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Argentina on Two Steaks a Day(2006)
- EastLondonCoder 11y agoThe steaks in Argentina are indeed glorious, however feedlots are today actually the main way cattle are being raised. See John Torode in: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i1imr http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i1imr
- uhtred 11y agoI hate this kind of gluttony over meat. No one needs two steaks a day, and just because it is part of some countries culture (although, is it?) doesn't mean it should be glorified. Anyway, it's also ignorant to think all the cows are roaming around free in some grassy bovine nirvana until they get slaughtered.
- werdnapk 11y agoStudies (recent and past) have linked red meat consumption to certain cancers. Are Argentina's cancer rates actually any higher than anywhere else or is it basically negligible?
- jensen123 11y agoLooks like it's actually lower than most other Western countries: http://www.wcrf.org/int/cancer-facts-figures/data-cancer-frequency-country http://www.wcrf.org/int/cancer-facts-figures/data-cancer-fre... But I guess red meat is just one of several (many?) things that can affect cancer. For example, it seems that there is an inverse correlation between selenium in the soil and cancer: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/11/1845.full.pdf http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/11/1845.full.pdf
- mironathetin 11y agouhtred, I hope you expected to be downvoted :o). My dentist, who also has a phd in chemistry, always tells my about beef. Beef has to rest for a while in the cold storage until it becomes soft and eatable for humans. During this time, which counts as a quality time for the meat, it actually rots. Yes, beef lovers (me included), it rots! - It is called ageing in the ads, as if it were good, red wine. The phd thesis of my dentist was about the number of poisonous substances that build up during the ageing process. He found 200 different poisonous substances! This is most likely the reason why colorectal cancer can be statistically related to beef consumption. Problem is: it only shows after 20-30 years, so there is room for procrastination. <irony>Enjoy! And ignore the facts. Looking at facts makes life so much less enjoyable.</irony>
- maxerickson 11y agoThe fact is that the decay that occurs during aging does not foul the meat. This sort of distinguishes it from rotten fruit or whatever (unless that fruit happens to be rotted by carefully selected yeast, leading to a good red wine). So probably no harm looking at the facts.
- clamprecht 11y agoAll this talk of facts, and no source link?
- jessaustin 11y agoOne out of one dentists agree!
- mironathetin 11y agoNo source link. As I have written, my dentist told me. His thesis is published but certainly rots in some archives. If you want to know about the statistical correlation between beef consumption and cancer risk - do yourself a favour and just type some keywords into a search algorithm, please. You will be overwhelmed with results (ignore the ones from south american steak distributors, steak houses and also the ones from vegan activists :o).
- ics 11y agoYou said 'he' and as far as I can tell Dóra is a Hungarian feminine name so I guess it's not this: http://phd.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/597/1/Marta_Dora_den.pdf http://phd.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/597/1/Marta_Dora_den.pdf
- jerf 11y ago"Yes, beef lovers (me included), it rots!" If you think this is bad, you need to spend a lot more time learning about the incredible diverse array of things that humans ingest without any apparent problem. We eat lots of things that can be characterized as having "rotted": Cheese, beer, wine, which is then double-"rotted" into vinegar, in fact fermentation opens a whole door of its own. Plus with all the recent discoveries about the importance of gut bacteria, arguably half our digestive process could be called "rotting" the food. Interestingly, in many cases the "rotted" foods are better for us than the raw. Among our many adaptations that allow us to carry around our enormous brains is the fact that we've offloaded non-trivial portions of our digestive systems to exterior systems via cooking and deliberate food treatments like fermentations. Eating carefully "rotted" food is arguably intrinsic to our species now.
- eibrahim 11y agoI spent 2 months in argentina and I ate enough meat and drank enough Malbec for a lifetime. 2 reasons: they were DELICIOUS and they were CHEAP. I live in the USA and the dollar was strong vs the peso during my visit- so cheapness was relative to me but my Argentinian friends told me that they produce meat 10 their needs (they export the rest).
- adaml_623 11y agoThings you learn: Argentina had a lot of Italian immigrants. I was about to criticise the author for not crediting the Spanish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography_of_Argentina#Italians https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography_of_Argentina#Itali... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Latin_American#Argentina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Latin_American#Argentina
- jahitr 11y agoFuck those lazy ass Spanish. Avoid them like the bubonic plague.
- weeksie 11y agoI'm in Buenos Aires right now and that's pretty spot on. Beef is of incredibly high quality and it's incredibly cheap. I've been here for a couple weeks and will be staying until December (I've taken a year off with my girlfriend to travel the world). So far, I love it. The Spanish is spoken with an almost Italian accent, so I find it much easier to understand than, for instance, Chile's Spanish, which is impenetrable. One idiosyncrasy is that the double ll is not pronounced like a /y/ as in most other dialects, but like a /j/. The wine is wonderful as well, provided you like the sort of big acidic wine that goes well with a nice hunk of meat. Luckily, that's my thing. To be honest, if the economy and politics weren't so unstable down here, I'd consider buying a place. Unfortunately all weirdness with the blue dollar and the petty crime make it somewhere that I'll just keep on the radar. Also, the thing he didn't mention when it came to booze was that this is the only other place in the world that Fernet Branca is distilled. Argentines drink the most Fernet per capita, as well as the most Coca-Cola (the second is related to the first).
- clamprecht 11y agoCome say hi - every week we meet on Thursday afternoon to BS and meet new expats/travellers. It will be posted here: http://baexpats.org/forum/4-expat-events/ http://baexpats.org/forum/4-expat-events/
- weeksie 11y agoAwesome! Will do, for sure :)
- jacquesm 11y ago> The Spanish is spoken with an almost Italian accent It is an Italian accent! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentine
- rpgmaker 11y agoIt's not italian accent. It might have been born out of the italian accent but it's not the same.
- Gys 11y agoI was in Buenos Aires about three years ago, in the Palermo Hollywood area. And very much to our surprise there were a lot of vegetarian restaurants as well. One of which my wife and I still talk about how good it was. Regretfully I do not know the name anymore. It also seemed as if those restaurants were more expensive then the 'normal' ones.
- clamprecht 11y agoOne really good vegetarian restaurant in Palermo Hollywood is called Buenos Aires Verde. It's so good it can't possibly be healthy, but it is vegetarian!
- Nashhhh 11y agoProbably either Bio (vegan) or Artemesia (not-so-strict-vegetarian). Or green bamboo. But the reason you found lots of vegeterian restaurants is not surprising: you were a tourist in a touristy area, and it's mainly tourists that look for vegetarian restaurants in Argentina! Source: I'm Argentine, and I live here. Also, I eat at those restaurants.
- Gys 11y agoThank you, maybe it was one of those. Definitely will check them out if I ever go back !
- nwatson 11y agoFor those predisposed to some vegetables there's this thing in Uruguay called a "chivito al plato". Here's a good representation: http://www.brisasdeldayman.com/historia-y-receta-del-verdadero-chivito-uruguayo/ http://www.brisasdeldayman.com/historia-y-receta-del-verdade... They don't skimp on the steak (despite the name "chivito" it's made with beef, not goat), or the ham, cheese, or egg. There are many fried potatoes on the plate as well. And they'll also throw on a huge variety of vegetables, fresh and pickled. I ate many of these around my early teens at The Manchester in Montevideo.
- cryoshon 11y agoChivito always seems like 4X as much food as I actually need... I had a whole one at Copacabana in Montevideo and didn't eat for the entire next day.
- eyko 11y agoInteresting, in Spain we have Chivitos which is basically a baguette with practically the same ingredients. Never heard of it served on a plate (al plato) before!
- cryoshon 11y agoYep, that's Argentina. I definitely agree with most of the author's points, especially the Argentine skittishness around seasonings and spices. The beef is fantastic without any embellishment, though. Two things that I'm surprised at is the author's lack of mention of the Argentine obsessions with mayo, and the separate but equally baffling obsession with ham and cheese (as a combo). I saw mayo abused very frequently when I was in Argie. I also saw ham and cheese plastered onto every menu. "Items are preventatively glazed with sugar whenever there is be the slightest doubt as to whether they are supposed to be sweet or savory; this is what prevents the otherwise excellent Argentine croissants (medialunas) from being the king of breakfasts." Ah yes, the heavenly medialuna. I don't consider them to be ultra-sugary, but they do have a lot more sugar than a typical croissant. I know my girlfriend (who is Argentine) is crazy for medialunas, and I quite enjoy them also. They're much more flavorful and properly sized (small) than other croissants I've had-- I even prefer them to the Parisian kind. "Thank God, therefore, for the ice cream. When the Italians came here at the start of the century, they took one swig of the fine pampas milk and knew what they had to do. The ice cream in Buenos Aires is easily the best I have ever eaten, and the parlors that serve it are everywhere." Yes. The ice cream in Argentina is heavenly, and they will deliver right to your door. The other icecreams I've had don't remotely compare. Definitely visit the chain called Freddo if you find yourself in BA. "What Tim Horton's is to Canada, mate is to Argentina - a national obsession whose appeal is inexplicable to outsiders." Mate is gross, and my gourd rotted away because I didn't cure it properly. EDIT: But the coffee is sublime. Having coffee in Argentina ruined coffee for me... nothing else state side is remotely as flavorful and smooth.
- antsar 11y ago> Mate is gross, and my gourd rotted away because I didn't cure it properly. I'm not Argentine, and find mate to be extremely delicious. Just to provide another data point :)
- knodi123 11y ago> Two things that I'm surprised at is the author's lack of mention of the Argentine obsessions with mayo Au contraire. He talks about how it is sold in two liter bags, and reflects upon how fun they are to drop off of balconies.
- kfk 11y agoMy feeling with Argentinians has always been that they could easily come from the South of Italy and you would notice no difference. There is a very strong connection between Argentina and Naples too. It's amazing how an Argentinian and a person from Naples can feel more connected than, say, Naples and Milan.
- yeahsure 11y agoThis is very true. I'm from Argentina and visited Italy earlier this year. Naples felt very much like Buenos Aires, and a lot of people understood me even when I spoke in spanish.
- junto 11y agoI loved Argentina. The funny looks and the rolling of the eyes when you ask for a side salad or worse, fries, with a steak. The half cow that they fling on the flaming parrilla (BBQ). So much meat and do much nice red wine. Yum. Lovely welcoming people too. I'd love to visit again once my kids are old enough to stomach the flight from Europe.
- gyardley 11y agoArgentina is lovely, and not just Buenos Aires. Good god, the wine. You can have an incredible wine-tasting vacation in Mendoza or Cafayate. If you love the outdoors, there's Tierra del Fuego - which is also the jumping off point for Antarctica. There's more that's purported to be great, too. At the moment, the key is to bring all your money in American dollars, and never touch a credit card - the official exchange rate is set by the government, and has no relationship to reality. Exchange your money into pesos on the black market, and an already affordable country gets even more so.
- tghw 11y agoI had good luck using Xoom.com to transfer money. The rates were very close to (and occasionally even better than) the blue rate. You just have to find an office to pick it up from. Also, make sure you don't end up with too many extra pesos at the end of your trip. It's almost impossible to change them back to dollars.
- artur_makly 11y agoif you plan on staying longer than a small trip..i know a safe reliable service that gives you the exact blue rate. Today Xoom is giving you 13.8 Official Blue rate = 15,19 Follow me for more contact info @arturmakly
- cfv 11y agoDid this barbarian just diss Dulce de Leche?
- artur_makly 11y agoNobody here eats 2 steaks a day..anymore.. Their buying power has been reduced ( inflation here is 25-33% per year ) with salaries always lagging behind. I moved to BA in 2006.. the dollar was 3:1. It's now 15:1. But again, with less power. The avg middle-class person used to have weekly 'asados' aka bbqs at their home with friends and now most can't afford the beef. The really good beef is exported to 1st world countries ( and recently the US : http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/08/us/argentina-beef-ban-lifted/ http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/08/us/argentina-beef-ban-lift...) Life quality however ( if earning USD ) is 4x what you will find in NYC ( where I grew up ). From here I was able to bootstrap 2 profitable startups ( hiring local talent ) http://JuicyCanvas.com http://JuicyCanvas.com & http://POPteam.io http://POPteam.io Live in a the best neighborhood in a 2k/sq ft house' and pay for a house-cleaner/nanny, 5-star health insurance, and top private school for my son. ( total 3k USD ).. the same exact lifestyle would cost 4x that in SF/NYC. Hardest thing was leaving my friends,family, and learning spanish. But I'm significantly ...way happier.
- simonebrunozzi 11y agoInteresting story. Where are you from in the US originally? Your comment is worth expanding into a longer blog post - I would happily read it. @simon on twitter if you want to connect.
- artur_makly 11y agoActually im writing a how-to book on this ;-) .. Small world! Simon we met 3 years ago when you visited StartupChile! We had ceviche with some friends.
- weeksie 11y agoI do have to say that Buenos Aires definitely reminds me of NY. But those are first impressions and I'm probably just missing home a bit.
- guard-of-terra 11y agoI could only eat one steak per two days. Then the next day I can only eat light food. Still, I think I should have eaten more steak while there.
- liamconnell 11y agoJust had myself an asado (barbecue) here in Buenos Aires the other day! :) A few things about the culture and article: The meat is not universally great. One has to find the right butcher- he will be a lifelong friend. Also, the chicken here is really pumped full of hormones, so I hear... The good meat, however, is great. And it is given the proper respect it deserves. At a proper asado it is served without condiments and enjoyed by all. The asador is a hero when the meat is well-cooked.
- gotchange 11y agoI was surprised to find that people from Argentina love to drink beer along with mezze like we usually do here in the Middle East. Maybe this was the result of the influence of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants on their cuisine.
- Shamanmuni 11y agoYes, picadas (which means chopped in Spanish) are pretty common in Argentina and people usually drink beer with them. You can order them at pubs and they are something standard in social gatherings. But I think mezze includes more elaborated food; the typical picada includes cheese, cold cuts, olives, peanuts, bread, snack food and that's it. The things served are more similar to the italian antipasto, but the way of serving them (many small dishes distributed over the table) resembles the mezze.
- mbostleman 11y agoI imagined Ron Swanson narrating as I read this.
- rpgmaker 11y agoThanks for bringing up Parks & Rec. I miss that show.