch dominates the space, and everything about the place exudes age and authenticity with the kind of grit and patina that accretes over decades.
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that → stain → decades
The friends I met for lunch sat transfixed, gazing at the array of relics and curios that lined the walls.
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that → meet → walls
We devoured the Gran Federal — a bountiful meat-and-cheese plate known as a picada — and then watched a cook deftly hand-crank a stalwart old flywheel meat slicer.
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cook → devour → slicer
The hot, humid weather, a flat tire and the chaos of Buenos Aires traffic turned my 5-mile bike ride to Varela Varelita into a well-earned excuse for late-afternoon fries and vermouth.
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weather → turn → fries
Opened in 1950, it was the newest bar I visited.
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I → open → 1950
But like many of its peers, Varela Varelita has remained frozen in time, even as Palermo, its heavily gentrified neighbourhood, has spawned countless chic new restaurants and trendy cocktail bars.
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Palermo → remain → restaurants
My papas fritas arrived perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and my vermut came with my very own sifon — a little seltzer bottle — to spritz from as I desired.
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I → arrive → sifon
Everywhere I looked, people were blissfully practicing the custom of sobremesa — lingering to chat, long after finishing their meals.
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people → look → meals
Nearby, two older gentlemen with empty coffee cups engaged in leisurely conversation, and a college-age man with giant headphones, a laptop and a chessboard seemed to have sprouted roots.
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man → engage → roots
The huge open windows facing the sidewalks allowed for sublime people-watching and brought a welcome breeze.
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windows → face → breeze
I could easily see why Carlos Álvarez, a longtime neighbourhood resident who was Argentina’s vice president from 1999 to 2000, made this place his unofficial office before resigning in protest over a bribery scandal.
uncertain
place → see → scandal
He remains a regular.
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He → remain → ?
I ordered another vermut, just to squirt a few more spritzes from my sifon and dream about returning sometime.
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I → order → sifon
Feeling the buzz at Los Galgos
Midway between the National Congress and Teatro Colón, Los Galgos seemed to perform something of a magic trick: It felt simultaneously modern and historic.
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It → feel → trick
The space was undeniably faithful to its roots as a watering hole founded in 1930, but its stimulating, inventive food and drinks diverged from the staid standbys served at many other notables.
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food → found → notables
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
