Beef: Argentina Style

Well, we finally got a chance to have the traditional Argentinean style barbecue. We went to a small place up Junin st. right across from the Recoleta Cemetary. The restaurants gave us samples as we passed looking for a place to eat, and one handed us excellent chorizo (sausage) and it convinced me that we should go there. Once we sat down, after having looked at the grill in the window, I convinced my companion to try a parrillada "the grilled one" platter. After some discussion, and observation that half the appetizers are what we would politely call "innards," I convinced my companion that we should ask the waiter what was in the dish before we order the parrillada. 

Well, needless to say, when the meat arrived on a miniature hibachi with chunks of charcoal burning inside, there were a few cuts of meat that we couldn't readily identify. The ribs, chicken, and sirloin were easily recognizable, but there were a few other objects that weren't. Something that was a little too much like a portobello mushroom, and something else that looked a little too much like a scallop, even though we had been told there was no seafood on the grill. We asked him to explain which piece was which, and with the help of a dual language menu, discovered that we had been served kidneys and intestines. The rest of the meal was quite good, the beef was very flavorful and really didn't need any sauces like we're used to being served in the States. But then there was the non-meat food on the grill. 

My companion and I formed a quick pact of "well, if I try it, you HAVE to try it." I went first, sampling the kidney. At first the texture was fine, and the outside of the kidney tasted like the rest of the meat on the grille. But then something else took over. Something more sinister, and iron. Soon I was chewing something that was far too fine to be swallowed and had to grab my drink to wash it down. I opted out of repeating the experience. She did not take it so well. I believe she has now sworn off meat, or at the least, beef. As culturally adaptive as I like to think of myself, it seems that in veal kidney, I have met my match.

 

San Telmo, La Boca, and the Cemetary

Day 2

San Telmo - We started our first day by taking a taxi down to San Telmo, which was 

recommended to us for a Sunday visit so we could see the market. It was easily one of the biggest street markets I've ever seen, much more than anything I've seen in the states. There 

was great street art, but sadly there weren't many crafts that we were interested in buying. There were supposed to be Gaucho items for sale (the local "cowboys") but we didn't see any. 

There were great street musicians, and a few churches, and an extremely small house appropriately named the 

"casa minima". Pictured here is a small street orchestra that we saw on the outside fringes of the market. 

La Boca

From there we walked down to a nearby neighborhood called "La Boca." Unfortunately, we decided to walk there on foot, and as we were trying to find our way down there, we read in the guidebook that it was not known as the greatest neighborhood in the area... Actually, there was a paragraph in the book that talked about the crime that it used to be known for, but the book claimed that it was undergoing a revitalization. Walking through it, we felt that there might still have been a little ways to go. Like some U.S. cities, it seemed that we could very easily cross over from good n

eighborhoods to bad neighborhoods by crossing the wrong street. 

La Boca is known for its outdoor venues, specifically ones that offer live dancing. We had the pleasure of watching a pair of tango dancers while we sat down to lunch, and then we were able to tour the neighborhood, which was filled with outdoor art exhibits (largest outdoor art museum) and the houses looked like something our of key west. 

Cementerio de Recoleta - We took a cab back up to the neighborhood where our apartment is (The "Recoleta") and walked over to the Recoleta Cemetery. It is the most famous cemetery in the nation, and it's beautiful. The crypts were all very impressive, and some of the country's most famous people were buried there, notably Eva Peron and the grave of a girl who was buried alive (famous story apparently involving her being in a coma when she was buried, and subsequently expiring in the grave. 

Dinner - Dinner was going to be a stop based upon a recommendation from our guidebook, but after we walked the 30 minutes to get there, it was closed due to the staff being on vacation. It was not really close to any other places, so we wandered a bit before we were able to find a spot that was open (Scuzi). I had a rump steak "romana," which was an excellent preview of meals to come, as the steak was awesome. The chef paired it with a sauce that let it retain its flavor, and now I'm really excited to see what else Argentina has to offer.

Buenos Aires, Day 1

We arrived safely in Buenos Aires today, after a long overnight flight and some delays in JFK due to a customs inspection of the plane from a previous flight. The price of the JFK airport food was absurd, and really made me look forward to Argentina. Somehow paying $15 for a steak sandwich right before landing in a country that is famous for its steak just doesn't feel right. New York pizza on the other hand was awesome. 

Uneventful plane flight, we landed in BA and I immediately beg

an to sweat. We were traveling across a 80+ temperature difference between the states and here, and it was a very rude 99 degrees F. To further complicate our arrival, the airline personnel ran out of customs forms before they made it to the back of the plane, and the customs officials initially didn't have any extras either. My travel companion, blissfully fluent in Spanish, negotiated customs forms after talking to a string of people. I am not completely sure, but I think we talked to airline personnel who said to ask the immigration folks, who told us to find the customs employees, who went off to find a manager, who then talked to immigration, and immigration finally handed out forms. Minor hassle. 

Once in the airport and out of the customs line (they apparently don't distinguish between "nothing to declare" and "goods to declare" everyone just gets x-rayed). We passed into the airport lobby. Two things struck me right away. The first is that the airport lobby was very small, even though the airport handles a large number of international flights every day (two from JFK within 3 hours). The second was that they apparently have policemen who walk around in all b

lack clothes with no markings or badges, just a pistol and a few spare rounds of ammunition. There's just something about secret police that I don't like. 

The cab ride into the city was interesting, I think we passed a few of the poorer neighborhoods on the way into the city. All the buildings here seem to be high rise, but only one room thick (possibly a result of a nation with a less-than-robust credit market). Our cabdriver also had a number of words of wisdom to pass down to us, translated out of Spanish. One, although the city is calm, avoid walking around with a camera around your neck. Two, you'll almost never be asked for your passport, so there's really no need to risk bringing it around. Three, it should cost about 10 pesos from where we were to get to the city center, and the farther destinations were 20 pesos to get to Sam Talmo (a major tourist district we'll visit on day 2). You can get food any time of day, even three am. Finally, you should always look at the prices on a menu before going into a restaurant. You should be able to eat a good meal, any cuisine, for 40 pesos (Current exchange rate is 3.4 Pesos: 1 USD) but some places will charge you about 300 pesos!