By SETH KUGEL ( New York Times ) Published: October 25, 2009
MONTEVIDEO may be overshadowed by its flashier neighbors, Punta del Este and Buenos Aires, but Uruguay’s capital does not suffer from an inferiority complex. As the country’s commercial and political hub, Montevideo follows its own, nonchalant
pace. Its 1.3 million residents are eager to show off their city’s time-warp-like pleasures, like the leather cases slung over their
shoulders that hold thermoses and gourds to make mate tea. And although Montevideo’s skyline is punctuated by few skyscrapers, it is home to charming small museums, a lively old city and only a handful of tourists. It is a city that Uruguayans are happy to keep under wraps.
>> FRIDAY
04 PM >> HOT DOGS, COOL ART
Dive right into downtown life by stopping off at Montevideo’s triple threat Plaza Fabini (18 de Julio and Rio Negro). Nicknamed Plaza del Entrevero by the locals for the statue in its center, the manicured, fountain-filled square is perfect for soaking in late afternoon rays and for people watching. The outdoor cafe, La Pasiva, is famous for its “panchos,” hot dogs served with a secret-recipe spicy mustard (18 Uruguayan pesos, about 85 cents at 21.57 pesos to the dollar), and best washed down with a bottle of Paso de los Toros, Uruguay’s contribution to the great grapefruit sodas of the world. And hiding underneath is the Subte (598-2-908-7643; www.subtemvd.blogspot.com), a free exhibition space that often features Uruguayan contemporary artists.
06 PM >> PIECE OF CAKE
The apostrophe may be unnecessary, but everything else is just where it belongs at Cake’s (José Ellauri 1067; 598-2-707-6207; www.cakes.com.uy) in the upscale Pocitos neighborhood. It’s a wonderful place to have tea and sample the gargantuan desserts (108 pesos) that will easily keep hunger at bay until Montevideo’s late dinner hour. Try the Uruguayan-style mille-feuille, with loads of dulce de leche; or the Ramón Novarro, a chocolate cake with loads of dulce de leche; or the alfajores, cookies filled with loads of dulce de leche. (They do have some items without dulce de leche, but why bother?)
09 PM >> HOLD THE CHEESE
Casual restaurants in Montevideo have strikingly similar menus based around chopp (draft beer), muzzarelas (tasty Sicilian pizza slices), fainá (flatbread made with chickpea flour) and chivitos (steak sandwiches). For an old-school spot that’s a cut above the rest, try Pizzería Trouville (21 de Septiembre 3104; 598-2-711-2598), a popular place in Pocitos that’s somewhere between a diner and a bar. Its muzzarelas are dripping with cheese (unless you just order “pizza,” which comes cheeseless) and taste especially good if you can snag an outdoor table.
11 PM >> DOUBLE YOUR FUN
Montevideo is not on the radar of many celebrities (or not yet) but Baar Fun Fun (Ciudadela 1229, Mercado Central; 98-2-915-8005; www.barfunfun.com), a bar founded in 1895 and now a hot spot for tango and local candombé music, has attracted a few odd ones, as evidenced by the photographs on the wall. Among the wall-worthy: the Canadian rocker Bryan Adams; the actor Danny Glover; and Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile. Meanwhile, Uruguayans of all ages pack into the place to drink uvita, a super-sweet wine-based concoction, listen to live performances and, to the extent the cramped bar allows, dance.
>> SATURDAY
11 PM >> MORNING MARKET
Though taxis are cheap, Montevideo’s center is manageable on foot, and a good place to start is Mercado de los Artesanos (Plaza Cagancha 1365; 598-2-901-0887), a crafts market where artists do shifts selling each other’s candles, leatherwork, ceramic lamps and finger dolls. Afterward, walk down 18 de Julio to gawk at the Palacio Salvo, the tallest building in South America
when it was built in the 1920s. Then wander into the old city, seeing how pleasant a historic district can be when you remove the tourists and install residents going about their daily business.
01 PM >> MEET FOR MEAT
Saturday afternoons take on a virtual party atmosphere at the Mercado del Puerto (Piedras and Yacaré; 598-2-915-4178; www.mercadodelpuerto.com), a grand 19th-century port market that is a carnivore’s delight. The traditional routine: start at the bar of Roldós with a bottle of Medio y Medio, a mix of sparkling and dry wine that serves as the mercado’s official beverage and, at 120 pesos a bottle, is a rapid revelry inducer. Then switch to a Uruguayan red when you sit down for a meal at one of the parrillada restaurants like La Maestranza, while skilled grill masters roast hunks of meat and, probably just for show, the
occasional green pepper. Lunch for two, with wine, is about 750 pesos.
04 PM >> WHERE’S GURVICH?
From the seven deadly sins portrayed by barnyard animals, to paintings that resemble a Where’s Waldo montage, José Gurvich is one of Uruguay’s best-known 20th-century artists. Celebrate his work and life at the Gurvich Museum (Ituzaingó 1377, Plaza Matriz; 598-2-915-7826; www.museogurvich.org), a smartly laid-out museum that is a biography-in-a-building. Make your
way through three floors of his paintings and sculptures and collages and murals — the man did everything but create videos for YouTube, and that’s probably only because he died in 1974.
07 PM >> SHARING STRAWS
Remember when weekend evenings meant hanging out on the waterfront with your thermos of hot water, drinking yerba mate through a shared metal straw? You don’t? Then you’re clearly not from Pocitos, where a stretch of the Rambla fills up with couples and groups of friends. The crowd skews young but by no means exclusively so. The owner of the mate, or gourd, pours in the water, and passes it to one friend after another. It’s a bring-your-own affair, so if you want to join, be sure to pick up a mate and thermos earlier in the day; they’re easy to find.
10 PM >> SUSHI BREAK
Try as they might, Montevideanos cannot live on meat alone, and one place they take a break from the beef culture is at Café Misterio (Costa Rica 1700, Carrasco; 598-2-601-8765; www.cafemisterio.com.uy), a sushi bar that has for years been one of the hippest spots in town. Retro meets modern in the ever-changing décor, 30-somethings meet 60-somethings at the bar, and octopus sashimi (190 pesos for four pieces) meets mojitos (100 pesos) on the menu.
02 AM >> ROUND (LIKE A RECORD)
At 2 a.m. it is almost too early to arrive at Lotus (World Trade Center; 598-2-628-1379; www.lotus.com.uy), Montevideo’s club-of-the-moment, but there are plenty of jam-packed bars in the area like El Pony Pisador (José Iturriaga 3497; 598-2-622-1885; www.elponypisador.com.uy) for a previa, or warm-up. Lotus itself is almost disturbingly round, like a disco on a 1970s Martian spaceship, but it creates a flowing transition between wallflowers on the outside, flirters one ring in and dancers sweating to house music on the inside. The crowd ranges from the ultraslick to those just looking to get down and have a good time with friends. Try to leave at 4:30 a.m., and you’ll be swimming against the tide of all the late arrivals.
>> SUNDAYS
11 AM >> MARKET MAKERS
Looking for fresh onions, candy-coated peanuts, comfy sweaters, used books, flowers, a used remote control and a puppy? You’ll find those and lots of other things at the Tristán Narvaja street fair, which takes over blocks and blocks around the thoroughfare of the same name on Sundays. Even if you’re not in the market for anything besides a stroll through an interesting market, you are guaranteed satisfaction.
01 PM >> LAST CALL FOR CHIVITOS
If you’ve made it this far without having a chivito, the Uruguayan steak sandwich that even in its plainest form comes loaded with lettuce, tomato, egg and cheese, you may have set a Montevidean record. Papoñita (18 de Julio 1649; 598-2-408-4840), an old-school diner filled with cute old couples will end your streak. The Canadian chivito, which comes with ham, lettuce, tomato and tons of other stuff, is 160 pesos; the copa melba (175 pesos) is another specialty, a sky-high ice cream concoction that is nearly as much of an architectural accomplishment as some of the surrounding buildings.
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