Ever since moving to the sunny and pleasant land of Mendoza, my favorite pastime has been eating in wineries. Yes, the mountains are awe-inspiring, the sunny days permeate your skin to warm your soul and the people all flatter you till your knees melt; but for me, it’s all about lunch…
Ruca Malen has been one of the top foodie destinations in Mendoza for quite some time and since winning Best Wine Tourism Restaurant (in the world no less!) last year, the secret is definitely out. Although when I went there for lunch the other day, chef Lucas Bustos revealed another secret about the restaurant, which is rather less discovered.
On most winery lunch dates (you’re just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of how often I indulge in them) I’ll gobble up each course contentedly satiating myself in the thoughtful plays between texture, taste and colour. All the while, working out the wine pairings with my figurative devil sommelier on one shoulder and angel chef on the other. They whisper, babble and whimper to each other as they watch over me stuffing down another six courses, occasionally parping up to comment on a pairing out loud.
Ruca Malen has been on our radar for some time now, so when I went a month ago I thought that there was almost no stone left unturned in my experience of dining at Ruca. After a quick chat with Lucas though, he’d given my shoulder friends the proverbial slap with a wet fish and they were left belly-up and wriggling on the floor. It turns out we’d missed the biggest part of the menu concept!
As a former, and partially rehabilitated, literature student, it is an understatement to say I like a good story. And a good story is exactly what Lucas tries to weave into his tasting menus, whether you notice it or not. Admittedly I had not noticed the beginning of the tale, my stomach getting the better of me as I tore apart the fancifully decorated plate of quinoa, herbs, apple and nutty breadcrumbs. I reveled in the crisp, tart apple, and the aromatic herbs with the bright orchard fruit and refreshing acidity of the Chardonnay. What I’d neglected to notice though was that the scribbling under the food, aside from just looking like a nice map of Argentina and an explanation of the ingredients, was an account of the native tribes that inhabited the land and the food that they would forage for. From the West came the quinoa, harking back to the Incas in Andean lands; from the East the apple and fruit from more tropical climates; and in the centre the breadcrumbs (admittedly a bit before their time) from the wheat bowl of Argentina – the pampas. It was an edible map of the land before time!