Buenos Aires serves makings of a must-try

John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 22, 2006 at midnight

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Even veteran carnivores at our table gasped as the parillada Argentina ($49 for two) approached at the Buenos Aires Grill. Somehow the idea of a grilled sampler didn't prepare us for a sizzling square metal platter literally heaped with meat.

To one side was wonderful chorizo, firmer and without the fat and reddish hue of its Mexican relative. Nearby was a link of looser-packed blood sausage, liver-y nuances under the flame-crisped skin.

Tilted on top like one of the pointy planes of the Denver Art Museum building was a slab of profoundly juice-laden inner flank steak, as fine a piece of beef as we'd sampled in ages. Under it was a big hunk of grill-marked skirt steak, chewier but still tasty, and a bone- lover's favorite: beef short rib strip.

Garnishing the mound were soft-textured fried-then- grilled sweetbreads. These compelling morsels are well worth a visit all by themselves. Finally, there was the even earthier chinchulin, grilled pieces of smoky, salty, chewy cow intestine. The Sterno-heated platter continued to crackle and emit smoky perfume that drove us to have just one more bite.

While the menu says parillada feeds two diners, three and even four could make a meal of it as long as they have, one wag said, "a note from their cardiologist."

While meat matters, it's only part of the appeal of the Buenos Aires Grill.

You wouldn't necessarily know that any pleasures await when you park for dinner. Kindly put, the surrounding neighborhood a few blocks from Coors Field has not been fully developed, with many dark, open lots.

Like opening the doorway into Harry Potter's Diagon Alley, you find a separate world when you walk through the twinkling courtyard of the restaurant, with its wrought iron, bricks, trees and tables.

The bright, open dining area is warmer and prettier than in its previous incarnations as Saverino and Tiramisu. This restaurant was opened in July by Francis Carrera, an Argentina native whose family also owns the acclaimed Buenos Aires Pizzeria.

The eatery does have a comfy bar, but drinking caipirinhas is a sidelight to the fare here. We sampled a recommended, well-priced Malbec from a notable list of South American, Italian and Spanish reds that couldn't have been a more perfect match for the richer dishes.

One of the restaurant's assets is its impeccable host, Victor, a decades-long veteran of many local Continental eateries. The young serving crew isn't quite as suave, but they do know their cuts of Argentine beef.

When one or two minor miscues occurred, we were gladdened to see the owner and manager doing anything and everything to make up for it. These folks understand the heart of hospitality: Treat the customers you have like gold.

Strong Italian and Spanish influences show up in the starters. Everybody loved the bacon- wrapped figs ($4), an irresistible meld of sweet and savory in a tangy barbecue sauce. The easy-to- crave provoleta ($8 to $10) is simply a slab of smoky Provolone roasted until gooey and dished with Prosciutto slivers.

A swarm of sauteed shrimp ($6) swam in a lovely cooked garlic sauce that we dunked bread in, spooned up and ultimately mourned as the waitress took it away.

There are really two sides to the entree menu. First, any of the meats on the parillada and several other cuts may be ordered separately in appetizer- or entree-size portions or as a la carte sides ($3 to $6). Our favorites were creamy cauliflower au gratin, salty-sweet sweet potato fries, simple steamed potatoes with parsley and a delightful eggplant-packed roasted vegetable medley.

Suprema de pollo de Maryland ($18) is one of those multicultural, multinational dishes that sounds wrong but ends up tasting oh-so-right. Crumb-breaded pan-cooked chicken cutlets are draped in cream-style corn with sides of sauteéd banana and fried potato puffs.

The seafood fanatics were pleasured by bacalao a la Vasca ($20), with fall-apart pieces of pristine cod in a light sauce laced with small clams and peas.

The vegetarians oohed and aahed over the bargain-priced risotto ($12), a generous portion that had a satisfying creamy-chewy rice balance and lots of buttery mushrooms and spinach.

Buenos Aires still has a few dishes that need tweaking. The lamb sauté ($15) offered thin slices of so-so meat and onions in blah gravy in a mashed potato-lined casserole. Sadly, the seafood in the cazuela de mariscos ($25) was overcooked. The filet mignon with malbec sauce ($25 6-ounce, $30 9-ounce) was decent, but the noisette potatoes were undercooked. The rib-eye ($26) was terribly oversalted.

Among the true dining joys available here are the flaming desserts and after-dinner drinks expertly prepared tableside by the host. "If you've got the tablecloth, you should have tableside service," Victor said. When's the last time you had the classic cherries jubilee ($9) or bananas Foster ($9)?

We also applauded the quince jam tart ($5) and the exquisite fried rice pudding ($5): crisp-edged wedges of sweet rice crowned with a fine golden-raisin dulce sauce.

As we contentedly sipped coffee, it was suddenly tango time. A couple danced precisely and sensuously through the room, swooping to the accordion-driven music.

The time is right for the Buenos Aires Grill. It has all the makings of a must-try destination flocked to by locals and visitors alike. In the process, the restaurant just may magically speed the renaissance of the surrounding blocks.

Buenos Aires Grill

• Hours: 11 a.m to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday; 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday

• Food: Argentine-Italian

• How much: $4-$10 starters, $14-$49 entrees

• Reservations: available

• Noise: moderate

• Information: www.denverargentinerestaurants.com

lehndorffj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5103

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