Meditating on Medialunas

There's nothing like a lazy morning, nowhere to go, nothing to do, plenty of time to sit in the sun (or curl up somewhere cozy if it's cold and rainy, like today) and have breakfast. Argentines don't do breakfast the way we do in the states: they normally stick with very light fare, maybe some coffee or mate with toast or a little pastry. In my 9+ months in Buenos Aires, I have become a connoisseur of medialunas ("half moons"). Medialunas may not be unique to Argentina, but they have been perfected here: small, sweet, flaky little bits of heaven. Since I absolutely love anything sweet, unhealthy, and complementary to coffee, the medialuna has been one of the highlights of my stay here.

The perfect medialuna de manteca is actually pretty hard to find (and believe me, I've done my research). It must be soft and flaky, but have some substance to it. The top should be harder, with a sweet sugary coating that covers the softer sides as well. Since most medialunas are baked in bulk, they should have two "legs" that are sweet, a little crispy, and easy to pull off and dunk in cafe con leche. The dough itself should be sweetened but not TOO sweet, and have no other weird subflavors or aftertastes. The sugary glaze should take care of most of the sweetness. Fresher is always better, and warm from the oven is the best.Medialunas and cafe con leche from Sabatico, one of my favorite places!

There are about a thousand ways to mess up a medialuna. The most common problems are textural (and you know how picky I am about food texture): too doughy and mushy or too crispy. Unlike its brother, the medialuna de grasa, the medialuna de manteca should only be slightly crispy on the top, and flaky but soft the rest of the way through. Medialunas de grasa are not very sweet and tend to be more compact, like little crispy croissants. Some people prefer this kind, but they're not my favorite.

The best medialunas, according to me, can be found at:

La Piazza: Avenida de Mayo and Saenz Peña.

Sabatico: Cordoba near 25 de Mayo. (Only open on weekdays).

Cafe Parana: Parana near Corrientes. (These are a little hit-or-miss).

Facturas del Abuelo: Cordoba near Reconquista. (Not actually on par with the rest of this list, but reliably adequate AND there's a special- 3 medialunas and a cafe con leche for 6 pesos, any time of day).