Going local with Buenos Aires taxi drivers
“Right,” says the taxi driver, as the cab door slams shut. “Where do you want to go?”
“Well, the thing is,” begins Layne Mosler, as she slides into the back seat, “we want you to tell us. You see I have an unusual request …”
And Layne begins to explain her quest – to find the most interesting restaurants in Buenos Aires without the help of guidebooks, online tip-sharing sites, and travel-networking websites. Instead, she goes straight to those who know the city’s ins and outs better than anyone: the taxi drivers.
The 34-year-old Californian has been living in Buenos Aires for four years, and for the past two years she has been taking weekly taxi excursions to eat at the places recommended by the drivers and posting the details on her blog, taxigourmet.com.
Enamoured with the idea, I make Layne a proposition: one Saturday in the city, one taxi-gourmet marathon, with lunch, afternoon tea and dinner all dictated to us by our drivers. After more than 60 taxi adventures, Layne is unfazed by the challenge, and so we find ourselves jumping in our first cab from the cobbled streets of the Palermo district…
- Read the rest of the feature and watch the video on Guardian Travel today.
Really enjoyed this article, and felt I had to comment.
It really brought back some memories. The Buenos Aries taxi drivers are brilliant. I turned up at the airport with two friends years ago with absolutely no plan of action whatsoever, other than to catch a flight back from Santiago three weeks later.
We found an ace taxi driver who took us under his wing, found us a cracking little hotel, places to eat that were excellent and generally made sure the three of us idiots were ok.
Still have a picture of him with the three of us somewhere.
Hey! Great! Without doubt, the most interesting and entertaining taxi rides I’ve ever had have been in BA. I’ve had some great ones from the airport too (although perhaps not as good as yours – that story is simply brilliant!). The first time I came here the taxi driver gave a running commentary – like an impromptu city tour – only breaking every to a) make some wry observation on local politics or b) sing The Beatles. Quality.
Thanks for your comment.
Love your story and love the concept – in theory. But like anything, you have to trust the person giving the advice, right?
I know a lot of travellers who travel this way – one friend, Greg, a Canadian who has lived in the Middle East for a decade, does this often.
Another friend, Nick, a Greek-Australian, used to always brag to us that this was how he travelled. We spent a summer with them in Greece once, first in Athens and then in Nick’s family village on Rodos. One night in Athens, to prove to us how well his theory worked, we tried it. First up, we were taken to an overpriced and very touristy seafood place. After protesting, he drove us to a roadside pitstop one hour out of Athens – his favorite restaurant – where we were served extraordinarily average food in an empty restaurant with no atmosphere, and then had to try and find a taxi to take us all the way back to Athens. Sure the food was cheap, but we spent twice as much on taxis and apart from being able to joke about the experience, had a hideous night.
I try to chat to the driver first and gauge the kind of person he (rarely, she) is before seeking their advice. I do love the idea in theory though – and loved your story!
Thanks Lara. You’re dead right. Layne has had a few less-than-brilliant finds. She typically blogs on these too, which is good to see. She admits it’s not a recipe for constant success.
We did come across two drivers that simply didn’t get it. Luckily, Layne has done so many of these trips that she sometimes recognises the dud names, and she’s happy to get and move on if things aren’t right.
In one case, we drove around the block with a driver before deciding things weren’t working. With another we had a chat through the window and, from the stern responses, knew things wouldn’t be a goer. Although, of course, sometimes even the most lovely, obliging personalities could unintentionally lead you up the garden path.
You’re right to flag this up and to warn people not to have too high expectations.