At New York’s Balvanera Argentinian Beef Is Joined By Much More On The Menu

Anyone who has been to Buenos Aires falls in love with the very European-like city of great sophistication, grand boulevards, stunning antique cafés and wonderful indigenous restaurants. Balvanera (which sounds like a Gipsy Kings song) is an historic barrio with a long tradition of theater and artists’ gathering places like La Perla Café (a favorite of Jorge Luis Borges). It’s also the birthplace of Argentine rock and roll and a center.

Balvanera is also the name of a new Lower East Side restaurant owned by chef Fernando Navas, who had worked at el Bulli and Nobu, and he brings to his menu a flair based in tradition and tightly focused. On premises Chef de Cuisine Osvaldo Zahuatitla.

The beverage menu, overseen by manager/sommelier [TK], showcases one of the largest Argentinian and South American wine selections in New York City, with plenty of Malbecs and blends you won’t find elsewhere.

It’s a cozy corner place with two full sides of French doors, and Stanton Street always has a lively parade. There is a tufted banquette against a rough brick wall with wooden tables set with good stemware. On the night I dined at Balvanera the room had only a few tables taken, so the noise level was pleasing, with light music in the background; I can’t speak for those nights when the place is packed.

Argentinians are beef trencherman, consuming it on a daily basis, but Balvanera shows a wide array of non-meat dishes. To appreciate this panoply order the three-course “Argentine Feast” ($80)—“Dine like a gaucho!” But try the apertivos of a cheese selection, anchovies, cod croquettes and others, along with Iberian ham ($25). But the tastiest items are the first courses, starting with the hearty stuffed pastry empanadas caseras ($12), one with sweet corn, roasted pepper, provolone cheese and aji amarillo; the other with roast beef, hard-boiled egg and onion.

Very spicy rueda de cordero is a lamb sausage with sweet pear chutney and herb salad as a counterpoint ($16), and they do a fine octopus on the plancha griddle with an aromatic olive sauce and aji ahumado to be spread on good crusty rustic bread slices.

Of main courses, there are four beef options, ranging from skirt steak (10 or 16 oz., $32/$42); ancho ribeye ($48); Angosto strip loin ($40); and a dry-aged, 25-ounce bone-in ribeye of USDA Prime beef ($95). This last is what you should order for the richest, fattiest beef, because Argentine steers are raised on grass, which does not produce as much intermuscular marbling.

And for that reason I ordered the beef—when in Buenos Aires, do as the Argentinians do—to appreciate the specific taste and chewy texture these cuts are known for. They are very juicy, with the skirt steak having the most mineral flavor. All come with chimi, salsa criolla, roasted pepper and watercress. On the side you’ll want to order the papas frittas potatoes ($8) and the broccoli di rabe with garlic and pepper flakes ($10).

If you are not in the mood for beef, you’ll find the breaded chicken cutlet Milanesa close to the Italian example, not surprising given Buenos Aires’ huge Italian population.

Do order a dessert or two; if not outstanding, they’re fine endings, especially the torrejas Lola, made with sweet milk brioche, even sweeter dulce de leche and berries ($10); unusual and delicious are the gelati ($8), made by Cones artisanal ice cream on nearby Bleecker Street, which some New Yorkers feel is the city’s best.

Balvanera is one of very few Argentinian restaurants in Manhattan, and for its size and the focus of its menu, one of the most charming and authentic. The prices are right—with many wines under $70 and a pitcher of sangria well worth sharing as a beginning—and the staff is very cordial, in contrast to the frenzy that rules at a lot of Losaida’s eateries. Make a meal of first courses, but don’t fail to have the beef.

BALVANERA

152 Stanton Street

212-533-3348

Open for dinner nightly; brunch on Sat. & Sun.