"Un Cuento de Comida"

Ricardo and cow

Joe and cow

Mere coincidence . . . or fate? Maybe it's just the fact that there is a lot of "beef" around us here. Oh, what is the coincidence, you ask? Over a couple of weeks ago, Joe posed for this man/cow photo. Now, movie posters with Ricardo Darín (the talented and prolific Argentine actor) and a cow are being plastered over every surface in town (slogan: An Argentine and a Chinese, united by a cow that fell from the sky). It will open in 3 days. Hey, we pioneered this look weeks ago! Look carefully at the perturbed or is it more of a resigned look on the faces. Weeeeeeirdo! or "Raroooo".

OK, this blog story is really about food, a large portion of which is beef, but not exclusively. I will go down the line of things that are popularly eaten with an accompanying slide show to your right. Think meat and bread.

• Meat: Parillas, or barbeques, are what they call restaurants that serve a hearty selection of beef including steaks, milanesas (breaded and fried veal cutlet - often on a big white french roll) - you can get a delicious, lean steak (enough to feed both of us) for less than 10 USD . . . less if you go to a funkier open-grill style parilla stand. There are also what they call "tenedor libre" restaurants which indicates that you pay one price and get all you can eat! We haven't been hungry enough for one of those yet!
• Chicken: Found at the Peruvian restaurants - yummy roasted 1/4 or 1/2 chickens with rice or french fries, and salad (kind of a shredded cafeteria kind). Also Argentine restaurants can do a great job with chicken breast and a variety of cheesy sauces. "Pechuga"(white meat) is called "Suprema" here.

Best Choripan: in Belgrano near Chinatown

• Bread: bread baskets of delicious crusty white and/or wheat rolls brought with every restaurant meal, empanadas everywhere (meat and/or cheese stuffed little tunrovers), tartas (vegetables, tuna, cheese, and/or meat) in a small tart pie crust - my favorites are the basil, tomato, cheese combos, pastries galore like in a french bakery (little croissants called "media-lunas" are all the rage) - we've even found brownies, a pizza restaurant on every corner, pasta is offered both for sit-down customers at restaurants (sauce sold separately - so don't be fooled by the seemingly cheap prices) and to-go at many venues including our favorite ice-cream shop.
• Vegetables: Prepare all vegetables at home - the ingredients can be bought and prepared much more efficiently than any restaurant we've found.
• Fruit: Decent and varied, especially if you buy it from the Peruvian/Bolivian vendors with stands in the neighborhoods.
• Ice cream: cheap, big, and fantastic!
• Coffee: Not so good - one cup in a café is 2.50 USD and it's hard to find good beans. We've resorted to buying ground beans in a specialty coffee shop. Great taste, but expensive!
• Wine: Delicious and cheap - you can get a good bottle of red wine for 2.50 USD - fancy bottle in restaurant 12 USD. "Malbec" seems to be our varietal of choice.
• Choripan! OK, and now the "to die for" super-food of Buenos Aires . . . the chorizo (sausage) in bread (pan). We have, or at least Joe has, left no neighborhood unturned in our search for the perfect choripan. We have found it in Belgrano - northwest of our neighborhood on the 29 bus line. At least it is currently in first place. The chimichurri that accompanies it (sauce made of vinegar, parsely, and garlic) is superb, and the bread is always fresh. The sausage is full of flavor, edible fat morsels, and no gristle (a pet-peeve of mine). So, there is a photo of this glorious who-knows-what-kind-of-meat-goes-into-it kind of superfood. Did I mention we can split one for 2.00 USD (8 pesos)? What a deal!

So, all in all, while living in a meat-dominated culture, we do have to make an effort to mix in some chicken, fruit, and veg. As for those steaks and choripanes, we are resigned to the fact that the low prices and the high quality make it necessary to give in every once in a while. As for Ricardo, we'll have to see the movie to explain his expression.