02 Mar Eating My Way Through Argentina

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Traveling has always been a passion of mine. It began the summer going into 8th grade, when I was fortunate enough to travel for a month through Ireland with my grandparents in search of our family heritage. We road tripped across the entire southern part of the country, stopping in cities my grandfather had heard stories about when he was a child. While we didn’t find any family, from that point forward, I was hooked. I craved travel, culture and new experiences.

As of today, I’ve traveled to 5 continents, 15 countries & dozens of cities around the world. However, it has really been in the last three years that I’ve made a serious effort to visit a new country each year. In 2014 I explored Panama, in 2015 Australia & New Zealand, and this year…Argentina.

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Traveling to Argentina

My trip to Argentina began with a quick stop in Buenos Aires. I spent the day hanging with a dear friend that teaches in town & she was kind enough to invite me to dinner with a few of her local pals. We ate at Sarkis, an Armenian restaurant, which I found out later was rated one of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires on Trip Advisor. Makes sense now why my friend insisted we arrive nearly 30 minutes before they opened. Upon arrival, there was already a line on the street, so we quickly put our name on the list. Once inside, we opted to share several dishes over a bottle of wine, so we could each try a little bit of everything. Of all the dishes we ate, my favorites were the the Keppe Crudo, a raw meat topped with garlic, and the Falafel.

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Patagonia

The next day I flew to El Calafate, a city in Patagonia, where I then caught a three hour bus to the small town of El Chalten, located in Los Glaciares National Park. I spent the next week in the quaint town, hiking by day and experiencing Patagonian cuisine by night.

The hikes were incredible. Truly spectacular. I’ll admit, there were times my body felt like it was going to give out on me, but I was able to push through & hike some of the hardest trails. My most memorable hike was the one I did to see Monte Fitz Roy, one of the most technically challenging mountains for mountaineers on Earth.

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In the evenings, I experienced a variety of Patagonian dishes. This included one of Argentina’s national dishes, Locro, a hearty stew. It was made with a mix of lamb and beef, vegetables, and papa chola, a specific kind of potato unique to the region. Served on the side was a loaf of bread and pumpkin spread.

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I also tried a few dishes cooked by disco, a commonly used round metal cooking tool with legs that suspends it above the coals of a hot fire. The disco itself has deep roots in Patagonia. It was first used by the pioneers and first settlers of Southern Chile. The tool is named after the hubcap off an old tractor, which is generally around 20″ around. Farmers used old hubcaps off the tractors as a tool to cook their meals because it was large, and they could cook a lot of food at once over a campfire.

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If you haven’t noticed the trend here yet, much of Patagonia’s cooking is done by fire, or asado. I swear each dish reminded me of being at a campfire, something I have found feelings for being from Texas. Below is a few shots from a meal I had with roasted lamb.

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On my way out of Patagonia I stopped in El Calafate for a day to ice trek the Perito Moreno Glacier. This glacier is unusual in that it is advancing, while most glaciers worldwide are retreating. The tour I took had a great group of people from all over the world. Together we explored the glacier, sipping ice cold water from streams running through the ice, sliding into ice caves and finally, cheersing to a incredible experience with a little Argentinian whiskey.

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Buenos Aires

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After sleeping in a hostel for over a week, it felt good to be back in Bueno Aires at my home base – AKA my friends flat. The few days that I spent in Buenos Aires before heading home were mostly spent eating. No surprise there, right? Haha. On one day, my friend and her buddies hosted an asada, where I learned how to build an Argentinian fire. It was loads of fun and a wonderful opportunity to chat up people from all over the world. Another day, I explored street foods that were popular among the locals.

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On my last day in Bueno Aires, I splurged and dined at Patagonia Sur. This is a famous restuarant owned by celebrety chef and restaurateur Francis Malmann, who specializes in Patagonian cuisine. The restaurant itself was located in a barrio called La Boca along the Mataza-Riachuelo river. The inside was cozy and beautifully decorated with fine paintings and exquisit French dishware. The six course meal was incredible & the service superb. 

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Now that I’m back in the states I want to share with all of you what I learn about a big cultural tradition in Argentina: drinking mate. Yerba Mate is a naturally caffeinated tea made from nourishing leaves of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree. The locals drink it on the daily and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it. So, I teamed up with my intern Pauline to make a little video for you guys on what Mate is, how to drink it and the cultural traditions behind it. Enjoy!

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