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All that walking works up a hunger and the perfect place to grab lunch is Chui. Chui is a farm-to-table restaurant with a focus on brightening cleanly sourced ingredients from the region with bold flavors. While menus change seasonally, the mushroom pâté, green pea hummus, polenta, and freshly baked focaccia are all highlights of the menu. e restaurant can be found behind a plain door in a quiet, industrial part of town called Villa Crespo. However, once inside, it is spacious and drowning in sunlight, surrounded by trees and gardens that are tended to by the chefs. For dinner, make sure to visit Mercado de Liniers, located in the posh Palermo Hollywood neighborhood. Here, chef Dante Liporace serves an eclectic and experimental tasting menu of light bites. e experience begins with a homemade specialty cocktail that resembles a whiskey sour but is smoother and generously foamed. From there, fresh baked focaccia and olive oil bread is served to the table, followed by an amuse-bouche of watermelon topped with homemade whipped cream. Next is a rich, fresh serving of stracciatella nestled within a ring of a fruity reduction sauce, and another external ring of freshly seasoned lobster tartare. e experience doesn't end there and is followed by a lightly fried ball of dough stuffed with Russian salad and anchovies that sits on top of a rich and creamy Parmesan sauce. A standout dish is the squid ink tagliatelle which, at first glance, resembles a standard pasta dish. e surprise comes as soon as the first bite is taken; diners will notice the pasta has a taut bite, unlike traditional, al dente- cooked pasta. e reason for this is the tagliatelle is made out of actual squid using a unique cut, freeze, and re-cut method. e pasta is accompanied with hazelnuts, chorizo, morcilla, and squid fumet. Finally, one last restaurant that deserves recognition is Mengano. e restaurant's executive chef founded Mengano with the mission to polish and, at times, revamp classic Argentinian dishes with an emphasis on the use of natural, locally sourced ingredients, some of which are grown in-house. Mengano is another high-quality dining experience located in Palermo Hollywood and is typically booked out weeks in advance. e small kitchen pushes flavorful, unique dishes that surprise the palate. One such example is a gnocchi dish that resembles a similar texture to freshly baked Chinese pork buns, and is accompanied by a soup broth and drizzled with olive oil, cilantro, pine nuts, and pesto sauce. While completely untraditional, the dish is indulgent and the perfect portion size. Fresh, herby flavor brightens up the simplicity of the gnocchi. Another show-stopper is the beef tartare; the beef is perfectly seasoned and so tender that it melts in the mouth. e tartare is topped with an herby emulsion, a few carefully placed beans, and a rich tangy and spicy sauce. Finally, the perfect kiss to end the meal is the fresh, homemade mango and raspberry sorbet which comes topped with lime zest. VUE ON | TRAVEL VUENJ.COM 57

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