Going to dinner or snack is a plan in itself for the moment of meeting and enjoying the meal, but it is no longer enough for some diners who also prefer to live experiences.
A restaurant in the heart of Palermo Soho that adds astrology to full moon nights, a café with cats to pamper them and feed them in Abasto. Or painting pictures while eating and drinking a beer are some proposals that are imposed and add to the gastronomic offer.
The dim light and candles on the side of the staircase are the scenery of the first floor of the Rebelión restaurant. It is full of "witches", as they say to the astrologers and tarot readers who work their magic, while on the ground floor – both inside and on the sidewalk – the clients have dinner.
"Halloween began with the Rebellion gene in 2019, with the intention of bringing gastronomy together with astrology. When we opened, a girl approached and heard us talk (Camila Nobile, known in networks as diwalicósmica). She was eating with her parents, we were going to do the inauguration and we invited her to read the letters that day," Rodrigo Imas, one of the owners of the place, tells Clarín. Together with Juan Castiglioni and Juan Ignacio Chereminiano they carry out the proposal.
In Palermo, gastronomy and astrology coexist in the "nights of witches". Photo: Emmanuel Fernández
From day one astrology was present in the restaurant and became increasingly necessary because the reserves of the "night of the witches" were exhausted the day they went on sale. Therefore, the experience is also now done on new moon nights. Around 80 diners enjoy the experience per night.
On average, the cutlery costs $ 5,000. It includes drink and the possibility of throwing the cards, making the astral chart, solar revolution or numerology for 15 minutes. If the dinner ends up being more expensive than that initial amount that was paid, the difference is paid. Their dishes are composed of agroecological foods and local products.
In Palermo, gastronomy and astrology coexist in the "nights of witches". Photo: Emmanuel Fernández
On this full moon night in May there are no men eating, it is that "99% of those who live the experience are women," says Rodrigo. Despite the cold, the tables on the sidewalk are full. A jazz band plays, while everyone has dinner and some women go up to the terrace to live the moment of magic.
"Many women for the first time experiment with astrology here. It's nice to see the face of the one who came back from that moment and tells the experience to the rest of the friends. That was always the search of Rebellion: that something happens to you but eat and drink," he says.
The great interest aroused by these special nights that they do in the Palermo restaurant prompted its three creators to think about other tarot and wine projects, to do between the full moons. But the ultimate goal is to run a festival of astrology and food.
Coffee with cats in the Abasto. The experience of sharing a snack with pets. Photo: Emmanuel Fernández
Coffee with cats
In an apartment with patio in the neighborhood of Abasto is Café con gatos. The idea arose at the end of the pandemic because neighbors went down for coffee or brought their mates.
The experience of spending time with the pets of Diana Capasso and Liliana Raco went viral since October 2021, when they began taking turns. As soon as you enter the place you have to read the "cat rules" and you are introduced "the staff of the 11 micheneta (by the Scaloneta)". Those kittens are not up for adoption, though others show that they are in shelters to be adopted.
"You have a hot or cold drink, eat something delicious and do cat therapy. You feed the kittens and come into contact with them. People laugh a lot with the michis, they take affection for them, then they bring them gifts, "says Diana in dialogue with Clarín. It is a familiar and relaxed atmosphere. Ideal to clear and forget about problems on a bad day.
For Diana, her kittens manage to "give visitors the best time of day", in addition to charging them with good energy. This project has solidarity as a fundamental pillar, since they work with shelters and protectionists, to whom they send food, pebbles and money so that the cats can access veterinary treatments. Everything is paid for by sales in the coffee shop. In turn, on special days, such as Animal Day, they make choripaneada in exchange for a kilo of cat food, which they distribute in shelters.
Coffee with cats in the Abasto. The experience of sharing a snack with pets. Photo: Emmanuel Fernández
"Cats were always in my life. As a child, my mom gave me the choice of which animal to have and I always chose cats and dogs. Today the michis are the center of my life, my kittens. They make me happy from the moment I wake up until I go to bed," confesses Diana.
The Café con gatos del Abasto will no longer be the only one of its kind in the country, since Nekofi (neko means cat in Japanese and Kofi refers to coffee) will open in June in Chinatown. The idea of William Lu (29), Rafael Park (34) and Cristian Wang (26) arose from a common passion: specialty coffee. But at the same time they wanted to add "something new and innovative".
In that way, they planned to open a Cat-Café, a concept that comes mainly from Asia, countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. "Being descendants of Taiwanese (William and Cristian) and Koreans (Rafael) we wanted to bring this concept to the country accompanying it with a gastronomic proposal that also represents us, and in turn, make a contribution to society," Cristian tells Clarín.
The place on the low viaduct of the Mitre railroad tracks, in Chinatown in Belgrano, where a gastronomic walk was recently inaugurated. It will have two sectors: the main hall, where people will be able to sit down to eat and drink coffee; and on the other hand, the cat sector, where they will be able to enter to meet them and spend some time relaxing. They work alongside rescuers and shelters, and will function as a transitional home, so all kittens will be up for adoption.
Painting and eating
The only one of the three plans that does not have a fixed place is Fide's, the proposal that unites painting a picture, drinking and eating something delicious. It emerged in San Isidro, but quickly spread to different bars in Palermo, Belgrano, Cañitas, Puerto Madero and San Telmo, among others.
About 50 people paint their pictures and listen to a live band in the background. The $5,500 entrance includes a drink and materials to make the artwork. Obviously, the client takes his painting.
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The creators Agustina Minuto (29) and Lucía Rodríguez de la Torre (29) worked in an office and one night they got together with friends to paint and have a drink. They thought it was a good idea to bring the same plan to more people and that's how the experience in the bars began, in June 2017. They celebrate their sixth anniversary.
The proposal is made two or three times. It starts at 20 and ends at 23.30. "The good thing about Fide's is that there are no rules, nobody is an artist. You come to enjoy, you meet people and you live the experience of painting," Lucía tells Clarín.
The idea started as a diversion, without planning it, and now they work with companies where they hold private events and still can not believe the tremendous growth of Fide's. Although they fantasize about taking the proposal to new places in Argentina and the world.
Even today Lucia is surprised at "how people connect when they pick up a paintbrush, many times for the first time." The relaxed atmosphere and without parameters of what is right or wrong when painting makes those hours a moment of enjoyment.
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