Ten years ago, even before I was such a beer snob, when a friend and I were planning parties, we would put “NB” on the invitations: No Brahma. OK, maybe I was a beer snob then, but the Brazilian beer, a whole 20 centavos cheaper than Quilmes, wasn’t just bland. It was offensively bland. Like Kenny G…
Tag: Drinks
How to Act Like a Local in Buenos Aires
In Buenos Aires, fitting in is a more complicated process than simply knowing your steak, wine and football, or becoming a pro at multiple-dog walking, staring and protesting. Here are some ways you can act, live and love like a local. If you follow them you might just avoid men on passing motorbikes hollering “Gringa!” (but probably not). Whether it’s their amigo, boss or total stranger, Argentines peck each other once on the right cheek to say hi and bye…
Argentina Food & Drink Festivals 2012
For a country that takes such pride in its produce (and needs no excuse for a fiesta), it’s remarkable that Argentina’s food and drink festivals are only just gathering pace. Naturally, beef and wine are still the headline acts, but are joined by an increasing number of more specialist events. Here is a look ahead to the best Argentina festivals and fairs in 2012 aimed at the food and wine enthusiast in everyone.
Argentinian Christmas Recipes and Food Traditions
A traditional Latin American Christmas is celebrated on the 24th – known as Noche Buena – not the 25th. The big meal happens after the sun starts to go down, and then it’s straight into party mode, meaning there’s a lot less time (ie none) for TV specials and charades. However, there’s plenty of time for eating.
Drinking the Argentine Way
For some incomprehensible reason, young Argentines don’t find it particularly attractive to get blindingly drunk and fall flat off a bar stool. Argentines are a cosmopolitan bunch — sipping beer in streetside cafes, savouring wine by the glass in upscale bars, or nursing a coke in a nightclub looking sexy until sunrise…
Mate Tea: Love it, Hate it, Drink it
It would be fair to say that mate falls in to that polite category of beverages – along with Fernet – of being ‘an acquired taste’. Pronounced ‘mah-tay’ (as opposed to an informal synonym of friend), this drink infusion is ubiquitous in Argentina and Uruguay. You’ll see taxi drivers, old ladies in the streets, lovers in parks, and friends in houses cradling a little gourd, taking a sip of mate through a bombilla (straw), and sharing it round. You’ll see it everywhere, and it will only be a matter of time (measured in hours rather than days) before you are offered some…
Restaurants and Bars in Mendoza, Argentina – Gourmet Hot-Spots and Local Favorites
Mendoza is a charming city with a small-town atmosphere. The friendly locals, superb setting and gastronomic delights make it a perfect vacation spot with something for everyone. Born and bred in Mendoza, I’ve spent my life keeping track of all the developments in the Mendoza food and drink scene. Some of my favorite restaurants, cafes, and bars in town are internationally renowned for their gourmet cuisine and fine wines; others are lesser-known favorites frequented by locals who appreciate quality cooking in a welcoming atmosphere…
Confessions of a Fernet Branca Drinker – An Argentinean Love Story
The first time I tasted Fernet I hated it. I was young (and for legal reasons I will not say how old, just in case the alcohol police are reading) and just starting to go out with friends to “los Boliches” (discos) and bars around Mendoza, Argentina. That black bitter drink, strong as hell and sweetened with Coca Cola, was not my ideal dancing partner. Diluted lager beer served in a simple plastic tumbler was more agreeable with my inexperienced liver and empty pockets, until…