When you take the same drive home from work every day, you have some time to look around at your surroundings in traffic. While driving up Wilshire, I noticed a place called Malbec Argentinian Cuisine.? It looked small and intimate, and like it would have authentic food. I wrote it down for a later date.

Well, the day came when my friend Cindy wanted to go to dinner and it was my turn to suggest options. Immediately I thought of Malbec and suggested we try out this other type of food! Cindy was down and we headed over.

Upon first glance at the menu, we knew that it was going to be difficult to choose what to order (a good problem to have)! Although Argentinian food is very meat-heavy, there are also lots of good carb and vegetable options”.

Faced with menu overload, we started with drinks. My whiskey sour was made with an egg white and topped with an orange twist, just as it should be. I was in cocktail seventh heaven”.

With my fruit/veggie/nut allergies and vegetarian diet and Cindy’s egg/nut/seafood allergies, we were NOT fun restaurant patrons. But our server was so nice and so helpful in helping us figure out what we could order.

Which, turns out, was a ton. So order a ton we did. I opted for a few side orders. I got the polenta mascarpone with creamy polenta and mascarpone cheese; the choclas asados with charred corn, butter, garlic and Spanish smoked paprika and the ensalada de cannellini (a cold salad with cannellini beans, tomato, red onions, parsley and a mustard vinaigrette).

Combined with the endless sourdough bread and mouth-watering homemade chimichurri, I was beyond stuffed in no time.

Luckily for me, I was able to save and reheat my food for a delicious leftover lunch the next day that made the entire office jealous.

I can’t wait to go back and try the other 20 items on the menu that I want. Or, you know, more accurately, just drown myself in chimichurri.