View Full Version : Kansas
Kansas is an American style restaurant (run by an American I believe). The place and menu are basically a carbon copy of Houstonīs in the US. I wouldnt recommend going there if youre American and only visiting Argentina for a short time since you can get this kind of food everywhere Stateside. But for a long term resident like myself I like going there from time to time to have BBQ ribs, cole slaw, club sandwiches, loaded baked potatoes, iced tea, etc. All prepared just as if in Houstons. Prices reasonable, cool upscale American style place with a bar section and sports TV. Located on Libertador right by the horse racing track. Theres also one in Martinez much further away. Open from about noon to midnight continuosly, so if you wake up at 4pm you can always go there for lunch at 5pm while everything else is closed between Argentine lunch and dinner times. Very crowded on weekends.
Note that they do not take reservations. I concur with Moore's review and would additionally recommend the smoked salmon appetizer and also the salmon entreé. They have Isenbeck on tap and a good selection of vodkas. The prices of hard liquor are somewhat less "reasonable" than the prices in general. The green salads are a good value. The hostesses are smoking hot. The men's room is gorgeous. This place has an open kitchen and although I always avoided those in my culinary career due to my less than salubrious vocabulary, it's fun to watch the broiler cooks here on a busy night. Clean place. Walking distance to Nuevo Estilo, too.
Accepted an invite to Kansas in San Isidro last night. I understand there is also one in Palermo. The place is a complete replica of the Houston's chain in the states, from architecture to menu. You have to wonder if Houston's is getting a cut of the action, and if not, why there has not been litigation. I had the ribeye with baked potato (a la carte) The food was very average, particularly given the price ($28p for the steak) The dessert (cheesecake) was bland. I will say the service was pretty good, and it looks like the place is run professionally. Overall, unless you have a major jones for comida americano I would avoid. Caveat-based on my one visit. Others may have better luck. Suerte.
The General Manager is an American by the name of Dave as I recall.
He was hired by the Owners of Kansas from the Houston's chain and paid every big bucks to move to Buenos Aires and run the two places.
I met him one night in El Alamo with his "Hottie" Argentine girl friend whom is an employee of his, she speaks perfect English and very, very doable.
Hes a very nice guy.
Exon
I didn't realize the general manager was an El Alamo frequenter! Well, like I said the place was professionally run!
There is a Kansas in Libertador next to the race tracks in Las Canitas-Palermo area. When happy hour drinks are dirt cheap ar$3 for a beer and ar$8 a Bloody Mary, nachos are also excellent.
My company's offices are, more or less, across the street from the one in San Isidro. I 2nd everything that Doggboy wrote.
It's funny about that place. Over the 4 years of going to BA, most of the locals in my office always want to take me there. They assume I want to go there because it's a "you. S." style place but I do have to say they like it there. Within easy walking distance from there on Libertador there is a boatload of other, IMHO much better, places but the our office locals dig it in Kansas.
On weekends (I work a lot on weekends when I am there) the place is absolutely jammed for lunch. One thing is for sure - there aint no economic crisis in San Isidro - mucho, mucho pesos worth of stylin' vehicles pulling into their parking lot.
Anyway, San Isidro has the typical, upper middle class, suburban vibe. All around the world, places like Kansas (trendy "foreign" place) fit that mold perfectly.
Zappaman
I went here tonight as I usually do after after a vist to the track. A nice 12 minute stroll on a balmy winter night. In the past I've orderd the swordfish or tuna and that was my intention tonight. Wrong. Those two items are discontinued. Probably not large sellers. By 7:30 there wasn't an open seat at the roughly 30 seat bar and by 8:00 the line had formed for dining room seating. Happy hour at the bar only and this DOESN'T include the tables in the bar area. I found out the hard way. Steak with a thick mushroom / wine sauce--more like a gravy- was ok but at 32p. Broccoli as a side was al dente, a rare find for me here as it's usually akin to mush. No cubierto.
Anybody have any leads on a restaurant serving fresh tuna or sword?
Hound
Since I was a commercial fisherman for about 25 years, I feel entitled to at least have an opinion about Argentine seafood!
IMHO, when you are in a country you should focus on local seafood if you want fresh. Both Tuna and Swordfish have come at LEAST as far as you did to get here, and probably had a harder flight, even if they were lucky enough to arrive by plane!
Argentine seafood is really not all that great, as most of the local produce is somewhat uniformly brown and bland. A notable exception, as has been stated before, is salmon (rosado, not blanco) that comes from Chile and although NOT wild salmon is very tasty and fresh.
There is a type of crab caught down south, and although I can't remember what it's called it is fairly tasty albeit a little pricey.
There is some availability of reasonably fresh trout, which comes from down south. I find trout is delicate but fairly tasteless, and Argentine trout is no exception.
Local shrimp are very small, larger shrimp are all imported, expensive and seldom very tasty to anyone who has gotten used to shrimp in the US.
There is an availabilty of IQF mussels, but they seldom have much flavor unless they are spoiled, in which case they can be EXTREMELY flavorful!
Merluza, which appears to be a type of Hake, is a favorite of the locals but not one of mine.
Pejerey, a sort of smallish herring-like critter, appears in the winter when they migrate from the ocean to spawn in the river, but again is not all that flavorful even when fresh. The catch a land-locked version in some lakes, but they are even more uninteresting flavored then the migratory ones.
There is a fishery for what they call "cornelitos" which are small minnow-like things that they cook and eat deep fried and whole - not for me!
Other fish that are locally available are lenguado (flounder) ratfish (they call them something else, but that's what the were in Oregon and no one would even THINK of eating one!), Shark (both large and small, but still shark so who cares!), Salmon blanco (not really a salmon at all, so be advised) corvina (not too great) various types of catfish, and a host of other slimey, brown, reasonably tasteless fish that don't really tempt me.
What I have not found is any type of "snapper", except for Chilean sea bass which seem to be functionaly extinct!
At this point, I am going to pass this on to Bowdie, if he is listening, who really is far more of an expert then I (since he is in the business and has a much more up-to-date take on what's the state of Argentinas fisheries)
I pretty much stick to steak and pasta, except for an occasional piece of salmon!
David
David,
Thanks for tutorial, an interesting read. I take it then that tuna and sword are N. Atlantic species only? If so then any past restaurant experiences with them must have been with imported stock. Actually the flavor and texture (old? Was below Florida / Bahama standards which I've found to be below the Nantucket Sound area but hey, I'll get what I can while in beefworld.
Truth or canard that the colder the water the stronger the flavor?
Hound
IMHO, that is pretty much the case. Fish from cold water tend to be sweeter and firmer. Anyone who has been lucky enough to get to try FRESH cod (Atlantic of course) knows what I mean!
Mahi-mahi, genuine Red Snapper and triggerfish come from warm water and aren't too bad, but generally I prefer cold water seafood (this goes for shellfish as well - there is no comparision between King / Snow / Dungeness crab and warm water Blue or Stone crab.) Clams and oysters as well need to have cold water to really be tasty.
However, Argentine water is plenty cold! There just don't seem to be very many really tasty species that inhabit these parts, and the treatment that fresh fish get isn't really the best. Shop carefully, and remember if it smells like fish, beware!
I have found some remarkably fresh Salmon in Carrefour. They don't remove the gills (as they do in the US,) because salmon gills turn brown VERY quickly, and that is the first thing to look for. If the gills are red, and the meat is "springy" and hasn't started to part from the bones, you're looking at a good fresh piece of Salmon.
Although there are swordfish caught in the Pacific and even the Caribbean, my guess is the pieces you see here are Atlantic caught and almost certainly frozen. Likewise Tuna may come from anywhere, but would be hard to imagine arriving fresh (as opposed to frozen)
While I would certainly rather eat a fozen fillet then an unfrozen one that had spoiled, it is hard, if not impossible, to freeze a fish and preserve all the flavor and texture it had fresh.
David
My seafood experiences in BA have been mediocre at best. The only thing I liked was trout baked in foil with some flavorful veggies at the cafe in MALBA (modern art museum)
I don't really care for salmon so I can't comment on it except to mention that there is an interesting story behind Walmart and the development of the Chilean salmon farming industry.
http://www.salon.com/tech/books/2006/01/23/walmart_effect/
Easy Go.
Gotta love the guys byline for that article.
Hound
Tried this place out the other night,
I arrived with a fellow monger around 7pm, the place was pretty full, filled with stuffy Argentine upper crust types and some tourists, A good mix of both. A big plus is they have valet parking.
The service was very good, english speaking staff. The menu was exactly the same as the Houston's chain back home the only difference is the $32 dollar filet mignon was $32 pesos here, AMAZING prices. As an appetizer I had the spinach artichoke dip and my buddy had some chicken rolls. For the main course I had the filet mignon butterflied, the Ceasar salad and the mashed potatos.
Everything on the menu was very good, the mashed potatos were ok, not great but very good. The decor of the place was also a carbon copy of most Houston's in the US sans the koi pond. And you also get a good view of the race track at the hipodromo. Total price of the meal was just about $100 pesos, amazing considering the same meal would have cost $100 dollars back in the US.
Good food, good service, good prices from a Tourist stand point and the location and views are also pretty nice. If you get there after 9 pm, you might try to call in advance and make reservations, the place looks like it is quite popular.
Heres the number: 4776-4100
Bad.
Rock Harders
05-21-07, 00:25
Mongers-
I went here for lunch today for the first time in a very long while, probably almost a year or so. When I arrived at around 4pm there was still a wait to eat lunch. The 15 minute wait allowed me the opportunity to do some people watching which was very interesting; this place is filled with new-money Argentine "grasas" (a term my "cheta" ex girlfriend used to throw around when we would see these types of people out to dinner) who come to Kansas as much to be seen as for the food. All very interesting.
Anyway, I had a chicken dish which was probably the most flavorful chicken breast I have ever had in Argentina. At $27 AR, I thought it was a good value considering it came with your choice of side dish and your choice of salad. Quick, attentive service for sure and I appreciated the fact that I was in and out of the place (once I got seated) in a very minimal amount of time.
Suerte,
Dirk Diggler
I'm surprised that Kansas hasn't opened more branches. The one up in Martinez / San Isidro is just as big and seems to do as much business as the Palermo branch. I'd think that one in Recoleta, maybe right on the cemetery strip, would be an instant goldmine especially with so many American tourists in the area.
I had my turkey dinner here last evening and they sure did it up right. I can eat a bunch at one sitting especially at Thanksgiving, and when the last bite was consumed I was stuffed. Lots of Turkey, mostly white meat, tasty stuffing, mashed potatoes with a light colored gravy, cranberries--yes cranberries, a choice of veggies-steamed broccoli for me- and the coup de gras for dessert was an offering of a fantastic, killer pecan pie with fresh whipped cream, not from the redi-whip can to be sure. I sat at the bar and had good service. The only downside was that the turkey and stuffing could have been hotter. $40p the damage not including coffee.
As a side note to answer my own question about fresh tuna posted earlier on this thread, well yesterday it was available on the special menu of the day. Priced at $50p
Wow it's been a long time with no reports.
I've always liked this place for some occasional American grub. But it's incredibly crowded these days. I'd say the only time you could go there without a long wait would be between 4 and 7pm weekdays. Weekends forget it...you can't even get a seat at the bar.
Back in my day I could go there any weekday for lunch and get a table immediately.
I stopped going for good around 2011. Mostly around the fact it got expensive, and was being patronised too much by the same kind of idiots (grasas, as correctly labelled further below) who think Miami is the ultimate holiday destination, and never realise this is an unassuming chain restaurant in the US. I don't even live in BA anymore, but certainly don't waste my time with this place when I'm back visiting.
Wow it's been a long time with no reports.
I've always liked this place for some occasional American grub. But it's incredibly crowded these days. I'd say the only time you could go there without a long wait would be between 4 and 7pm weekdays. Weekends forget it...you can't even get a seat at the bar.
Back in my day I could go there any weekday for lunch and get a table immediately.
I wish to visit that place some day , i hear very good things about it 😊😊😍❣.
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