Combine the ambiance of an Argentine pulpería and laid-back porteño coffee shop with the menu of a mini-farmers market, New York style deli, and gourmet almacén and you have Oro & Cándido.
Although it replaced a neighbourhood classic, a 40-something year-old bar, it is anything but. Oro & Cándido, a pioneer in the capital’s gastronomy, is one of the first restaurants in Buenos Aires that spouts a menu entirely based on regional, Argentine products. Yes, French bakers at L’epi make the bread, but they are, undoubtedly, one of the best bakeries in Buenos Aires, and that is the other pillar of Oro & Cándido, quality, excellence. Any item can’t make the menu based on the fact that it’s produced in Argentina alone, it has to be superior in taste as well. Take their water for example, their two philosophies bottled up in thirst quenching form.
While travelling in Salta, Marcelo Epstein, one of the owners, discovered Palau, one of the few hypothermic mineral waters in the world. Oro & Cándido is the only place in Buenos Aires where you can buy Palau. Not only does the water taste like it was bottled up right after babbling over some stones, but it is full of health benefits. Springing from as deep as 2,700 meters into the earth, it possesses nutritive, digestive and diuretic properties and contains calcium and magnesium.
The culinary treasures from across the country do not end with the bottled water; they just begin.
Their menu features yuquitas rellenas con suburí, a native river fish enveloped in a fluffy fried dough of manioc, served with a sauce of aji mirasol, a chilli commonly used in Peruvian cuisine. Other delicacies are llama meat carpaccio, and ñandú, a local ostrich.
They also offer homemade lamb, wild boar, salmon, water buffalo and spinach stuffed raviolis. The desserts also reflect the multicultural and biological diversity of Argentina. Quesillo, a north-western handmade cow milk cheese with miel de caña, a sugarcane syrup, and dulce de cayote, an annual vine that produces a melon like fruit native to northern Argentina.
Chef Luis Romero’s latest dish is a tender deer with potatoes, mandarin and coriander cream, sautéed spinach and crispy ham. Romero is a chef from Salta who came to Buenos Aires to work at Oro & Cándido when it opened, four months ago.
Epstein, partner Jorge Manson and Romero jointly create the menu. The relationship between them is very unique. Epstein calls it a symbiosis. Epstein and Manson are constantly in the kitchen, creating the dishes side by side with the chef. Both men have long histories with food and have satisfied their gastronomic passions over the years by travelling and eating and now want to use Oro & Cándido as an outlet to share their knowledge.
The menu also obviously benefits from Epstein’s other business, Sabores de Argentina, which distributes artisan products from all over the interior of the country in Buenos Aires. From the maracuyá, passion fruit, pulp of Formosa to the exotic mushrooms of the south, Sabores de Argentina supplies the restaurant with its unique menu.
Aside from importing products from Argentina’s provinces, Epstein also imported the sandwich culture, something he brought back with him after 11 years in the states. “The culture of the sandwich is something that doesn’t exist in Argentina,” said Epstein. “Aside from ham and cheese tostadas,” he clarified, “there was no variety or interesting sandwich options before.”
Although they were inspired by New York delis, even the sandwich menu bears the Oro & Cándido signature, local meats, artisan cheeses, and incredible bread.
Oro & Cándido, 4772-0656, Guatemala 5099, www.oroycandido.com.ar
My favourite dish: French dip au jour
Likely to spend: $20-50, depends on if you go for lunch or dinner drink water or wine
Likely to be sitting next to: an Argentine drinking a coffee
Some people will love: the huge colour photograph by Marcos López