One enticement to these excursions is that clandestine feeling you get not knowing the location or even when they’re serving. “When these secret establishments are open varies from restaurant to restaurant, and week to week, depending on how many bookings they have, which location is to be used, even whether the chef is in town,’’ says Irvine.
While the feeling of being an insider is an attraction, it’s also the cuisine that lures diners. Irvine, who sends many of his clients on these adventures, says that because it’s not a public restaurant, the chefs can be as innovative and creative as they wish.
This is the case with the engaging chef Diego Felix and his eponymous Casa Felix in the charming Chacarita neighborhood. Although Buenos Aires cuisine is heavy on meat dishes (steakhouses, called “parrillas,’’ are ubiquitous), Felix follows his own culinary path by crafting a seafood-centric menu (he also makes vegan and vegetarian dishes upon request). One of Felix’s favorite pastimes is traveling around the country in search of wild berries and herbs, and new ingredients from small, regional producers. Along the way he has learned traditional cooking techniques. Diners reap the benefits of his travels in dishes like stuffed chili peppers and chorizo made of seitan.
After booking a table for two at 9:30 p.m, (the only time dinner is served at Casa Felix), I am given the address. When we arrive other diners (only 12 per night, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) are sitting at tables on the patio. I have let go of any preconceived notions of what I’d like for dinner since the chef makes what he wishes. I am looking forward to the five-course tasting menu of local, organic ingredients that includes an arugula and spinach salad with hulled wheat and dressing made with chanar (berries from a tree indigenous to Argentina) and grilled surubi (fish) in a Mesopotamian broth with fennel and fresh flowers.
