Tell us about you and your company.
My company is called Crème de la Crème. I curate made-to-measure experiences of Buenos Aires. I present Buenos Aires as a blank canvas and allow my clients to get a taste for the insider and less-accessible facets of the city. My areas of expertise are architecture, art, interior design, culture, food, fashion, artisanal goods and niche interests in general, such as hunting down a rare first-edition book written with a dedication from Borges, to an underground Argentine jazz record from the ‘70s. I regularly curate experiences covering the eclectic legacy of Argentina´s architecture, from Art Deco and Beaux Arts, to midcentury, brutalist and postmodernism. I advise art collectors or enthusiasts who want to acquire an art piece by an up-and-coming local artist, help clients wanting to purchase furniture designed by cult midcentury Argentine designers, or help those wanting to learn more about the local fashion scene and seek out an amazing piece by a local designer—but essentially, each experience is unique and can be as specific or as varied as the client requests.
(Be sure to read all of Vanessa’s local recommendations in our Buenos Aires Black Book!)
What’s the entry level to talk to you?
Generally, I offer a minimum 4-hour tour up to a full day starting from 700 USD for one person, a comprehensive service that includes my expertise on the ground, such as an extensive foodie PDF with my insider knowledge, advice on currency conversion, and securing a reservation at a hot new restaurant. I also offer unguided personalized itineraries starting at 200 USD a day.
What is the sweet spot of your expertise?
Having come to Buenos Aires since I was a little girl to visit my Argentine mum´s family and friends, our trips were never touristy, and I always felt like a pseudo-local. I was also raised trilingual as we lived in Paris for my first 5 years, which is where my parents met. I discovered so many tucked-away spots in BA in my teens and twenties, thanks to hanging out with my mum´s schoolfriends´ children, and then subsequently exploring on my own. I wanted to be able to impart this knowledge to others. I also think I have an international sensibility, so I am able to navigate the city filtering out anything too obvious. I love the network I´ve cultivated—it´s so lovely being able to get people to open up a fashion showroom or artist atelier especially for me or out of hours, or just being able to switch on and connect my clients to people, places and experiences they may not otherwise be able to access. I also have a very supportive network of local followers through my extensive social media following on IG and X, who always go out of their way to support me and my work. I´ve personally been collecting Argentine art for a decade and have curated three art exhibitions in the last couple of years, with another important exhibition in the pipeline.
A few favorite experiences/trips/itineraries you’ve planned that best represent your philosophy…
I put together a tour for the CEO of an important international fashion house, and his family and friends. We did a tour on a Sunday: I booked them in for lunch at a traditional chic but non-touristy steakhouse, and we explored off-the-beaten-track modernist and brutalist architecture (they’re fans). I also got two concept stores and a knitwear designer who makes perennially chic pieces from vicuña, guanaco and the best Argentine merino wool (and who sells to Japan, does Paris Fashion Week) to open their private spaces exclusively for us.
I helped an agency I work with to assist a British actor and vet the property they were renting to ensure it was suitable from a security and privacy perspective, and was tasked to source a last-minute cocktail dress for his wife—whose dress had been held up in customs—for an important event here, and convinced a couture designer friend to loan us three dresses to choose from. I turned this around in 2 hours, just in time for the event that evening!
British singer Jessie Ware and her band were here for Primavera Sound, and we did a fun mix of architecture, interior design and fashion visits.
And I put together seven days of unguided itineraries as well as two days of curated tours covering architecture, culture, food, design and art for a culturally curious Australian couple who collect indigenous art. They wanted to get a sense of the local culture away from the tourist traps and to purchase some Argentine art.
Favorite hotels you love and go back to again and again…
I’m a big fan of Home hotel, run by friends who have shaped a relaxed boutique hotel setting with a wonderful pool and verdant garden in the middle of Palermo. It’s somewhere I often stay if I want a break in the city or some pampering—they have an excellent in-house spa and I’ve been known to book in when I need to decompress or have a writing deadline, which is made more bearable working with a glass of wine and a garden view!
And I´m obsessed with this beautiful boutique hotel called Elena in Azul, a sleepy town in the heart of the Pampas heartlands in the Buenos Aires province. I discovered Azul about 10 years ago when I was working on a series of articles about Francisco Salamone, an Argentine who built scores of municipal works across the Buenos Aires province from 1936-40, with a distinct mix of fascist, art deco and monumental futurism. The hotel was originally the home of one of the most important families in the city and today is run by the family as a passion project, exquisitely put together with just a handful of rooms: capacious, lovely communal areas; yummy homemade baked goods, compotes, and jams at breakfast every morning; friendly staff. Bliss. (Be sure to check out the cemetery portal, town square and slaughterhouse.)
The most memorable meal you’ve had in the city…
I think some of my best meals have been an asado at someone’s house—hard to replicate for a visitor, but not impossible with a bit of forward planning! Most people will tell you that the best meat they eat is at a family asado as opposed to at a parrilla. I love that there’s an order to things, the choripanes come out first, followed by entrails—sweetbreads, morcilla (blood sausage) then the main events, the various cuts of meat.
What are you finding most exciting in the city’s food scene right now?
What I enjoy about eating out in BA is the juxtaposition of old and new dining options, from a 2-star Michelin restaurant one night to a low-key neighborhood canteen the next. And I love recommending diverse and varied eateries to my clients in my constantly updating foodie pdf. The latest contemporary opening is just as valid as an authentic porteño dining experience, which can be delicious and inexpensive.
For a real taste of old-school Buenos Aires without the tourists, I would suggest a visit to Norte, a classic downtown bodegon, which I’ve started going to again recently—great for people-watching, serving traditional local fare with many of their signature dishes written on hand-painted signs around the salon. Impossible not to round off proceedings with a flan mixto (creme caramel with dulce de leche and fresh whipped cream).
And even though it’s been open for just over two months, I’ve already made several visits to the latest opening in my neighborhood: El Bocadito. Chef Wilson Rodriguez is at the helm, with elegant reworkings of Argentine classics with a twist, part of the latest trend in BA of neo-bodegones and inclusive options that allow people to both pop in for a vermouth and snack or enjoy a lingering meal. A compact but evolving menu with premium local and seasonal produce, with stonebaked Argentine-style pizzas and their delicious lahmacun a highlight, as is their penchant for pickles and herbs. A dynamic and exciting wine list of independent Argentine producers compliments the fare.
A not-to-be-missed favorite experience…
I think getting to go to a traditional peña—a bar/restaurant associated with countryside/gaucho life and culture, which serves typical fare such as empanadas, asado, locro and tamales, and with traditional live folk music—is a must. Either in Buenos Aires (a particular favorite is P´al que Guste), or in a traditional town in the Pampas—San Antonio de Areco being a good option outside the capital.
What would you say travelers get wrong about Buenos Aires?
I feel that a lot of the same ground is covered in reviews/guides about Buenos Aires and doesn´t really get to the heart of the city or reflect how locals live and what places they frequent. There aren´t people dancing tango on every corner, or playing polo, and there´s so much more to porteño culture than the obvious clichés. I also feel that locals are increasingly steering away from the hyped or touristy bars and restaurants. Some of our most acclaimed steak houses have become incredibly touristy, and while the food will always be excellent, many more discerning travelers don´t want to eat surrounded by other tourists and in cow country you shouldn’t be paying through the nose for steak. It’s important to visit neighborhood steak places, too (my favorites are El Establo and Parrilla Peña). I also feel that if you don´t speak Spanish, a lot of literature/recommendations fall through the net because the information is not readily available in English.
I also think people are bowled over by how enormous and sprawling the city is, and how rich and eclectic it is in terms of what there is to see and do. It can be quite an impenetrable city once you scratch under the surface, and unless you have a friend on the ground, it´s not always that accessible.
Underrated location, overrated location, personal favorite, recent discovery?
I think the Chacarita Cemetery, which is the municipal cemetery and just as important as the Recoleta, gets overlooked by tourists. It has the older section with just as grand mausoleums as Recoleta, and the most extraordinary modernist pantheons, designed and built by a beacon of Argentine modernist architecture, Itala Fulvia Villa, but for decades credit was given to Clorindo Testa (who worked with her).
I recently discovered an amazing midcentury design project that is producing faithful reproductions of cult designs by important Argentine designers from the 1930s-early ‘90s. They work with the families of the designers (or the designers themselves—one is in his 90s!) to create serialized faithful copies that have never been available outside the country, but that I help clients ship abroad.
What is something you wished we all knew or were better at as travelers?
Don´t be afraid to stop and talk to a local and ask them their take on things and their go-tos—and luckily here in Argentina people are so open and friendly. Don´t travel with hard-and-fast ideas and checklists and allow for some going with the flow. Losing yourself in any city is a guaranteed way of unearthing hidden treasure.
How do you want people to reach out to you?
Instagram @cremedelacremeba or drop me a message at info@cremedelacremeba.com
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