Food, Glorious Food!

One very crucial, important thing that I really haven't written about yet is...FOOD! On one of the first days of orientation, Mario (our program leader) told us that Argentine food is pretty much Italian food with a little Spanish and Middle Eastern twist. Typical Argentine meals: Milanesas (fried steak, chicken, fish) with french fries; Steak with potato/squash purée; Empanadas (that's the Middle Eastern influence); Pasta; and Pizza. The majority of the time that we eat out at a restaurant, that's what we're eating.

Empanadas are amazing. The most common flavors are Cebolla y Queso (Onion and Cheese), Pollo (Chicken), Jamon y Queso (Ham and Cheese), Choclo (Corn), o Neopolitana (Tomato, Basil, Chesse). Below are some amazing Pollo empanadas I ate at a fancy cafe! I'm not sure why they have those spiky things on top...but they were delicious!

Food time at home is usually alone, because my host mother eats at different times than I do, and usually is busy either watching TV, listening to her favorite British pop radio station, or surfing the web. I don't mind much, I take this opportunity to read up on what new adventure I can find in Argentina. I'd say that 4/7 days of the week I eat a different type of quiche with either potatoes or salad to go with it. Sundays are pizza days, and the rest of the week I eat either a veggie burger with potatoes, or a chicken patty. I mostly eat vegetarian at home, which is really odd, especially since the program directors recommended all the vegetarians to start eating meat, since vegetarian lifestyles are so misunderstood here. I'm having the opposite experience...becoming a little more vegetarian than I'm used to! So far, no complaints! Below is a picture of my eating nook:
This is my awesome friend, Sylvie, eating some fabulous gnocci. This dish is on almost every menu and one of my favorites! These were the most amazing gnocci I have ever eaten. It was at a fancy-ish restaurant in Villa Gesell, Argentina.

STEAK. Apparently the Argentine staple, although I have yet to eat some. Niall ordered this "Bistek Mariposa", Butterfly Steak, and we loved the proportion of meat to vegetables. Very Argentine!

The one thing that I miss terribly: Peanut Butter. If anyone comes to Buenos Aires on business, impulse, leisure, for any reason, please bring me some extra chunky, I'm having serious withdrawals. The local grocery store chain is called "Disco" and the incredibly witty and clever Sylvie appointed the phrase PANIC AT THE DISCO for my feeling of pain and sadness upon my realization that peanut butter doesn't exist in Argentina.