Disappointed with Food in Argentina

[chris]

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.

Anyone who has ever been to a Whole Foods in the USA knows the difference. The very best DISCO (in Recoleta or whatever upscale neighborhood) can't begin to compare. You can buy wild salmon from Alaska, the best beef, lamb, pork, cheese from France, England, Spain...Butter from, Ireland....I could go on and on. It's a lightyear away.

 

[nikad]

Anyone who has ever been to a Whole Foods in the USA knows the difference. The very best DISCO (in Recoleta or whatever upscale neighborhood) can't begin to compare. You can buy wild salmon from Alaska, the best beef, lamb, pork, cheese from France, England, Spain...Butter from, Ireland....I could go on and on. It's a lightyear away.

I have been to Whole Foods, the retails format in the US is very different to the local format, I would never compare against Disco, but maybe against Mercado El Progreso, or Mercado de Belgrano for instance.

 

[Jimbob]

I travel constantly and fruit in Argentina is outrageously expensive and the quality is very poor .In Peru fruit is luscious and very fresh and its available up to 5 times cheaper in US dollars . In the amazonian city of Iquitos in the famous Belen Market huge papayas are sold for one dollar . You can get one killos of bananas for 30 cents and the best mangos of the planet two for the dollar . Here a normal papaya is going for like 10 us dollars and mangos 4 us dollars in most places . Bananas the worlds cheapest fruit is the most expensive in Argentina on the planet .Why ? Everything healthy is at least double Australias prices but peoples wages in Argentina are 7 times less . Does this make sense?

Las bananas más caras del mundo se venden en Argentina

Así lo sostiene un informe, que concluye que el kilo no baja de los 2.000 pesos y en general se vende a $ 2.500. Afirma que en el país hoy se consumen 10 kilos por habitante al año, lejos de los 25 kilos de la década del ‘90.

www.diariopopular.com.ar

Quick google search put bananas in Australia between $3.50AUD($2.21USD) and $5.99AUD($3.77USD), so not quite double the 1500 to 2500 peso choices I had.

Australian banana prices search

In fact a nice list of countries by banana prices here.

Colour me shocked.

 

[carride]

Fotos speak a thousand words and this looks like the meal you leave outside for the most needy . the chicken is overcooked and extremely scrawny and for this price in Asia You would get three chickens with fragrant Jasmine rice served with a increíble ginger sauce . The food Quality in Argentina has gone to the dogs and it is certainly much worse than before . everything seems to be cheaply Made with scarcity the only common factor

There are simple family and small independent owned grilled chicken places found every 4-6 blocks. You can smell the deliciousness every night. Anyone who considers the overcooked and more expensive rotisserie chicken at the corporation supermarket deserves the outcome.

 

[Redpossum]

There are simple family and small independent owned grilled chicken places found every 4-6 blocks. You can smell the deliciousness every night. Anyone who considers the overcooked and more expensive rotisserie chicken at the corporation supermarket deserves the outcome.

Maybe in your neighborhood, and if so, congratulations. It's not like that here. There's only one I know of, and they charge an arm and a leg.

That said, I don't buy ready to eat food. I buy it raw and cook it myself, because that's all I can afford.

 

[chris]

I have been to Whole Foods, the retails format in the US is very different to the local format, I would never compare against Disco, but maybe against Mercado El Progreso, or Mercado de Belgrano for instance.

By Mercado de Belgrano do you mean the sort of farmers market where you can buy some cheese and vegetables etc? I don't think this remotely compares with the variety of high quality products from around the world available at Whole Foods. There are farmers markets in the US too. I was referring specifically to supermarkets where you can find most food items without going all over town. There simply is nothing comparable in Argentina, for whatever reason.

 

[nikad]

By Mercado de Belgrano do you mean the sort of farmers market where you can buy some cheese and vegetables etc? I don't think this remotely compares with the variety of high quality products from around the world available at Whole Foods. There are farmers markets in the US too. I was referring specifically to supermarkets where you can find most food items without going all over town. There simply is nothing comparable in Argentina, for whatever reason.

Definitely not the same, but what most resembles the product/idea imo. The concept of convenience is not huge here ( no drive throughs, less self service, less automation, loads of food chains and franchises, etc ) In part it must be related to decreasing purchase power and workers unions, however you now have Farmacity and other chain stores, more food chains, etc. But yep, no Whole Foods. One really nice chain store I visited lately in the US was Total Wines, it is like a wine theme park, they have a never ending selection of wines from all over the world.

 

[perry]

Quick google search put bananas in Australia between $3.50AUD($2.21USD) and $5.99AUD($3.77USD), so not quite double the 1500 to 2500 peso choices I had.

Australian banana prices search

In fact a nice list of countries by banana prices here.

Colour me shocked.

thats why bananas are eaten very rarely in Argentina as they are considered out of reach for most people due to their Price .in Australia You have a plethora of farmers markets that have prices that are extremely reasonable . just go to san Telmo Market a dipalitated hot building and See the prices and then compare
there are three verdulerias there with good produce . cerezas 8000 pesos half a kilo bananas 3500 pesos a kilo . papaya 5000 pesos a kilo . Dried fruit 3000 pesos 100 grams and everything else shockingly dear . Hardly a customer in sight but this never seems to deter the businessman here

 

[Ries]

The real argentina does not live within a few blocks of speciality butchers delicatessens etc etc . they live with their local butcher verduleria panadería . These ítems are now extremely expensive with bread and vegetables prices the dearest I have seen anywhere . for example south american fruits of bananas . papaya . mango are so expensive that US 20 dollars is just for one filling meal of fruit . There are fruitarians who go to Thailand just to exist on their succulent fruit and they pay a few dollars a day maximum . here You would require 10 times more but with low Quality and very scarce supply .. Dried fruits are over 20 dollars a kilo in many cases here 8 times dearer than Thailand !

if I dont live where somebody else lives, I am not "real"?
There is no question that my US social security check means I make more than many Argentines.
but there is a wide range of food available in most of Buenos Aires.
I have never had a problem finding decent verdulerias or carcinerias in small towns in the provincia, either.
There are farmers markets one day a week in dozens of barrios here.
If you go, and talk to the vendors, it is often possible to get deliveries.
we get in season produce, eggs, and fruits dropped off at our house by one vendor, assuming we buy 10,000 pesos or so worth at a time.
Shopping in Argentina is personal, and requires time to build relationships.
It requires investment in trying different vendors local to you, asking questions, and with time, you learn, who has what, what days they get deliveries, who is cheaper, and so on.

Itinerantes | Buenos Aires Ciudad - Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

buenosaires.gob.ar

 

[perry]

if I dont live where somebody else lives, I am not "real"?
There is no question that my US social security check means I make more than many Argentines.
but there is a wide range of food available in most of Buenos Aires.
I have never had a problem finding decent verdulerias or carcinerias in small towns in the provincia, either.
There are farmers markets one day a week in dozens of barrios here.
If you go, and talk to the vendors, it is often possible to get deliveries.
we get in season produce, eggs, and fruits dropped off at our house by one vendor, assuming we buy 10,000 pesos or so worth at a time.
Shopping in Argentina is personal, and requires time to build relationships.
It requires investment in trying different vendors local to you, asking questions, and with time, you learn, who has what, what days they get deliveries, who is cheaper, and so on.

Itinerantes | Buenos Aires Ciudad - Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

buenosaires.gob.ar

You maybe have many hours to purchase products from various venders the average argentinian does not .have the time . Food selection is very poor in Buenos Aires which now had one of the lowest seafood consumption of the planet and this is with one of the Best fishing zones of the waters of patagonia . Seafood should never be a luxury but a normal food for the worker