The Good Food in BA Thread

[fifilafiloche]

Delicious Torta de Limon in Cachi, a small village in the Andes west of Salta (2300m high). The whole meal was of exceptional quality, which amazed me since you can only access this village thru gravel roads.

Good restaurants can be found in the most unexpected places. This is a pleasure you rarely find in the US...A small inn with a good restaurant in a lost place...at least from my experience (only in Alaska did i get that surprise, in a homestead...once over 30,000 miles!)

 

[markbsas]

It's a given that food here is awful and the Argentines have no idea how to cook, but enough complaining about this. The question is how to get around it.

Let's just agree that BA restaurants suck and talk about dishes you can get that are good...even in unknown and small places.

How dare you criticize anything here in BsAs, how dare you!

For me the best meals here are at my mother-in-laws house. But then, I'm not sure it's the tastiness of the food but instead the company. Maybe that is the key.

For almost 2 years my wife complained about the food in the US (how dare she!). Eventually she found a way to work around it, found food that she indeed did like, and after awhile aquired a taste for the food there. Even, god forbid, spicy Mexican food! Now even she thinks the food here in BsAs is really bland.

But good news for me is that I grew up with a dad who had an ulcer and all I ever ate was bland food as a kid growing up. So for better or worse, the food here reminds me of my childhood.

Two additions to the list:

Empanadas - Fortin Salteno - Av Cabildo 4702

Arabic - Sarkis - their service sucks (imo) but food is really really good. I'm not a big fan of Arabic food but their Shish kebab (chicken) is something I recognized and is absolutely amazing!

Breads, Deserts, Sweets - practically anywhere in BsAs.

This is the ONE area that BsAs winds hands down over the US. But I'm not a city dweller so maybe you can find this in the big cities back home. Let's put it this way... our local Publix does not have bread and deserts anywhere close to the same league as this! Not even close.

Here's one but I'm sure it is far from most of you:

La Valenciana - Confiteria y Panaderia - Gral Lavalle 3198 - Florida

They have been in business since 1928 and are fantastic!

 

[tangobob]

It is not the criticism that grates, even I, who has been accused of being sycophantic (though I am sure the poster who accused me did not know the definition) criticise from time to time. No it is the belief of the OP that because he thinks the food is awful then somehow it is a given. It may not suit him and I accept there are many that agree with him, but it is not a given, it is an opinion. We can all have opinions, good or bad, isn't that what freedom of speech is? By stating that something that an opinion, however widely held, is a given, is denying my right to have an opinion of my own.
Many from the so called free world forget what freedom means, just note the furore when anyone dares criticise anything American.

 

[ssr]

Breads, Deserts, Sweets - practically anywhere in BsAs.

This is the ONE area that BsAs winds hands down over the US. But I'm not a city dweller so maybe you can find this in the big cities back home. Let's put it this way... our local Publix does not have bread and deserts anywhere close to the same league as this! Not even close.

Wow, I have said the exact opposite thing to my girlfriend a million times. And then I took her to NY to show her what I was talking about.

I still don't get these comparisons of Anyplace, USA to the "Paris of South America." If porteños want to run with the big dogs they should expect some tough criticism. So, although I'll agree that the ice cream just about everywhere in Argentina is top notch, the breads and other deserts (let's put dulce de leche on everything!), for the most part, are nothing special.

 

[markbsas]

Wow, I have said the exact opposite thing to my girlfriend a million times. And then I took her to NY to show her what I was talking about.

I still don't get these comparisons of Anyplace, USA to the "Paris of South America." If porteños want to run with the big dogs they should expect some tough criticism. So, although I'll agree that the ice cream just about everywhere in Argentina is top notch, the breads and other deserts (let's put dulce de leche on everything!), for the most part, are nothing special.

Agreed, as I said I am not a big city person so I would have no idea there.

All I know is that my birthday cake this year was nothing short of spectacular. And btw, I specifically requested... "please please anything but dulce de leche"!

It was a masterpiece, something I had never seen before. Layers of strawberries, other fruit, chocolate, vanilla, it was amazing. Curls of chocolate and white chocolate spiraling up. No dulce de leche anywhere to be found. But realize I grew up in the Betty Crocker world of mom making a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting so to me this was amazing.

 

[markbsas]

It is not the criticism that grates, even I, who has been accused of being sycophantic (though I am sure the poster who accused me did not know the definition) criticise from time to time. No it is the belief of the OP that because he thinks the food is awful then somehow it is a given. It may not suit him and I accept there are many that agree with him, but it is not a given, it is an opinion. We can all have opinions, good or bad, isn't that what freedom of speech is? By stating that something that an opinion, however widely held, is a given, is denying my right to have an opinion of my own.
Many from the so called free world forget what freedom means, just note the furore when anyone dares criticise anything American.

Agreed, however same rules apply to the criticism of the US, it is in fact opinion and nothing more.

But back to food. So when my wife complained about food in US and she actually learned how to say "it sucks" I had a choice. Either try to turn things around on her and tell her how wrong she was and how bad Argentina is. I would imagine that would have led to some rather interesting "conversations" between us and maybe divorce(?)

OR... do as I did.

I shut up, went out and found her 2 decent Argentinian restaurants in Miami where we lived at the time, found her some familiar food, and less spicy regular food alternatives to allow her time to adjust. I didn't tell her if she didn't like it here to leave. I didn't ask her why did she come here if she didn't appreciate what the US had to offer. I didn't tell her any of the TOTAL BS that fills this forum.

Instead I accepted her complaints and dislikes, did my best to understand where she was coming from, and I tried to make her feel "welcome", and "at home". Where I lived most of my life we call that "southern hospitality" but I'm sure that nice, decent, caring, accepting people all over the world know how to do that.

But of course that is just my opinion...

Mark

 

[nikad]

Agreed, however same rules apply to the criticism of the US, it is in fact opinion and nothing more.

But back to food. So when my wife complained about food in US and she actually learned how to say "it sucks" I had a choice. Either try to turn things around on her and tell her how wrong she was and how bad Argentina is. I would imagine that would have led to some rather interesting "conversations" between us and maybe divorce(?)

OR... do as I did.

I shut up, went out and found her 2 decent Argentinian restaurants in Miami where we lived at the time, found her some familiar food, and less spicy regular food alternatives to allow her time to adjust. I didn't tell her if she didn't like it here to leave. I didn't ask her why did she come here if she didn't appreciate what the US had to offer. I didn't tell her any of the TOTAL BS that fills this forum.

Instead I accepted her complaints and dislikes, did my best to understand where she was coming from, and I tried to make her feel "welcome", and "at home". Where I lived most of my life we call that "southern hospitality" but I'm sure that nice, decent, caring, accepting people all over the world know how to do that.

But of course that is just my opinion...

Mark

But she moved to the US because of you, not the money or the country itself, and you are probably here for the same reasons. I believe most expats are here to stretch their dollars or out of curiosity, do not have any ties to anything here and really do not care about doing anything constructive, they just live in a bubble and enjoy whining... but hey, you can´t have it all anywhere. I think having a family member that is a national from the other country makes a big difference.

 

[markbsas]

But she moved to the US because of you, not the money or the country itself, and you are probably here for the same reasons. I believe most expats are here to stretch their dollars or out of curiosity, do not have any ties to anything here and really do not care about doing anything constructive, they just live in a bubble and enjoy whining... but hey, you can´t have it all anywhere. I think having a family member that is a national from the other country makes a big difference.

Actually, my wife was on a tourist visa visiting the US, on her way to Canada, and ultimately Europe, but I snagged her before she left. But she started her whining about the US, and US food, on our very first date.

You certainly aren't saying that the only people who should be offered real hospitality here in Argentina and on this forum are those with familial connections are you?

I promise that one day when we return to the US, if any of you want to come be expats there for awhile, I will treat you with respect, put up with your bitching and complaining, and try to make you feel comfortable and welcome. And I will never verbally attack your country while you are visiting mine. Ok?

And one way or another I'll help you find some good food that you will enjoy. I promise.

Mark

 

[nikad]

You certainly aren't saying that the only people who should be offered real hospitality here in Argentina and on this forum are those with familial connections are you?


Mark

Not at all, I just think that when you have an emotional connection with somebody, you are more prone to get out of your way to help them and make them feel comfy. I have helped many expats online and offline, but I remain anonymous. When i visited the US I found both nice and mean people, I must admit that they were mostly the first I take some things very personal, because I live the expat experience through my husband, and I know how difficult it can be to adapt and or understand the locals, not to mention cultural differences, and scamming.

I liked the food in the US, and tried everything I could, but I have always liked very spicy and hot stuff and everything ethnic, so I was more than happy ( especially in SF ). My son, on the other hand had a hard time, as almost everything he wanted to have would come with cheddar cheese on top, lol and he hated it 24/7

 

[tangobob]

Agreed, however same rules apply to the criticism of the US, it is in fact opinion and nothing more.

Mark

Exactly and what I said all those pages ago "Been to America and I though the food was awful, does that make it bad? No just not to my taste".

You can see from this that I was accepting my opinion is my soley own.
It is just that for some if there is anything you do not like about the good ol' USof A then you must have a faulty gene.