[PUEBLO GARZÓN, URUGUAY] — About 14 miles or so miles inland from the surf of Jose Ignacio Uruguay — the world’s best beach town IMO — is a sleepy little town called Garzón. There, in the middle of rolling green hills of gaucho country, Francis Mallmann (my favorite restaurateur in the world) has created a true destination place, El Garzón. In fact, he bought up a whole town around it. I’ve been to Garzón to eat or stay over four different trips to Uruguay. Maybe even another one, too. This is a consolidated post from past visits so everything is one place. Here we go. Where My Love of Francis Began — Los Negros in Jose Ignacio I first discovered Francis’s magic way back in
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[SAO PAULO, BRAZIL] — Nicely tucked into the leafy Jardins neighborhood is the famous restaurant Figueira Rubaiyat, an outdoor restaurant set under about the biggest tree I’ve ever seen — a 200 year old banyan tree planted in the 1890s There must be seats for a couple hundred people underneath its limbs, with an ingenious glass canopy built under it all. I first noticed it while taking a short walk from the Fasano, right around the corner and instantly knew I had to come back. I was there over a Monday lunch, and as I sat there a host of SP’s business elite came to have long lunch meetings over grilled steak and some of the most attentive service I’ve seen at any restaurant….I take
[BARCELONA] — El Born is a cool, quiet chill neighborhood away from the crazy crowds. It was super quiet when I first started coming to Barcelona in 2011, but has really filled in with many more cool shops, bars and restaurants. Now it’s become super hot and a bit swallowed up by Airbnbs, but still gorgeous. Perfect for walking around in summer or winter. Cool shops, mellow restaurants and beautiful streets. There’s a great little square with four or five outdoor cafes, perfect to just sit and watch Barcelona go by. You should go here. Here’s a good article from TimeOut on what to do in El Born and its trendy neighbor. — Last visited December 2011, May, June, July 2015 —