We. had this discussion on this forum YEARS ago. People were talking about traveling a couple hours on buses and trains to get basic ingredients to make what should be readily available in supermarkets. I suspect the very same advocates of dedicating your life to finding half way decent foo are no longer in Argentina.
Disappointed with Food in Argentina
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nikad
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I recall such posts, usually were about peanut butter, bagels, French bagette, cottage cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, cupcakes, raclette cheese, cheddar cheese, etc. Truth is that what was or is considered basic was and is not regarded as such in Argentina. That is why they were going on crusades to get the items. Shopping at a few differebt stores for groceries is not something crazy in a place where people are not looking for convenirnce but enjoy talking ti their butcher about soccer or greeting their guy at the veggie stand. It is a different culture and overall approach to life. No drivr throughs either. I understand it is not for everybody, but you eat better and have more social interaction. I get lazy too on and off and like to get everything from one place from time to time, but I know what to expect.
No I am not referring to those posts about items like peanut butter. There were posts about where to get essential ingredients that were hard to find in supermarkets. I remember people advocating making your own bread and just about everything else that is substandard in Argentina. I distinctly remember someone who commented on traveling hours on buses to find such items.
carride
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The post I replied to, and quoted, clearly said the they only spend 5 minutes eating.
carride
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Yes exactly! Walking around your neighborhood to find most of the items needed for your life is still the ideal situation. Especially the daily food, either from local restaurants or the local shopping. People live in cities to enjoy the walk and the interactions with your neighbors. That is how I lived in US cities, and the same when did 3 month nomadic city work/life changes elsewhere in the world. Only move the car for weekend escapes, and the monthly drive to the supermarket. It is the 15-minute city that is often discussed by urban planners. I thought that is one of the big reasons why people want to live in to Buenos Aires.
FrankPintor
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Exactly. There is nothing fresh in Vital, it's all dried or frozen, and packaged. We go for the 3 for the price of 2 offers, all the household goods. They have a selection of salami and cheese, but the quantities are too big to interest me. We haven't tried their frozen meat section.
We planned a pantry with a big freezer in our house
nikad
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There is substandard food everywhere. I am not an expert but I do know that most products and flavors are adapted to the local palate and taste just so people are more prone to consume them. I do not recall that one post in particular tbh, but bread with a thick hard crust has never been popular in Buenos Aires ( not sure about other provinces ). As a matter of fact, they only started selling 00 flour a little while ago ( when all you could get is 000 and 0000 which is thinner and more refined ). I for one think that it is more sustainable, promotes socialization, gets you cooking healthier and helps you rack up some extra steps, buying and eating locally. I have been to supermarkets in other countries where you can get ( really tasteless ) strawberries in winter ( imported of course ) or abominations such as a completely frozen cheeseburger ( cooked and with buns ready to be microwaved and ingested ) along with wonderful selections of spices, sauces, cheeses, etc. I think the extremely debilitated purchase power of the general population and shrinking middle class has done its magic and supermarkets carry mostly basics of average quality because they are unable to sell anything else at the moment.
I still live here, have for 12 years. In the city of Buenos Aires I've never had to travel hours by bus/subway to find amazing food (dine out or cook at home). I've found exact ingredients or close substitutes for all the recipes I've ever wanted to try and make far more from scratch, so also eat healthier because there isn't so much processed/prepared food in my diet, I trade in some convenience but eat far better here than I did back home.
My local panadería has great sourdough and pastries, local butcher? Great cuts of meat, there's an Argentina cheese I love-sharp enough for me (Queso La Suerte). Fresh and varied veg and herbs at the nearby verdulería. Yogurt (thicker and greek style), sauces, condiments etc...at the organic store three blocks away (now with a million types of peanut butter, tahini, pita bread, farm fresh eggs, couscous, quinoa, ground cardamom and curry packets). These sorts of shops are popping up on nearly every corner of busier neighborhoods now.
You can position yourself to never have to leave your neighborhood if you choose your location wisely. What ingredients are people traveling hours on buses and trains to gather? Where do they live? Surely not in the city? I'll have to search that thread but anywhere in the world, people who live outside a city center have a harder time fulfilling those needs. Even the larger cities have food deserts, where people can't find fresh fruit/veg and the like and subsist of processed and low quality fare.
I've had so many amazing meals here from local chefs — some of the best I've had in my life, and I lived in what people would consider 'culinary' cities my whole life and worked in fine dining. I'm no slouch and, while there are obvious duds here (like anywhere), I'm not on the hate train. I can't be convinced as I'm not missing any foods or grocery stores from the U.S. at all. But it's all relative, in the end. But i implore people to take a day and find their local haunts instead of taking a train hours away.
As a recent observation on a trip back the the U.S.: The fruit (at an upscale grocer in a fancy suburb) tasted fake, for lack of a better word. The avocados, bananas and blueberries were so strange to me after eating fruit in season here. So, I guess it's just preference but I was so glad to get back here where the fruit I get tastes like fruit and isn't flavorless with an odd texture. The fruit and veg there was bizarre and I've had friends up there mention the change as well. So, to each their own.
I think it’s possibly a generational difference too.
I have lots of Argentine friends who are like me. Millennial, mid30s.
They live alone, parents in other parts of town or the country. They work full time, in the office at 9am, finish at 6pm, then in the evenings go to the facultad, pilates, drama class - you name it. They busy. Monday to Friday.
Days finish by 9pm/10pm and at that point, after being out and about doing things all day, you don’t have the time energy to go to the butchers or cook etc. Plus, they all closed.
So you just end up a poor diet eating pizza, empanadas, panchos every day as there is nothing else. In other countries, that’s not the case, you can get better quality, healthier food in a quick end-of-day run to a Dia Carrefour Express-style place.
It’s all lifestyle and we’re all different I guess. If I had to choose between going to the butchers cooking a meal or taking a French class and go to the gym, I'd choose the latter any day of the week. It's personal preferences.
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