A MILONGUERA'S CHOW GUIDE: June 4, 2006

Restaurant: Zadvarie
Address: Uriarte 1423, Palermo
Tel: 4831-2719

My boyfriend, in his attempt to sate my need for culinary variety, took me to the Zadvarie for lunch yesterday afternoon (Saturday). The business card reads,"Concina de Inspiracion Peruana, Sabores del Altiplano." I was expecting a llama (as in the South American animal, not "como se llama.")smorgasbord, but their menu proved to be inventive, a superfresh palate extravaganza.

For their lunch special, they offered a curry vegetable puree soup which warmed the bones, followed by cappeletis stuffed with chicken in a (relatively light) cream sauce. It rocked. The Man (the boyfriend, sidekick, bossman) ordered a salmon gravlax (gravlax=a way of preparing the salmon that involves dehydrating without leaving it completely dry) that came with 2 sides: quinoa with mango and bulgar/couscous. I think I ate half of his dish, too. Then, I ate almost all my mandarin cheesecake, which was just so lovely and light, and another dessert with algarroba (a tree indigenous to Paraguay and Argentina whose seeds are used for cooking) and chocolate drizzled ice cream. Delish. I ended up working out before going to the milonga that night AND doing more aerobics this morning! SO worth it, though.

Atmosphere: Minimal, yet warm. White tables and chairs, raw concrete walls. Funky sixties light fixtures. A clean, simple atmosphere which allowed the fantastic cuisine to shine.

Service: Excellent. Waiters were attentive, even as they were eating their lunch, which lasted all of 10 minutes. They always made sure their eyes were on the kitchen so they delivered our food the minute it came out.

Bathroom: Unfortunately, didn't think about this when I was there. Was too busy eating. (And, hey, this is my first restaurant review.) I will assume, however, that the high standard in the dining room can also be found in the bathrooms, as well. Will update when I return, which will be really soon, I hope.

Total damage: 50 pesos, including 2 non-alcoholic drinks

Overall: GREAT CHOW!