MM Jamonería
Miguel Martín's flagship restaurant
In the city of San Juan, @tripticity_ was captivated by Miguel Martín's gastronomic proposal.
MM Jamonería is a neat, elegant, complete restaurant. It has a dazzling menu, the wine cellar is amazing, the drinks bar and options of gins and imported whiskies are simply epic. On one side of the dining room, in a refrigerator display awaits the most select specimens brought from Italy and Spain: Iberian breed hams, Huelva pata negra jabugos, prosciuttos San Daniele, parmesan, grana padanos, delikatessen and pickles of all kinds. Next to it, as if it were the vault of a bank, rest unique delicacies in South America, those that only its proud owner is able to get and that makes them available to the Argentine public. Yes, Argentinean, because every night private planes land from Buenos Aires, Córdoba or Mendoza with only one mission: to bring diners to this place of worship.
The restaurant, in truth, seems out of context: it is located in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from downtown San Juan, and from the outside nothing makes you suspect what is behind its glass door. Upon entering, the atmosphere of La Jamonería feels like that of a celebrity restaurant in Puerto Madero or Las Cañitas, but it is in the heart of San Juan, and rightfully so!
Thus, completely surprised as soon as we were placed at the table, Lucho Nievas, the house sommelier, approached to assist us in the wine selection, something fundamental due to the quantity and quality of the options. We always go for local wines and that night our bet was the Demencial Pinot Noir 2020 from Finca La Yesca, Valle de Pedernal.
To start, we were invited with a tremendous basket with sourdough breads, along with a corn pasta, chives refreshed with pesto and chickpeas.
Then the selection of delicacies went like this: a crown of Spanish reserve ham with fried potatoes, organic eggs and Italian black truffle oil. We continued with a prawn risotto in its own fumé, one of the best we have ever eaten, and the fresh white fish of the day, a seared swordfish in timbale with a bottom of baked potatoes, red bell pepper, purple onion feather, all drizzled with garlic lemon.
Catch of the day in San Juan? The restaurant has a team of divers from Chubut specially hired by Miguel.
Another clarification: the meats are cooked on open fires in the garden area, in full view of the diners. Quite a show.
Every step was so generous that we could not reach the sweets. Pitiful!
At that moment, Miguel appeared and approached our table. Extroverted, fun, and very cordial, genuinely willing to get to know his diners. You can tell how much he loves to promote at La Jamoneria the unrepeatable taste, the pure excellence, the real good food. One of those defenders of the best gastronomy, great value that @tripticity_ boasts to have known and even more to have enjoyed his superb workmanship.
It only took a couple of minutes for us to share with Miguel about markets and small wineries in the north. He soon invited us to the cellar, detailing the particularities of each ham, and introduced us to the various guests of the evening: a famous artist and a top Argentine businessman. It is impossible not to get caught up in the joyful atmosphere of the restaurant, in the manner of a dinner with friends.
It was getting late and the restaurant was closing, so we decided to come back the next day, before leaving for Talampaya, to get some "souvenirs" of the Charcuteria.
And so we did. That morning we met its chef, the brilliant Hernán el “Colo” Pérez, who also accompanies Miguel in his brand new project in neighboring Mendoza, Vistalba restaurant. Another gastronomic experience that @tripticity_ has already placed with preference in his to-do list.
There we were able to see that in addition to cheeses and hams, we could get locally produced premium olive oils, mustards, condiments and even a variety of herbal teas.
In our case, we bought vacuum-packed Spanish and Italian hams, valuable provisions for the continuity of our trip through La Rioja and Catamarca.
And so, happy, feeling blissful after an extraordinary culinary experience, impossible to forget, we set off for Villa Unión to visit Talampaya and la Laguna Brava.