Cafe Crespin, Buenos Aires, Argentina

One of the most famous Argentine tangos sings "The afternoons in Buenos Aires have this... well, you know". And Horacio Ferrer (the lyricist)'s lack of words was spot on: you cannot describe Buenos Aires, only live it. So, I will do my best to write about our Sunday brunch while visiting family and friends in Argentina's capital, but my honest recommendation is to stop reading, start planning a trip down there, and see for yourself!

First, let me state the obvious: we haven't posted for about three months, and some of you might have wondered whether we had given up on our quest for the perfect brunch. We did suffer a minor setback: I tore my left ACL and meniscus in late December and underwent surgery for it a couple of days after our last posting. Then I was on crutches for almost a month, with Boston's lovely winter weather to help me through. So, we stayed at home (we may have had some home-brunches courtesy of S&S in the meantime, but nothing worthy to blog about!) with my leg raised until the Argentine trip.

That's why we were very eager to resume our quest with a bang. We queried our Argentine friends about perfect Buenos Aires brunch spots, and after some debate we decided to go with Pamela and Juan's recommendation: Cafe Crespin, in Villa Crespo. Cafe Crespin is located at the corner of two relatively quiet streets, in (according to the tourism marketing lingo) Palermo Queens, which has not yet been the victim of the tourist hostile takeover that neighboring Palermo Soho has suffered in the last few years. So, if you are around and want to know what beautiful Palermo Soho looked like before it turned into a -granted, posh, trendy and cool- open-air mall, head South-West about 10 blocks, grab a complimentary Sunday newspaper and enjoy brunch a la Buenos Aires.

We first sat inside Crespin, with diner-style decor -white tiles, open kitchen, long bar- except for the wooden tables and chairs, that remind you you are, after all, in a Buenos Aires cafe. When Pamela and Juan arrived they suggested we moved to one of the sidewalk tables; better suited for a party of six (Tommy and Pedro, Pame and Juan's lovely and well-behaved 4 and 1 year old sons, joined us). Sidewalk tables in Buenos Aires are exactly that: no rope or fence or veranda; people walking their dogs, doing their grocery shopping and parking their cars walk by or stop next to your table. Might be intrusive if you are a "glass half-empty" kind of person, but perfect for people watching and enjoying the Sunday morning atmosphere if your glass is always full.

The main drawback of Cafe Crespin's brunch is that there is no menu, just a fixed plate with some variations: coffee OR tea + Mimosa + a pastry (cinnamon bun or lemon poppy seed pound cake or brownie) + French Toast with berries preserver and creme fraiche + scrambled egg (too runny for my taste) + three slices of salmon gravlax OR a side of bacon + homefries. The good news is that every single item is absolutely delicious, fresh and lavishly served.

We ordered three combinations for the six of us, plus extra coffees and a mango and passion fruit shake (incredibly refreshing and with a great texture, as the passion fruit seeds were crushed in the glass instead of strained out). It was more than plenty. Initially, Diego and I thought it was too expensive (about 19 usd per brunch). But it is so abundant, that it is impossible not to share it, making it a very good brunch outing.

So, was this the perfect brunch? I guess the lack of options would eventually drive me crazy if I went there frequently. And it doesn’t have any “Argentine” twists…. But it is affordable, tasty, on a quintessential Buenos Aires neighborhood, and –this is very important- our best friends were there with us. So, it was perfect for that particular Sunday, although we will probably try another place next time….