Anthony Bourdain
5 tango dance halls in Buenos Aires worth a visit
Sorrel Moseley-Williams, for CNN • Updated 5th August 2017
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(CNN) — There's nothing more Argentine than smooth, sinuous tango, but there's no way Anthony Bourdain is getting caught in the dance's seductive embrace.
"Hell, no," Bourdain told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "No, that ain't gonna happen. No amount of alcohol in the world."
"You'll eat goat intestines with chile, but you won't dare tango?" Cooper replied.
"True."
Despite Bourdain's terror of tango, the Buenos Aires episode of "Parts Unknown" doesn't ignore the mesmerizing dance.
And should Bourdain follow President Obama's lead and lose his reservations over tango, these five milongas (dance halls) or shows in Buenos Aires are worth checking out:
1. Rojo Tango
The ultraglamorous Rojo Tango dinner and show at the the see-and-be-seen Faena Hotel is exactly how tango is done -- the luxury way.
A live band and sensual dancers set the benchmark -- and the price tag -- high.
It's $290 per person for the show, dinner and drinks or $220 for the show and drinks.
2. La milonga del indio
The people's milonga, this gathering takes place in the great outdoors of San Telmo's history-drenched Plaza Dorrego and is perfect Instagram fodder.
Put your best foot forward and dance under the stars Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. -- for free.
Defensa & Humberto Primo, San Telmo, Buenos Aires
3. La Catedral
The perfect spot to take a beginner's class, you might end up having a religious experience at the Catedral Club.
Stay on for the club's milonga that keeps aficionados twirling, pouting and swapping partners 'til dawn.
4. Confitería Ideal
This former menswear store turned café and milonga offers up civilized hours for those uninitiated to the porteño (Buenos Aires residents) way of tardiness.
Take an afternoon class before joining a sedate crowd on the wooden dance floor while soaking up unbeatable historical ambiance.
5. La Viruta
The basement of an Armenian cultural center makes for an unlikely setting, but La Viruta is one of the most popular venues with Buenos Aires' younger crowd of tangueros.
This is high-energy tango at its best: Prepare to break a sweat.
