The Flyvemaskine Diaries

Today started out a little glum. As of tomorrow, Eric and I have been in Buenos Aires for 7 weeks, which signifies the half-way point of our trip here (although it still remains to be seen whether we’ll return after going home for Christmas this year). In our seven weeks, we’ve met Juan, a very cool Argentinean who we like hanging out with, and Brooke, who is a cool American. But we expected to have a few more friends by now, and that made us a little sad. We’re just a bit lonely for some friends, and some new people to talk to and hang out with.

So over coffee we decided that tonight, we’d do two things: first, attend a meeting of a Buenos Aires writers group (mostly English-speaking writers living in Buenos Aires) and then we’d try out Club 647, which is a restaurant in San Telmo that we’ve been reading about. And so we began our night.

The writers’ group meeting was really fun - we met a group of Americans/Canadians and a couple of really interesting girls - one who is Argentinean/British and one who is Argentinean/Italian. We had an interesting conversation, got a recommendation for some good Indian restaurants and hopefully made some new friends in the process. Then it was into a taxi, where we were whisked away to Club 647.

Club 647, as the story goes, used to be a private dinner club but is now open to anyone. We called this morning to make a reservation, because Eric told me he read that it was possibly the best restaurant in the city. It’s tough to tell sometimes, because Buenos Aires is absolutely full of fabulous, mouth-watering food (as if you couldn’t tell this by reading our blog).

The interior of the restaurant is sleek and modern. You can choose to dine in a nice, plush booth in the lounge area, a chaise lounge (which really looks like a queen-sized bed) where you’ll be served on a special tray) or at a regular table near the back of the restaurant. When we walked in, we were escorted to the bar where we ordered a drink. Club 647 has a reputation for killer cocktails, and we can vouch for them. Eric’s was a watermelon cocktail that tasted just like fresh watermelon and mine had sweet, citrus-y orange flavors and champagne. Then we sat in our booth.

I ordered pork loin, which was served with whipped sweet potatoes with chipotle peppers. Eric had the lamb, which was served with eggplant prepared in a way that I even liked (I’m not a huge fan of the eggplant). Everything on our plates was so delicious, it was rather incredible. The pork practically melted, it was so tender, and we ate every last bite. I’m embarrassed to admit that we were actually sort of moaning a little bit.

By dessert, our waitress had figured out that we spoke English and as she handed us the menu, she said, “They are all fantastic.” So how could we not order them? Eric had the mini marscapone cheesecake, which was served with a sorbet of watermelon and grapefruit, and I had the whiskey parfait, which was a parfait with a delicate, light whipped cream on top of a coffee liqueur and was served with crunchy chocolate bits on the side. In short, it was heavenly.

Club 647 served us the best meal we’ve had in Buenos Aires. But one of the brilliant things that Club 647 did is that it made us feel cool. We’ve been to sleek and hip restaurants before, but often the effect they have is that they make you feel like you’re in a cool place. At Club 647, you’re the cool part of the place. We decided it was because it’s an intimate spot. From your booth, or even from the bar, you’re not people-watching, you feel like the center of the action instead. You don’t see the people dining around you and it’s not a see-and-be-seen kind of place.

At the same time, we’re still in Buenos Aires, which means that you can never be too casual. You can dress to the nines if you want, but as we sat in our best clothes in a booth, a couple had drinks in a plaid shirt and T-shirt, respectively, paired with jeans and T-shirts. Buenos Aires is the greatest in this way.

When we paid our tab (which was the highest one we’ve had yet in Buenos Aires, but still a reasonable price for a very nice dinner back home), we were told our taxi was waiting outside and we jumped in, only to be whisked back home. It was a wonderful night, and not at all glum like the day began.

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