Settling in / Eating / Drinking

The stuff we shipped over arrived a week after we moved in to the new place. The process of getting your shipped goods when they arrive is a tad more complicated than we had experienced before. Basically there is a ton of paperwork to fill out and various offices that need to sign off on this first and eventually you need to go to the depot to pick the stuff up which happens to be beside a 'villa' (shantytown) so Claudia had quite an adventure picking the stuff up. A couple of boxes seem to have gone astray which we suspect actually happened in London but we're thankful the most important things made it.

The Beer.

Argentinian beer, in a word tis 'pish' - Quilmes is the most popular national brand and if I had to describe it I would say think Budwesier with even less character and flavour pretend your taste buds are numbed from chewing half a kilo of jalapeños and lemons and you might like this beer (but probably not!). Other bland alternatives Iguana, Palermo, Isenbeck, and the slightly more palatable Warsteiner. I have discovered another almost drinkable brand called Sneider Fuerte which weighs in at a respectable 6% alc volume and causes old women in the supermarket to look on with pity as I pile 6 litre bottles into my trolley as from what I understand, it’s the Buenos Aires equivalent of the homeless mans favourite brew like Carlsberg Gold Export or Tennants Super Strong. My saving grace is that they brew Stella Artois here under licence and although its slightly different from back home and 1 peso per litre more expensive it hits the spot just right.

The Wine.

I keep asking myself how I drank that ol' plonk for 6 to 10 quid a bottle back in London when you can drink an excellent 4 -6 year old malbec or cab sauv for less here. Next to meat, wine is a passion here and its f-in' fantastic. Being an ol' wino at heart, I've dabbled in everything from the low end 3 peso bottle (still quaffable) to the 200 peso vino tinto reserve which would make most people pee in their pants when that bolt of enlightenment hits that the quality is out of this world! nuff said - back yiz go tesco and pretend you never heard this!

The Food.

How not to put on 100 pounds here will be an art. By the looks o' things I'll be supplying Michelin with spare tyres for the next few grand prix's. The food is 'A++'. It takes a lot of discipline to flip the menu page in a restaurant from 'carne' (meat) to something else but besides the steak (which is top notch) the selection you can get in the shops and take home and reheat yourself is impressive incl. empanadas (hot pastries with either meat, chicken, or veg), tartas (like quiche but better variety), pasta (fresh with sauce). Interestingly the fish selection is limited and so far not great. I've been doing the veggie shopping too as the best veg are in the local small veg shops where you queue up and buy by the kilo.