I realize I haven't talked a lot about the food here, so while I have the time I decided that I'll share.
The food here probably isn't what you would imagine it to be. It's a LOT of meat, like giant slabs of cow thrown onto a giant barbecue. Vegetables aren't really a thought when it comes to any meal, and carbs are basically the only other category besides meat that exists, oh and sugar, lot's and lot's of sugar.
A typical drink that we get when we go out to cafes is a submarino. Basically, you get a cup of warm milk and a chocolate bar to melt into the milk. It doesn't taste exactly like hot chocolate, but it's really great.
Also, this isn't typical Argentine at all, but one of our favorite places to eat here is at a little Crepe cafe. You can get crepes with meat and veggies and such in them as a meal and then you can get all different desert types of crepes. My favorite are the Hawaiian (jam, cheese, and pineapple), berries and cream, apple (or strawberry, or banana) and dulce de leche (or nutella). The women who work there are also just the sweetest! They also have really great smoothies, and awesome music. It's such a nice place to be.
It's located on Libertad one block from Sante Fe towards the Tribunales subte stop.
Dulce de leche: an absolutely delicious spread that tastes something like creamy carmel, but better than you would think creamy caramel would taste, like way better. You can put in on virtually everything: bread, toast, crepes, fruit, anything. Very typical Argentine.
Alfajores: heaven. I'll attempt to describe them here, but I WILL be bringing some home to share with all of you, so you'll be able to get a better idea then! But they are two cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate. There is some coconut flavor thrown in there sometimes, but I can't figure out where, but trust me, they're amazing.
Medialunas: "Half moons," aka their version of croissants. They are little croissants glazed with a sugary glaze which makes it almost impossible not to eat 10 at a time. They're extremely popular, they're something that's a very common breakfast, or merienda (snack) food.
When it comes to salads, they're not too big on them. Generally the different vegetables are separated into different salads. For example, on a menu at a restaurant you will have a lettuce salad, a carrot and egg salad, or a tomato salad. They don't throw them all into one. Some cafes do offer Ceasar salads and such but it's usually just lettuce, cheese, and chicken in those. Cucumbers and tomatoes are nowhere to be found in those.
Soup is another foreign concept. They sell broth in stores, but nothing else. One day when I asked my host parents if the restaurant we were going to had soup, they told me that only old people eat soup, and that the restaurant was definitely not going to have any. So there ya have it.
Besides the medialunas, breakfast here is pretty disappointing. All we eat are a few pieces of bread, and then we can have cornflakes if we want. (And due to all of my medical issues that have been going on, I've developed some sort of aversion to milk, therefore, cereal is out of the question--especially since their milk is 3%, and not refrigerated).
Pizza is also extremely different. The crust is thin, they barely put any sauce on it, then load it up with cheese, lots of olive oil, and green olives on top. You have no idea how much I miss Pizza Hut.
My favorite aspect of this country isn't the food, but there are definitely some things that I will miss, basically all of the sweets you could ever imagine on every street corner and in every cafe. That is a true miracle.
Juices and other organic foods and drinks aren't impossible to find here, but they aren't the easiest. Thankfully I've found some really awesome totally organic fresh juice places that also offer healthy sandwiches and salads and such. If you're travelling to Buenos Aires and are interested in them, send me a message or leave a comment and I'll let you know where they are!
We're in the home stretch now, less than a month left of classes. I just have no idea where the time went.
See you all soon!
Chau mis amorcitos!
