Good taste in Buenos Aires: from haute French cuisine in a turn-of-the-century building to salmon and prawns served downtown, Argentina's capital provides a moveable feast. (Travel).

ARGENTINA'S ECONOMIC CRISIS HAS NOT stopped the pace of Buenos Aires' nightlife, nor has it degraded the quality of its restaurants and bars. Many first-time visitors describe Buenos Aires as the "Latin American Paris," and it's not hard to understand why. Many of the city's buildings date to the beginning of the century; its streets are paved with stone; "El Subte," the subway, even offers wood-paneled carriages on one of its lines. Just as important, there are plenty of options for dinner, drinks or a coffee, as well as opportunities to enjoy a great variety of shows. Diners can choose among places where meat--an Argentine specialty--is the main dish, or from Argentina's distinctive mix of cuisines, a reflection of its history of foreign immigration: Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, Armenian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and French, among others.

LA BIELA

Avenida Quintana 600. Tels.: 4804-0449/4135

>> If possible, do not leave Buenos Aires without at least stopping to sip a coffee or have a drink at La Biela, on the corner of Junin and Quintana, Recoleta. The bar, originally called "La Viridita" and then "Aerobar," earned its current name when a renowned race-car driver snapped one of his auto's connecting rods while turning the corner. It was then dubbed "La Biela Fundida"--"the melted connecting rod"--and later shortened to "La Biela."

This bar was actually founded in 1870 when the neighborhood had only a few …