Argentine Beef

Saturday, Jan 5 – Day 17

Packed everything up at the hotel and left for the apartment. I was supposed to meet my contact at 9:00 am to pick up the keys, but of course, nobody showed up. After a phone call to the agency, they said that someone would be there at 12:30. Oh, well, it gave me some more time to walk around and explore my new neighborhood.

The apartment is actually pretty nice, though it’s only about 600 sf. It has a separate living room and bedroom, two TV’s with cable, high speed wireless internet, and air-conditioning. The kitchenette is a little disappointing, though. A small fridge, small sink, microwave, toaster oven, and a hot-plate. And it all fits in an area of about the size of a coat closet. Hmmm….. guess I’ll be eating out a lot.

Right now it’s summer, and it doesn’t get dark until about 9:30 pm, which is kind of weird. They say they that the night-life starts late here, and it’s Saturday night, so I left my apartment at about midnight, walking to an area I had read about earlier in the day. I find a nice looking restaurant that’s pretty active, but not too full. As I sit down, I glance at my watch and note that it’s about 12:30 am.

I order a couple of beef empanadas, a split of wine, a nice steak, and pure pappas (mashed potatoes with garlic). The empanadas were hand-made and outstanding. Malbec is the prevalent Argentine wine, and is really quite good – a bit softer than a cabernet,but very good with red meat. The steak was a perfect medium-rare, and in comparison to the couple of times I’ve eaten at Mastro’s, this meal kicked Mastro’s ass. At 1:30 am, my waiter asks if I wanted desert, which I declined. However, he does bring a glass of champagne with the tab, saying that it’s a custom. It’s certainly ok by me. The total tab came to $79,00 Argentine pesos, which is a little over $26.00 US. I can tell right now that I’m going to like this place.

Across the street is Le Bar, a high-end place that supposedly gets a good international crowd. The contemporary design is very nice, but there are only a few people here - it’s only 1:30 am. Believe it or not, I’m too early. By 2:30, however, the place is cranking. At 4:00 am, when I finally decide to go home, the place is absolutely packed. Yep, I’m really going to like it here.