On Saturday nights in Buenos Aires, the Miramar cafe crackles with the energy of local families, famished tango dancers and gregarious waiters delivering plates of crisp-skinned sardines, shrimp and fresh oysters.
A free plate of crisp chicken skin may be offered.
A plate of crisp green beans and sweet beets was generous but needed salt to bring it to life.
For dessert, a plate of crisp and light churros was a better selection than the tarte Tatin, in which I had trouble discerning the flavor of the apple through the sugar, or the dense tres leches cake.
"You are still half Swiss, you know, Giuliano," Heidi said, as she brought in a plate of crisp fried potatoes and veal scallopine, which were sealed in by a thick layer of eggs and Parmesan cheese.
Imagine a beautiful plate of crisp fried green tomatoes with pickled okra sprinkled on top and a helping of pimento cheese on the side.
Crispy duck, a house specialty, arrived as a plate of crisp-skinned fowl, cut into segments, tossed with tomato, carrots and pineapple cubes.
When M. F. K. Fisher writes, of cauliflower cooked in heavy cream and Gruyère, "We cleaned our plates with bits of crisp bread crust and drank the wine," the reminiscence is worth more than any number of "ultimate" cauliflower recipes.
Portions are generous: a heaping plate of wonderful crisp batter-fried scorpion fish with a caper mayonnaise was overwhelming as an antipasto.
