By Robert Murgatroyd

I heard about a secret closed door restaurant in Buenos Aires from a few of my ‘in the know peeps’. I had never heard of this concept – but, I knew I wanted in. Having a Jet Set Life to me is all about different, new and exciting things to do. Kim and I had our Buenos Aires contact, Fiorella, get us into Casa Felix on a Saturday night (which was a little like juggling flames). We really had no clue what to expect. All we knew was that the ‘restaurant’ was the house of professional Chef Diego Felix.

We jumped into a cab and headed to the comfy residential neighborhood of Chacarita (which is near Palermo). We pulled up to a beautiful building from the 1920’s, rang the bell and chef Diego Felix warmly greeted us. From the moment you step foot in his house you can feel the intense and creative vibe. Diego was kind enough to grant us special access to interview him about an hour before his guests arrived (see video below).

Then it was show time. 12 guests, who don’t know each other, ring the door bell and enter the world of Diego Felix. He greets them one by one and welcomes them back to his kitchen for an amazing cocktail (wish I could tell you what it was – all I know was that it was made of herbs from his garden and bordered on a lemoncello kind of taste – it was a triumph!).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW1OEsP7Dds[/youtube]

Over cocktails, and in a rock star kind of way, he was fielding questions about who he is and what he does. Simultaneously, the rest of us were getting to know each other. Usually, the dining experience is held in his private open air courtyard by candlelight. However, because it was raining, we were then directed to what could probably be called his living room- turned dining room- to begin our culinary experience.

When seated we find a beautiful handwritten menu made of parchment at everyone’s place setting describing the five course menu. With a hat tip to the slow food movement the experience began. Diego personally brought out each course and explained why it was selected and gave us a brief description of its indigenous South American ingredients, which he scours the continent to find.

As I’m not a foodie – I won’t go into the description of each of the five courses. I’ll leave the details of that to Food and Wine magazine, which they have done brilliantly here. I’ll simply say the food was incredible! We met some really great people that night. We even wound up partying with a few of them, including Chef Felix, at a VIP table at Jet night club (which our contact Fiorella also arranged for us).

If you make it to Buenos Aires, and you should, make a stop at the (not so secret anymore) hidden restaurant of Casa Felix. I promise you’ll love it.

About the Author: Robert Murgatroyd is the co-owner of Jet Set Life jetsetlife.tv/home.htm where he reports on where the Jet Set stay, eat and play around the world. For more reviews, photos and videos check out his blog jetsetlife.tv/robsblog/

Source: isnare.com

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