Can a Vegetarian Survive in Argentina?
That's me with Vanessa Heitner, founder of travel company
Limitless Argentina, at Esquina Carlos Gardel in Buenos Aires for
a tango show, September 20, 2007.
If you've noticed that I haven't posted much in the last few weeks, I have a good excuse: I was on assignment in Argentina. I'd been a little concerned about what a vegetarian like me would eat in possibly the only country in the world more obsessed with beef than the U.S. (Argentines eat almost 150 pounds of beef per person per year). Two weeks later, I'm happy to report that I ate, and ate well. Here are some highlights:
Let's start with breakfast, which for an Argentine means a three-bite media luna (after all, they just finished dinner not too long ago). Media lunas (the name means "half moon") come dry, as shown above, or shellacked in sugar. Delicious.
There's a large Italian influence in Argentina -- as many Italians emigrated there as to the U.S. -- so you can find an abundance of pasta and pizza, both of which are typically on the menu at parrillas, which specialize mainly in grilled meats. Just be sure to order the right size: Though the price of a pizza on most menus (about US$10) would lead you to believe that it's a single serving, what you actually want is an even cheaper pizzeta (at left). Ah, the joys of traveling to one of the few places where the dollar is still strong!
For more of Argentina's finest meat-free flavors, read on.
The scrumptious meal you see below is the Ensalada Bio at the all-organic and vegetarian restaurant Bio in Buenos Aires' chic Palermo Viejo neighborhood, where your meal comes with homemade brown bread and pumpkin spread.
One advantage of Argentina is that you can drink the water and eat fresh produce throughout the country, unlike many other parts of South America. Here's a salad that was prepared for me at the House of Jasmines, a fantastic hotel owned by actor Robert Duvall and his Argentine wife:
If dinner's still hours away (an Argentine would never eat before 9 p.m.) and you're feeling peckish, there's always ice cream. Finally, a product of those famous Argentine cows that I could appreciate! There are heladerias all over, but if you're visiting the wine country around Cafayate, stop in at Helados Miranda (Guemes Norte 170), where the owner turns the local reds and whites into these yummy sorbets:
And then there are always empanadas con queso, a popular bite-sized snack that comes fried or baked, as below:
Just make sure you save room for dessert, because Argentines have a major sweet tooth. You'll find dulce de leche -- a caramel-like syrup of sweetened milk, made famous in the States by Haagen-Dazs -- everywhere: in or on top of ice cream, as a spread for toast, flavoring cookies and candy, and in the case of my dessert at the House of Jasmines, atop a thick slab of frozen chocolate cake:
One final restaurant recommendation: If you find yourself in the northwestern city of Jujuy (pronounced Hoo-Hooey), head to Madre Tierra for lunch or dinner. I arrived just in time to wolf down the prix-fixe lunch before catching my flight to Buenos Aires (well, actually waiting in the Jujuy airport for five hours and consequently missing my connecting flight in the capital, but that's another story). I was served a salad of crudites, spinach lasagna, vegetable soup, banana cake, and apple juice -- much more than I could possibly eat, all for under US$7. The kitchen was also preparing baskets full of the same dishes for local office workers, who came in to pick up their daily rations or had them delivered, while the bakery in front did a brisk business in whole-wheat breads.
In conclusion, if you're heading to Argentina -- vegetarian or not -- buon appetito!
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Kinda pales in comparison with my sophisticated lunch of processed turkey on rye with pickles.
Posted by: CelebTracker | October 04, 2007 at 02:12 PM