A Day in Tigre on the River

Welcome to Tigre!

One of the primary reasons that we love Argentina is because the country is full of interesting and beautiful places to visit and to see new things. Just when we think we've hit a good chunk of the most raved about spots, someone is sure to start talking about some other place that they've been to that sounds amazing. Well, today we hit yet another of the destinations on our list, a place in the northern province of Buenos Aires called Tigre. The main draw is to take a boat tour of the delta and inlets and see the various islands. A couple we met who owns a nearby restaurant had recommended that we visit a particular island that houses a delicious restaurant named Gato Blanco. We were lucky enough to arrive and just look around until we found a boat company that would offer us a private tour, drop us off at lunch, and then take us boat to the main port. It was a fantastic day on the water. People were kayaking, jet skiing, taking motor boats, and even floating in the water on plastic recliners. We had a spectular lunch...the grilled black hake was the best I've had here in Buenos Aires. All in all, a successful trip, a beautiful day, and another destination checked off of our list!

On the boat ride traveling along the delta:

Our fantastic lunch spot:

Watching visitors lounge at a resort on the river:

Happy New Year!

It's 2009! Don and I brought in the new year with a few friends and we are so happy to have Butch visiting from DC. He's been our Buenos Aires companion for the past week and we've been wining, dining, and dancing all over. One of the best parts about having a visitor is that you get a great excuse to make reservations at all of your favorite restaurants and so far they have not disappointed. Last night we were at the Faeno Hotel dinner and tango show because you just can't come down here and not see a tango show. So that's one major thing checked off the list but now we're on to shopping for leather and visiting Tigre in the north to sail through the Delta...

Here are Butch and Don at Asia de Cuba in Puerto Madero having a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon:
The boys leaving brunch at Olsen's:

Anniversary Tango Show

December 9th was our 3-year wedding anniversary and we decided to celebrate with a romantic tango show in San Telmo. We went to a place called La Ventana inside a historic, refurbished building and it was very charming. The evening started out with a gourmet 3-course dinner and we were seated right at the front edge of the stage with a good view. When the show started we immediately loved the band of musicians playing the piano, cello, violins, and bandoneon (which we always thought was an accordion). The dancers were all pretty exceptional, too. It was more of a traditional style tango show than we we had seen at the Faena and we couldn't help but compare things. But, in the end, the styles of the two shows just represented different interpretations and we enjoyed ourselves just as much if not more. We captured some video of the dancing:

Overall, however, the star highlight of the La Ventana show was not really the tango dancing or singing but rather the two artists representing northwest Argentine folk music and dance. Don was most impressed with the guitar player and I really liked the guy who played the Argentine drum or Bombo leguero. We hope to post videos of those acts elsewhere on the blog. It was a fantastic night and we definitely need to make our way over to San Telmo more often. Maybe this Sunday for more tango and shopping...

Kosher Night

As always, Don and I are on the constant look-out for new restaurants. We keep our eyes trained on new signs and fliers in Palermo searching for something new and interesting. Well, since we got here in September, there has been a huge purple wall announcing the arrival of an Asian steakhouse on Cordoba Avenue. We've waited patiently and walked by every week or so to monitor the progress of the construction. Finally, it was open! We tried to go there for lunch one day and ran into a security guard in an ill-fitting black suit standing near the elevator entrance. It was then we discovered that the restaurant was open only for dinner and that it was "Jewish food" as he called it. Kosher-style Asian only, so we probably wouldn't want to eat there, he assumed. Don and I are no quitters so we politely informed him that we would return at a later time for dinner. That dinner came a few days ago and we ran into him and yet another security guard. After a lengthy conversation about us 1) not having a reservation, 2) not being part of the "community", and 3) being from the United States and aware of what Kosher means, we were finally allowed to take a seat in the restaurant and order dinner.

The duck rolls were rather tasty but didn't really surprise us. Don was a bit reluctant to order the deep-fried gizzards but we relented after the waiter insisted. They tasted like sweetbreads wrapped in dough as one would imagine. But man, oh man, did we get a big surprise when our rack of beef rib steak came out. It was a massive sight to see. They like to serve the meat on the bone here a lot and this thing looked like it came from a brontosauras and it was covered in barbecue sauce. A little overcooked for us but we were so excited just to figure out how to eat the thing. A successful Asian Kosher dinner if we may say so ourselves.

Don't you see the resemblance?

Feeling Festive and Stuffed Like Turkeys

The past few days have been full of fun and FOOD. Wednesday was Don's birthday and we hit up two of our favorite places, La Cabrera and Osaka. He's been going to the dentist a lot lately and we were afraid that he wouldn't be able to eat. Luckily, he felt okay so we headed out to make the best of it and had a great time on a blazing hot day. It turned out to be a wonderful birthday for him despite experiencing our first black out here. Not a thing worked in the apartment, including the air conditioning, so we didn't stay in long. Here's a snapshot of some of our feasting:

Oh, and then there was Thanksgiving on Thursday... Another blackout all day. So, of course we were missing our family and we decided to have a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant called Kansas. We had turkey with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, glazed carrots, broccoli, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, the works! It was wonderful. We even went to two more American-style places (Casa Bar and The Alamo) to watch football and have seconds with yet another Thanksgiving day dish, which we shared. We ended up seeing the Dallas Cowboys win, wrapping up a great day for Don, no doubt.

And, if we hadn't had enough...we baked homemade macaroni and cheese and brought it to our friend's house for another Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. Yes, you read that correctly. We baked. Macaroni and cheese. Just a big pan of scrumptious, creamy cheese! We love the holidays.

Rain, Rain Go Away

It's been raining and chilly for 3 days and I'm fighting a stomach virus. Not too fun so we haven't done much except for eat out when I can "stomach" it. Luckily, we've had some good food experiences, mostly after realizing how difficult it is to get anything delivered on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Most of the best restaurants here will deliver to you, unlike in DC, but you can mostly forget about it until Wednesday rolls around at the places we tried.

Monday night we went to Sarkis just a few blocks from our house, which some call the best Mediterranean food in Buenos Aires. The reviews didn't disappoint. We absolutely loved the tabbouleh and the lamb kebab, and we had a tasty Cabernet-Merlot blend. The hummus was better than the one we had to throw out from the grocery store but still not as good as some of our favorite restaurants back home like Zaytinya or Lebanese Taverna. I tried to get a picture of the belly dancer with Don but it didn't turn out too well as you can see! I had a great time eating away but my stomach made me pay for it all night long while Don slept soundly...

We leave tomorrow for Mendoza to stay at the Cavas Wine Lodge. Stay tuned for details of our adventures in wine country!