My beloved food companion and I had the great fortune of leaving behind our usual identities as Stuffy Recoleta People (SRP) and becoming Temporary Cool Palermo People (TCPP) for a few days this past weekend. We enjoyed it. We purchased non-overpriced, perfectly ripened fruit, a bottle of white out of a huge selection of cheap wines, dish-washing detergent, super glue and a power-chord in the same match-box sized chino down the street instead of spending hours at Dis-ripoff or Carre-why-the-hell-are-you-buying-fruit-at-a-supermarket-when-there-is-a-fruteria-one-block-away. We walked down tree and dog-poop lined streets. We people-watched casually from various creative-suave outdoor cafes and bars, admiring the boheme-chic vogueries of our fellow CPPs. The highlight of the experience was hands-down finding this place, En el Nombre del Postre, located at Soler 5547.

In true CPP fashion, we stumbled upon this place while toting matching iPads on our quest to find a coffee house with wifi, as we urgently needed to respond to a few emails and facebook wall posts in a pleasant setting. This place fit the bill perfectly. Cozy-small cafe and patisserie, vibrantly but tastefully decorated (Ikea-esque), specializing in home-made French macaroons which are proudly displayed in all their splendor at the  ordering station, along with a huge variety of other picturesque breakfast nums and confiture. Muffins of many colors and flavors, biscuits, biscotti, cookies, brownies, scones, more complicated cakes and tarts make choosing a sweet companion for your coffee extremely difficult.

As this is the first time in a while that I’ve seen chai, let alone iced chai, on a menu, I decided to skip the coffee and go for one of these. Actually, to be completely honest, I had no idea it would be good until I tried companion’s and decided to order one myself the next day when we returned. The first day I did order an espresso which was strong, dark and bitter as I like it, unlike the watery junk I find at many BsAs cafes… Anyway back to the chai. Black tea spiced with cinnamon and clove and all that good stuff usually packed inside chai, but cool and refreshing. Just-shaken rim of slick foam across the top. Adorable plastic zodiac-sign mixing sticks, one of which just happened to be Aquarius.

Almond biscotti went perfectly with the tea. Twice-baked crispy, sweet but not too sweet, with plenty of toasted almond slices to add an extra nutty crunch. The bit of dry mouth from this cookie alleviated by refreshing, wet chai.

And then this showed up. Maybe the best sandwich I’ve had in Buenos Aires, and one of the best I’ve had ever, which is saying a lot because I’m pretty picky when it comes to sandwiches. A perfectly tender grilled white chicken breast with soft herbed provolone melting over it, sinking into a surprisingly thick layer of toasted black sesame and pumpkin seeds, which added a beautiful crunch and a great oily-nutty flavor. Topped with a few leaves of fresh arugula which wilted into the warm cheese, and a chunky spread of shredded carrots and ripe avocado cubes which were marinated in the same deliciously citric vinaigrette that was drizzled over the  side-salad. Their sandwiches are made with a bread of your choice and, again, the variety makes this a difficult decision. A basket of all obviously home-made pumpkin-seed bread, curry bread, french baguette, ciabatta, some sort of sweet bread, a darker wheat variety and this one, which we ordered, a crusty sourdough embedded with tangy green olives. The bread was incredibly fresh, soft but crispy on the outside from toasting. Seeds on one half and lemony carrot-avocado tapenade on the other melted into its carb-y flesh beautifully. Comforting and warm, while also light and airy, very healthy ingredients. We were left with absolutely nothing negative to say about this sandwich.

The presentation was another giant plus – this fantastically complex sandie was served with three adorable little condiment jars of ketchup, mayo and mustard, neither of which was in the least bit necessary (as the sandwich was already perfectly flavorful) but which added a lot of character to the dish. Also on the side was a delightful little salad of green and purple lettuce with juicy cherry tomatoes, tossed in refreshing citric vinaigrette and sprinkled with toasted seeds both of which echoed the ingredients of the sandwich, making this the perfect side to it.

The sweet thang we chose to close our meal with was this dark chocolate cookie with lemon mousse inside. Again, this was something that looked fantastic but tasted even better. Two layers of dark dark dark chocolate biscuit (was expecting it to be way sweeter), buttery and crumbly and flaky rather than crispy. Very tart, smooth lemon cream between them.

We didn’t get much emailing or facebooking done, as iProducts where swiftly pushed aside to make room for this mouthwateringly delicious brunch. Hand-holding and talking happened though, the latter especially on the topic of our admiration of every little detail of this place we found so coincidentally. One of these details is the long shelf of home-made conserves and pickled vegetables (of which we couldn’t help getting one) lining one wall of the place. Gorgeous baskets and gift-boxes of their rainbow of home-made macaroons are also available. Their mugs, however, are not on sale. 😦

My Florencio in Palermo, maybe even better, I will definitely be returning here soon.