Demystifying american expats rants

[niceguypaddy]

There are some great restaurants here in Buenos Aires but in general the food is mundane and run of the mill.
http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar is indispensable in finding the hidden gems.

I can highly recommend if you want a change of the usual...
Sarkis for Armenian (arrive early)
Azema (Asian French fusion)
Dehli Darbar (Great Indian)

Going to the States next week so I will save my opinion of real cuisine there until I get back, so far the best I have sampled is olive garden! Having not visited any culinary capitals though I will hold off of making sweeping statements

 

[AlexfromLA]

The funny thing is I just went to Kansas on Saturday. I ordered the requisite Spinach dip, the Caesar salad and yes I had their filet mignon. I mean I waited an hour to be seated so I might as well go big right. And BTW. The reason Kansas ( aka Houston's wanabee ) steaks taste so great is because they don't use argie salt. They use good old American Lawry's Seasoning Salt.

And guess what ? I got the burger to go and enjoyed it at home all by myself .

What would the stuffy argies think ?

lol, I don't really care, I'm not pretentious.

What I meant is that if you sit for example a couple of Argentinians at Kansas restaurant, they will not order a burger most likely ( doesn´t matter how good the burger is ), they will chose ribs, tuna, etc.

 

[AlexfromLA]

Thank you for the thoughtful sincere introspective reply Lucas.The "kids " , the young entrepreneurs are waking up to the fact that food isn't just parilla pasta and pizza. And the NEW Argentinian immigrants are finally starting to open up their own restaurants and add their input on what Argentinian cuisine should be.

Exciting times we live in.

Alex actually you got a point there, Argentina did no received migration from Europe and none from USA I will say in the last 50 years and that IS fundamentally the motive of why there isn't a significant variation in the gastronomic food chain on this country.

Now we have coming here heaps of Peruvians, Chilean, Paraguayans, Uruguayans and Bolivians with their native food stuff to enrich the cuisine of this country, on top of that we have as well the damn Yankees coming down with their new gastronomic ideas and thanks to that we now just start to discoverer what the hell are those things with names as chalupitas, nachos, tortillas, tacos, jalapeños, enchiladas, burritos and chilies con carne all that true fabulous native Anglo-American food to enrich even more and change the boring and miserable bland taste of the food down here, not to mention the great McDonald hamburgers with French fries, KFC, the glorious Pizza Hut and the insuperable, real taste of that great American coffee called Starbucks, as well as the bagels, those delicious American-style pancakes toped with that yummy maple syrup, and not to forger that cranberry juice.....all in all a new discovery for the poor and undeveloped Argentinean palate, what we are going to do if it wasn't for you guys, probably only mate, factura vino and asado forever and ever after...thanks guys, keep the ideas coming and please open more restaurants and bagels bakeries and fruit processing plants and more coffee shops so we can all enjoy these real true taste cup-o-coffee and those tacos with black beans mingled with onions, peppers, garlic, cornmeal, and spices with the unmistakable Texan touch of the tasty taco filling. WOW what we were missing all the time.
Now, before you're starting to change everything, please permit us just to keep the Dulce de Leche, the Alfajores, the Dulce de Batata con Chocolate y the Queso doble Mantecoso...please have some compassion, a bit of mercy at least.
Thanks...now I'm done too.

 

[nikad]

The funny thing is I just went to Kansas on Saturday. I ordered the requisite Spinach dip, the Caesar salad and yes I had their filet mignon. I mean I waited an hour to be seated so I might as well go big right. And BTW. The reason Kansas ( aka Houston's wanabee ) steaks taste so great is because they don't use argie salt. They use good old American Lawry's Seasoning Salt.

And guess what ? I got the burger to go and enjoyed it at home all by myself .

What would the stuffy argies think ?

lol, I don't really care, I'm not pretentious.

Man, that is a load of food! It could be an acquired taste, but I really like the local parrillada, with all the crazy guts, blood sausage, etc. I must confess though that despite local popular belief that Americans " do not know what good beef is " " do not know how to eat meat " " cannot cook beef properly ", etc I really enjoyed some steakhouses in the US, the smokey flavor and tenderness of some cuts. It was something very different but very very nice.

 

[mendozanow]

Myth 5: Argentinians are sloppy/dirty.

In the street: EDGE to USA.
In the bathroom: No bidet in america (you are not alone on this matter tho). End of story.

WARNING: TONGUE-IN-CHEEK DISCLAIMER, DON'T HAVE A COW!

OKAY..since this thread has typically de-evolved into the usual silliness, let me jump in with my two-cents worth and turn the attention for a millisecond away from food to the area at the other end of the food chain .

Okay, billsfan, if you are honest and typically Argie (there is a contradiction), then, admit it, you do not use a BIDET for anything for decoration (especially if you are a typical Buffalo Bills fan!).

I have visited thousands of Argie homes, and almost no one has a bidet that is really used. They all have permanent knick'knacks or coverings on them. It is a hangover from the fin-de-siecle (1900 or thereabouts) when all Argies thought Paris was the heght of fashion. It is mainly used to prepare for oral sex, and most Argies either don't like it, or like it foul, little middle ground (my survey on this aspect is only in the hundreds, not the thousands).


The vast majority of honest Argies have told me they never use the bidet, and that the only reason they are still installed in homes is that failure to do so artificially reduces the resale value. Some say they occasionally use it to wash their feet.

A bath (remember what those are?) used beats an unused bidet anytime. And to quote Mr Troller supremo, "End of story."

------------------------------

For those interested, a humourous,but highly useful at the same time, article on bidet use:

http://www.poopreport.com/Consumer/Content/Bidet/bidet.html

Maradona followed this impractical snoobery of his countrymen by insisting that expensive state-of-the art bidets were installed in all the rooms of the Seleción Argentina base in Pretoria.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/wo...ed-Argentinas-training-base-South-Africa.html
However, there was an interesting follow-up on a satirical South African program where the cleaning ladies were asked about the personal habits of many of the players, including the Argies. A cleaning lady at the Argie camp said that the superexpensive bidets were never cleaned because they were never used!

 

[nikad]

WARNING: TONGUE-IN-CHEEK DISCALIMER, DON'T HAVE A COW!

OKAY..since this thread has typically de-evolved into the usual silliness, let me jump in with my two-cents worth and turn the attention for a millisecond away from food to the area at the other end of the food chain .

Okay, billsfan, if you are honest and typically Argie (there is a contradiction), then, admit it, you do not use a BIDET for anything for decoration (especially if you are a typical Buffalo Bills fan!).

I have visited thousands of Argie homes, and almost no one has a bidet that is really used. They all have permanent knick'knacks or coverings on them. It is a hangover from the fin-de-siecle (1900 or thereabouts) when all Argies thought Paris was the heght of fashion. It is mainly used to prepare for oral sex, and most Argies either don't like it, or like it foul, little middle ground (my survey on this aspect is only in the hundreds, not the thousands).


The vast majority of honest Argies have told me they never use the bidet, and that the only reason they are still installed in homes is that failure to do so artificially reduces the resale value. Some say they occasionally use it to wash their feet.

A bath (remember what those are?) used beats an unused bidet anytime. And to quote Mr Troller supremo, "End of story."

------------------------------

For those interested, a humourous,but highly useful at the same time, article on bidet use:

http://www.poopreport.com/Consumer/Content/Bidet/bidet.html

Maradona followed this impractical snoobery of his countrymen by insisting that expensive state-of-the art bidets were installed in all the rooms of the Seleción Argentina base in Pretoria.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/wo...ed-Argentinas-training-base-South-Africa.html
However, there was an interesting follow-up on a satirical South African program where the cleaning ladies were asked about the personal habits of many of the players, including the Argies. A cleaning lady at the Argie camp said that the superexpensive bidets were never cleaned because they were never used!

Arghhhhh you must hang out with some filthy peeps! Bidets are widely used at most homes here. And from the strictly hygiene point of view, a bath equals to soaking yourself into your own filth, whilst a shower ( have you ever heard about it ) really cleans you up. I enjoy a bath after a shower for relaxation. And no toilet paper beats a bidet PERIOD. also your sweeping generalization on Argentinians and honesty is ridiculous to say the least, but now thinking of these filthy peeps you hang out with it only makes sense

 

[AlexfromLA]

Man, that is a load of food! It could be an acquired taste, but I really like the local parrillada, with all the crazy guts, blood sausage, etc. I must confess though that despite local popular belief that Americans " do not know what good beef is " " do not know how to eat meat " " cannot cook beef properly ", etc I really enjoyed some steakhouses in the US, the smokey flavor and tenderness of some cuts. It was something very different but very very nice.

The reality is Americans have been doing BBQ just as long as Argentinians have. And what's more because of our regional diversity, we have many different styles of BBQ. And add to that the fact that so many immigrants have come from so many diverse backgrounds and varying countries recently and have added their own touches to our already diverse BBQ scene.

Argentinians have better beef and ONE style of making it. That's it.

I am from Southern California and we have a BBQ that is particular to our state the Santa Maria BBQ. It is actually very similar to the Argentinian grill system of cooking the meat. The main difference is in Santa Maria, they use Oak wood with Mesquite wood chips on top and not plain coal like they use here. They also use a specific seasoning dry rub that consists of : salt, dried garlic, black pepper, dried parsley and pure cane sugar. They also specialize in the tri tip ( colita de cuadril ). And because of the South West's history of Mexican influence, the side dishes are very diverse and spicy and have a heavy Spanish and Mexican influence.

I like Argentinian bbq in general. But I like California bbq so much more, and yes that is a personal preference.

The difference is, every State in the US has a completely different way of doing BBQ. different grills, different seasoning, different methods etc. So you have diversity and choice and more importantly depth. Argentina has salt and one way of cooking their meat . It gets boring after a while.

Santa Maria Style BBQ

 

[ghost]

The reality is Americans have been doing BBQ just as long as Argentinians have. And what's more because of our regional diversity, we have many different styles of BBQ. And add to that the fact that so many immigrants have come from so many diverse backgrounds and varying countries recently and have added their own touches to our already diverse BBQ scene.

Argentinians have better beef and ONE style of making it. That's it.

I am from Southern California and we have a BBQ that is particular to our state the Santa Maria BBQ. It is actually very similar to the Argentinian grill system of cooking the meat. The main difference is in Santa Maria, they use Oak wood with Mesquite wood chips on top and not plain coal like they use here. They also use a specific seasoning dry rub that consists of : salt, dried garlic, black pepper, dried parsley and pure cane sugar. They also specialize in the tri tip ( colita de cuadril ). And because of the South West's history of Mexican influence, the side dishes are very diverse and spicy and have a heavy Spanish and Mexican influence.

I like Argentinian bbq in general. But I like California bbq so much more, and yes that is a personal preference.

The difference is, every State in the US has a completely different way of doing BBQ. different grills, different seasoning, different methods etc. So you have diversity and choice and more importantly depth. Argentina has salt and one way of cooking their meat . It gets boring after a while.

Right, right and right.
Now let's get picky, the quality of AR beef has degraded very badly over the last 7 years. I have to shop very carefully nowdays to get good beef here. And, even worse, I can't get good beef at the same place consistently.
Which becomes a real pain when you like to grill 3 or 4 times a week. {whatever the meat}
Your comment on Kansas made me smile. Kansas has a Brand, a formula and a Brand promise and they deliver on a consistent basis. When I get tired of all of the pseudo, wanna-be 4 star bad service restos in BA...I head for Kansas with the knowledge that they will deliver without BS. And I can just sit back and relax.

 

[AlexfromLA]

Kansas is actually a copy of the American Houston's chain. They couldn't get the franchise so they copied it. The entire menu is American as are the ingredients ( except the beef ) and methods of preparation.

Lol, obviously the Argentinians love it, and the stuffy types line up for hours just to eat there.

http://www.hillstone.com/

http://www.hillstone.com/#/restaurants/houstons/

As far as beef, I usually buy my beef at Jumbo Palermo. The cabana las lilas and Aberdeen angus branded stuff. It's the best you'll find at the supermarkets IMHO.

 

[nikad]

Right, right and right.
Now let's get picky, the quality of AR beef has degraded very badly over the last 7 years. I have to shop very carefully nowdays to get good beef here. And, even worse, I can't get good beef at the same place consistently.
Which becomes a real pain when you like to grill 3 or 4 times a week. {whatever the meat}
Your comment on Kansas made me smile. Kansas has a Brand, a formula and a Brand promise and they deliver on a consistent basis. When I get tired of all of the pseudo, wanna-be 4 star bad service restos in BA...I head for Kansas with the knowledge that they will deliver without BS. And I can just sit back and relax.

This is sad but true: there are lots of feedlots and most of the beef you can find is not grass fed as it used to be I do not go to Kansas very often so I cannot comment on their consistency, but unfortunately there is a big lack of consistency at many restaurants, not to mention bad service. This also, was not common years ago. Some things are rapidly degrading...