Author: Daniel Neilson
Daniel Neilson is a freelance writer and photographer, and lived in Buenos Aires for five years eating too much meat, going hoarse at football games and thoroughly failing to learn a step of tango. He edited Time Out’s Buenos Aires guidebook and has contributed words and photos to a variety of publications about Argentina for Four Four Two, The Wire, CNN Traveller, Real Travel, Adventure Travel and the Observer among others. He now spends his days drinking imported mate and planning his return journey.
Daniel Neilson is a freelance writer and photographer, and lived in Buenos Aires for five years eating too much meat, going hoarse at football games and thoroughly failing to learn a step of tango. He edited Time Out’s Buenos Aires guidebook and has contributed words and photos to a variety of publications about Argentina for Four Four Two, The Wire, CNN Traveller, Real Travel, Adventure Travel and the Observer among others. He now spends his days drinking imported mate and planning his return journey.
Considering that barely a ball has been kicked in Argentina in the last couple of weeks, it’s been a tumultuous time for the Argentinian football. Firstly the sacking of the manager of the national team after the lackluster showing at the Copa America in the homeland, the Tevez and Aguero saga at Manchester City and – oh yes – the biggest shake up of the Argentinian league game for, well, ever, to a system so revolutionary that no team will ever have to be relegated again.
Two games into the 2011 Copa América, and things aren’t looking good for the host country. An astonishing one-one draw with Bolivia (Bolivia!) was followed by a nil-nil result against Colombia (Colombia!). Eek.
There comes a time in everyone’s visit to Buenos Aires where they would turn to me and say: “Daniel, you basically live in New York/Paris/Barcelona/Madrid”. It is at this point that I would buy them a subte coin, descend down to the depths of the blue line and take them to Retiro.
June and July are ripe months for cultural and sporting events in Argentina. The weather begins to get a bit chilly, and thoughts of museums, galleries and cultural events take over from beaches, barbecues and mate in the park.
Argentina’s borders stretch from Antarctic waters in the south to Iguazú waterfalls amid the subtropical jungles of the northeast. Needless to say, within its boundaries, nearly all known foodstuffs can be grown or pastured, making for a rich cuisine.
As a Brit homesick for Argentina, it is undoubtedly the meat that I miss most (sure, friends and that, but mostly meat). But fear not: London is the place to find Argentinian restaurants that have the similar cuts, the same offal, and the perfect malbec to accompany it.
First of all take a rest. Sleep. Have a siesta – a big one. It’s going to be a long night. Stamina is key to surviving an Argentinian boda (wedding). But before we dissect the mixture of the tradition, syncretism and the frankly bizarre moments of an Argentinian wedding, we need to roll back the time to when the two lovers were, well, just that.
After their football team, the object of Argentines’ national pride is their meat – and they have every right to revel in one of the deadly sins. It’s widely accepted to be some of the best in the world and, as a consequence, they also indulge in another deadly sin: gluttony.
If you’re looking for somewhere to eat in Buenos Aires that won’t break the bank, here are our top tips on finding some traditional Argentine food establishments when out and about in the city.
The spelling of Argentinian, Argentinean and Argentine has stirred the passions of grammarians, pedants, and now, and you didn’t see this coming, you. Over the next few hundred words we’re going on a literary treasure hunt – one that digs deep into history, literature and that huge dictionary propping up my printer.
