Arriving in Argentina we were worried about things been a fair bit more expensive then what we were used to. And whilst the bank exchange rate prices were a little higher compared to other places, we were able to get a better exchange rate on the black market effectively making everything 50% off! So we took to Argentina and the food very quickly.
One thing that we (surprisingly) found difficult to find was a great barista coffee, so arriving in Buenos Aires we were quick to seek out one of the most highly recommended coffee shops, which by happy coincidence was a 5 minute walk from our hostel and in the dead centre of the antique market. We found ourselves wandering down there once or twice a day to help us get through to dinner - since most restaurants did open until at least 8pm.
Another meal we loved while in Argentina, particularly mendoza, was empanadas, which were very different from the rest of the places we visited, as the Argentinians made a wider selection of fillings. Flavors we sampled ranged from blue cheese, basil and tomatoes to all types of meats, beef, pork, chicken, lamb and tuna. One of our favors was the pork and lemon, which we tried to recreate in our hostel after doing an empanada cooking class (free class at our hostel). While in Mendoza we also sampled a beautiful shepherds pie to ease any longing for home style food, found a few passable coffee shops (all chains), and tried to increase our vegetable intake after our time in Bolivia.
One highlight in Buenos Aires was our quick trip over to Montevideo and Colonia in Uruguay. After researching what foods to try, Ryan was excited to learn that due to the number of Italian immigrants his favourite patsa, gnocchi, is popular in Uruguay. However, traditionally gnocchi was only available on the 29th of each month due to the many speculated reasons, including that is was just prior to pay day and only potato and flour were left or that it creates prosperity when eaten with money under your plate. Whatever the reason, we were hoping that gnocchi was available all month. Fortunately we weren't to disappointed when we arrived in Colonia as the cafe we chose to stop in had a special of gnocchi with mixed vegetable sauce, which we both agreed was possibly the best gnocchi we have ever eaten.
On our next day we were wandering Montiviedo when we discovered a building of restaurants near the wharfs which all had their own massive coal BBQs with copious amounts of meat continually getting cooked to perfection. Uruguay is famous for its BBQ ribs, so we though we would sit up at the bar, facing the BBQ and select our meats. Not been overly hungry we decided to share a portion of ribs and a sausage, only to be shocked when two massive slices of ribs were served to us, the waiter assuring us that it was in fact a serve of one person.
While in Buenos Aires, we returned regularly to one particularly nice family / local restaurant near our hostel in San Telmo. We had noticed that on the weekend they had a dish called Patagonian lamb available. We decided that lamb could make an interesting change from all the beef we had been eating, so we hot footed down on Saturday night to order our lamb and couldn't resist a 'small' steak as they were amazing at this place. As we were not fortunately lucky enough to make it to Patagonia, this was our first taste of the famous Patagonian dish, which was two marinated and baked massive lamb shanks served with a pile of Spanish potatoes. The meat was delicious and slipped off the bone but was still chrispy on the outside. While of course our steak was cooked to perfection and we smothered it in chimmichurri, or as Ryan calls it 'Jamie Dury' the argentian BBQ saurce made from parsley, garlic, oregano and oil.
After a number of times eating at our favorite restaurant we thought our last night was an appropriate time to tackle the 900 gm steak. To ensure we were able to eat all the steak we decided to forgo any sides and just have meat with wine, which is our two favorite parts of Argentinian cuisine. Once the steak arrived we were amused for a few moments by the shear size (see photo of Ryan's outstretched hand) and taking photos before getting down to business. We then picked up our steak knives and cut into the butter soft steak, at first we thought 900 gm might prove to be to big of a challenge for us, however, due to weeks of training we even had room for ice cream on the way home. While we were sad to say good bye to Argentina, we were looking forward to trying a little local English pub.
- Louise -
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