Date: Thursday February 28
Time: 12:30 pm
Location: SRA headquarters, Florida 460
Cost: 200 pesos
Reservations are mandatory and your choice of a main course should be indicated. Respond to: mweldon213@yahoo.com
At Florida 460, between La Valle and Corrientes sits the former home of the family of ex-president Roque Sáenz Peña.
The Peña home is currently owned by the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), it was established in 1866 by the country’s wealthiest oligarchs and is today known mostly for their annual livestock show, La Rural, held annually in Palermo. Their motto is “Cultivating the soil is to serve the country”. Today the SRA is very much in the headlines as the government is trying to expropriate La Rural. You can read a full description here: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociedad_Rural
The high-end real estate which is the headquarters of the non-profit Argentine Rural Society is a testament to the importance of agriculture to the wealth of Argentina. The red paint stains above the doorway are the lasting evidence of the number of protests held here through the years – most recently in September of 2012. Historically the Rural Society is noted as an institution designed to keep the wealth in the hands of the few. Today the Rural Society is not as insular as it once was but protesters maintain that it still serves only to propagate the needs of big business. A visitor will have to be very persuasive to get the chance to go inside and take a limited peek, as the institution’s doors are usually closed and gated off.
Sociedad Rural Argentina is part of the Group of Eight – eight organizations of great power in Argentina: Rural Society Argentina (SRA), Argentina Industrial Union, Argentina Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Construction, the Stock Exchange, the Association of Private Bankers Argentino (ADEBA), Confederations Argentine Rural (CRA) and the Association of Banks of Argentina (ABA). This sounds to me, more like the Captains of Industry rather than the oligarchy.
This very private venerable institution, which is frequented by the power elite of the city, will be our destination for a special February luncheon.
Our meal will begin with a special
– cured ham appetizer.
The main course will have a choice of 3 items:
– Lomo with mushroom dressing
– Lomo with pimienta dressing
– Noquis with sauce
For dessert we will enjoy
– apple crumble with ice cream
The cost including tip, water/soda and coffee is 200 pesos.
Wine will be available at 15 pesos per glass.
I look forward to seeing everyone on the last day of February.
). With a nice bottle of Argentinian syrah coating our palates we were ready for our gastronomic adventure to begin. We started with beef capaccio and a fish pie strudel. Both were very well seasoned and both came with a small side salad. Fresh crisp pastry on the strudel and tender thin slices of capacho…yum! Next course we both had a vegetarian pasta dish. I had the mushroom ravioli and my wife had a french onion inspired special pasta dish which also turned out to be ravioli. Whilst I don’t normally order much pasta in restaurants, I have to say this was exceptionally cooked and well filled…more points on the main.
BAIN Downtown 