The Long Lost Argentina-Food Post

I know this may seem strange coming now-- four months after the trip, but I need something to do besides think of Narc. I liked making this post-- it's something I said I would do a long time ago, and it's better late than never, right? Why didn't I do this in January, right when I got back? I was heartbroken and caught up in the fact that Narc invited PopStarChick to my favorite opera for her birthday...

But this is NOT going to be a Narc post!

The food in Argentina was absolutely amazing, and back in December I promised NDN that I was going to write an entire post celebrating it. Albeit delayed, I am a girl who is true to her word. So I take you on a tour now through the food-experiences of Argentina!

On our very first day there we went for high tea at the Alvear Palace Hotel. Isn't it beautiful? NDN knew a woman who worked as a waitress there, and guess what? She was still there! They brought us a few complimentary sandwiches.





























Then, on one of the first nights there we ate fried pork cracklings and mote with NDN's Bolivian friends. (Mote is a kind of corn that is boiled until it is fat and bloated). They fed their children coca-cola in baby bottles. The restaurant was in an old garage on the outskirts of town. Stray dogs wandered about and some of the diners danced with napkins. The beer on the table? Why, Quilmes, of course!























Here we have one of the famous Argentine grills. In Buenos Aires NDN and I walked up and down this restaurant strip a million times looking for a particular restaurant that he remembered. The steaks were sooooooo good! Yum!























Halfway through the week we left Buenos Aires and headed to Carilo-- a wooded beach town about four hours from the capital. Men walk up and down the beach selling corn on the cob from little carts. Here's some weird guy on the beach enjoying his corn.






















This next picture was taken on the only day of the trip during which NDN and I fought. We were both excessively drunk, which I proceeded to make worse by leaving him on the beach, heading into town and drinking a whole other bottle of wine on top of the several we had already consumed. I also ate this yummy pizza.

I thought I had a picture of the Argentine pizza we enjoyed in Buenos Aires, but I can't find it. That pizza is called Fugazzeta and is made with no tomato sauce, but instead piles of cheese and onions. (Strangely, I also can't find the pictures of our fondu night, so you'll have to go without seeing that. It was good, though!)






















Below is the remedy for my romantic woes. If I can learn how to make calamari this delicious, NDN has agreed to marry me. Hmmm....





















Here is a shop in the town of Carilo. I smuggled back some sausages for my stepfather, and NDN purchased a Serrano ham which was just consumed at his dinner party. It wasn't very good. (As NDN put it-- it was better before it was eaten-- when it was just hanging in the kitchen!)





















Here is some more heavenly steak. Each one only cost around six bucks, so NDN and I each ended up ordering two! (I had to take half of the second one home, but it wasn't for lack of trying!)





















Not just the steak, but the ice cream was heavenly too! In fact, it appeared to be some sort of national obsession. Ice cream parlors were packed well into the night-- at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning it was not unusual to see old folks and children still lined up to get some ice cream! The best flavor-- Dulce de Leche con Brownie!!! (I could only sample small sizes though-- talk about a sugar crash!)






















NDN and I also enjoyed fabulous breakfasts in Argentina. Here is a picture of NDN's orange juice glasses lined up like shots. Once he stacked the glasses on top of each other making a "Tower o' OJ" (in reference to my infamous "Tower o' Whiskey!")



























I will conclude this post with a shot of the only home-cooking we had while there. We ate the "New Year's Eve Meal" with the family of one of NDN's good friends. There are too many items on the table to name, but it was all tasty-- a lot of salads and things like that.





















So, that's it!

Okay... So it hasn't entirely worked. I'm still thinking of Narc. But I think that I need to be patient with myself. What did I sing at karaoke last night? Patsy Cline's "Crazy." (Dan-- I know you always tell me that I'm NOT crazy, but I think the song is rather appropriate right now.)

Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely
I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blue

Worry, why do I let myself worry?
Wond'ring what in the world did I do?

Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying
And I'm crazy for loving you