Food Glorious Food!
How can I not talk about food???
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A grill restaurant here is called a Parrilla. (Pa-Ri-Sha) Some of them will display their grilled meat by the entrance of the restaurants. Beef, pork, lamb etc. are being stretched on skewers surrounding a central charcoal pit. This vertical method is one of two traditional ways to grill meat. The other way is to grill the meat on a horizontal rack. People can also have a BBQ feast at home called an asado, where the meat is grilled horizontally. |
Geoff treated me to a lovely Italian Restaurant out in the booney called Pan & Teatro. Here is a lovely display of their antipasta of fine ham, sausage and cheese. |
Carlos one time took Jessica, Federico and I out for dinner at a Parrilla. Although Jessica is a vegetarian most of the time, even she could not resist a slab of meat at this unique occasion. |
A lovely corner at Pan & Teatro. |
It is not uncommon seeing vendors selling their merchandise at the restaurants. Here, this lady is selling silver jewelry. |
Sharon and I were having a late lunch at an outdoor cafe called Bartok at her favourite area: Viejo Palermo . We shared a bottle of very young wine from Mendoza, which somehow tasted better and better the more we drank it. We staggered home and slept in for the evening. |
A home cooked feast by Carlos at his house. We had German cabbage soup, plenty of vegetables, chicken soup, poached fish and fresh strawberry cocktail. |
Jessica and her boyfriend Ricardo, a doctor who practices Chinese medicine. |
A huge dog at Carlos house. |
This beverage is called mate (Ma-Te), which is usually served at home. During the first week, I did not know enough local friends to the point of being invited to mate, so I treated myself at this mate restaurant. Heaps of crushed dehydrated mate tea leaves are placed at a cup made from dried gourd, until the leaves reach the top of the cup. Then a metal (usually silver) sucking straw is carefully inserted at the side. A small amount of hot water (precisely 95 degree Celsius if possible) is poured into the gourd. Little by little, one sucks the hot tea via the straw, and pours more hot water for continuous enjoyment of this native beverage. Furthermore, the mate is supposed to be shared; when one finishes his /her sip of the tea, the same gourd is to be filled with more hot water and is to be passed among host and friends to enjoy. (....great for catching hepititus) That is their way to show hospitality. Mate does not contain caffeine but another powerful substance, which is equally, if not more, powerful in keeping ones awake. |
This is their version of hot chocolate. One is served with a glass cup of piping hot milk and a bar of specially made chocolate bar. We place the bar into the milk that eventually turns the milk into a glass of hot cocoa. |
Supermarkets here are well stocked with a great variety of red meat. There are also many old fashioned butcher shops. This is half of a lamb. I find the poultry and seafood selection being small, with the price of seafood quite high. Many porteņas (people originally from Buenos Aires) are used to eating meat, not seafood. |
"Bimbo" is a popular brand of bread. I got a kick out of it, because "Bimbo" in Japanese means "poverty" (In Japan, I found a brand of popular cookies; it is a cylindrical cookie about half an inch in diameter, filled with chocolate cream in the centre. The brand is called "Colon" !!!) People in advertising business for food products should study more foreign languages... |
I found some salted (dehydrated) cod fish, a Portuguese cuisine. This big one costs 70 pesos (approx US$ 20) |
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