Palermo burrito and late night dancing

(Katherine) Today's mission was to find a chicken burrito for Robert. He is a HUGE fan of Mexican food, so he did his research to find a Tex-Mex restaurant in Palermo called Xalapa. While the guacamole was excellent, the rest of our meal definitely couldn't compare to the amazing Mexican dishes we have enjoyed in the Mission district of SF. We determined that an Argentine version of “Tex-Mex” is extremely bland, and required healthy portions of Picante sauce for Robert to get his dish to his “caliente” standards.


We left the Palermo Soho (shopping district) and walked several blocks around Palermo Hollywood (bar & restaurant district) in search of a fun bar for a cocktail. FYI - the Palermo Hollywood district got it's name because tons of American companies come down to BA to shoot commercials and movies because labor is so much cheaper down here. The area is also booming with venues for both food and drinks, so we had a difficult time selecting a bar. Upon walking up to one establishment, we were greeted at the door by the hosted with a complimentary glass of wine to tide us over until she could find us a table – a great marketing plan. We actually ended up heading upstairs to hang out in the lounge section of their patio, and within a few minutes we were joined by a group of 3 younger kids. We heard them speaking English, and it turns out they were in school at Pepperdine in LA and studying Spanish in BA for the summer. It was really nice to talk to other Americans, even if they were about 15 years younger than us. We gave them some advise about college and the transition to the working world – probably TOO much advise, because I think I might have started to sound like a Mom at times. Oh well, maybe those young whipper-snappers might have learned something from us old-fogies!

One thing we learned from them was that a club down the street was supposed to be pretty fun, Kika. We weren't planning on having a big night out, but since we probably wouldn't hit any more clubs in Palermo during our visit we decided to check it out. After standing outside the ropes for a few minutes, one of the promoters approached us and offered to let me in for free & just pay for Robert (a $30 peso savings.) He also gave us wristbands for the VIP area, although we learned upon entry that they were only good for the “American” VIP section. Basically, there are 2 rooms, and one was playing pachanga style, and the other was American Top 40ish house music. We actually wanted to listen to the local music, but the room became so crowded that we finally decided to take a seat in our VIP section.

We also had a couple of revelations that evening. When we were talking to the Pepperdine kids, we were discussing how people in BA are able to stay out all night. They said that people don't really drink that much at the bars, so they don't get drunk or tired. In fact, they said there are no laws against public drunkenness because it's a non-issue. This would explain why we can always get a drink at the bar of these clubs – they are never crowded, unlike American clubs. We also noticed that one again, most everyone at the venue was under the age of 25. Upon our return home around 6am, Robert looked at me and said, “I think it's time to start doing old-people stuff.” Agreed!