a week of ART (and futbal too, of course)

I know I usually end posts with my favorite food shot of the week, but last night, I had the BEST and most amazingly artful meal of my life!  So I am starting off with small restaurant, Aramburu I found on line in the Oleo restaurant guide.   It turned out to be just 4 blocks away from our apartment in Montserrat.  The menu for the night was "samplers," 10 small courses, each one more surprising than the last.....

First course:  The small glasses had "hot and cold" soup...(the top was a warm squash soup, with cold mandarine splash in the bottom)... The bent spoons held two kinds of pate, duck and beef.  The rock on the left held different shaped chips of mandioca with pimento de murcia cream in the cone shaped ones.

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Second:  A "breakfast course of poached egg in an amazing sauce, with mini hash browns, ristreto and bits of ham "parma," accompanied by a mini toast and jelly sandwich...

course 3:   It was so amazing, I forgot to take a picture!  Rabbit cooked basque style for 8 hours at a very low temperature, with pine essence and other amazing stuff that I can't remember 'cause I don't have the pic to jolt my brain....

course 4:  "Salad of the sea,"  bits of salmon and other seafood in grapefruit rosado, toped with sea foam...

course 5:  this plate was making all sorts of sounds when it was delivered...turns out there was a blazing hot rock on the plate that sizzled the langostinos in Sauvignon sauce to prefection.

course 6:  Black Merluza fish from Patagonia waters ....

Course 7:  the pork course with a fruit sauce

  Course 8:  The asado course...one of the best bites of tenderloin I have ever had , accompanied by sweatbreads, a strong garlic roll, grilled vegatables..

Course 9:  the first desert....

Course 10:  the second desert....(the crumbled bits were super cold (done with dry ice?) pistachio

And a bonus course of spun sugar with frost of cardamom, homemade marshmallow on a stick, and a chocolate drop to finish ....

Here is the staff of Aramburu (since they were so creative with my meal, I decided to take creative liberties with their photo)....I hope you can visit soon....email me and I will go too!

Where the passion has been this week is Futbal!!!  Dave watched the German England game with limey friend Daniel at the Sugar Bar (that's the Germans in front...they wooped England)

And we watched Argentina tromp Mexico at  Nuevo Gogy (that's our favorite waiter on the right getting ready to jump across the room)

In finale, is my pick of the best showing at ARTEBA2010, the yearly presentation by the best art galleries in Buenos Aires.  Reportedly, they sell more art here than in the rest of the year combined.  Nicola Constintino's project lasted more than 9 months, from finding out she was pregnant, to delivery of the baby.  After she found she was pregnant, she made an exact replica of herself with moving parts.... made a movie and still shots....truly amazing...google her up to see more (and excuse my poor photo with light reflections off the glass)

can you tell which is the artificial nicola?