Damn you, homogeneity!
So i spent 2 days trying to get a falafel lunch in Palermo at a place the the whole study abroad crowd frequented.... and by frequented, I mean pretty much camped out in once we had discovered it. The reason I so desperately wanted falafel is that it is one of my favorite foods. Moreover, the food in Argentina is best summed up in the following two adjectives: repetitive and bland. So i had been pining for a good falafel and some hot sauce for quite a few weeks, really looking forward to tucking into about 3 sandwiches the first time I'd be eating there.
Here's what you need to understand about food in Argentina: I'm not saying it isn't good, because for the most part it's absolutely delicious. The only problem is the lack of diversity, and the lack of spice. In terms of food variety, your choices are pretty basic: Steak, pizza, past, or empanadas. Moreover, the main spice the country uses is mayonnaise. Mayonnaise! In lots of cheap restaurants, they don't have salt or pepper on the tables, and when you ask for it, you may even elicit a surprised stare - and they may not even have any. Sometimes I really wonder how they even cook in that country.
I couldn't find it the first time, and thought it was just a fluke, because even though there was a place that looked a lot like it from the outside, it sold empanadas, so I didn't go in. Then after spending the following day's lunch time looking for it again, I decided to go into the empanada place, and indeed it was the former Lebenese restaurant, complete with the stairs and bathroom in the same places, but nothing even remotely vegetarian or spicy on the menu. I was pretty upset, but even more so, disappointed. In a city already teeming with empanada places, why not remove the only cheap and accessible Halal food place and replace it with something you can get on every street corner!
So i spent 2 days trying to get a falafel lunch in Palermo at a place the the whole study abroad crowd frequented.... and by frequented, I mean pretty much camped out in once we had discovered it. The reason I so desperately wanted falafel is that it is one of my favorite foods. Moreover, the food in Argentina is best summed up in the following two adjectives: repetitive and bland. So i had been pining for a good falafel and some hot sauce for quite a few weeks, really looking forward to tucking into about 3 sandwiches the first time I'd be eating there.
Here's what you need to understand about food in Argentina: I'm not saying it isn't good, because for the most part it's absolutely delicious. The only problem is the lack of diversity, and the lack of spice. In terms of food variety, your choices are pretty basic: Steak, pizza, past, or empanadas. Moreover, the main spice the country uses is mayonnaise. Mayonnaise! In lots of cheap restaurants, they don't have salt or pepper on the tables, and when you ask for it, you may even elicit a surprised stare - and they may not even have any. Sometimes I really wonder how they even cook in that country.
I couldn't find it the first time, and thought it was just a fluke, because even though there was a place that looked a lot like it from the outside, it sold empanadas, so I didn't go in. Then after spending the following day's lunch time looking for it again, I decided to go into the empanada place, and indeed it was the former Lebenese restaurant, complete with the stairs and bathroom in the same places, but nothing even remotely vegetarian or spicy on the menu. I was pretty upset, but even more so, disappointed. In a city already teeming with empanada places, why not remove the only cheap and accessible Halal food place and replace it with something you can get on every street corner!
1 comment:
I never really thought about the repetitive nature of Argentinian cuisine, and that was probably because i was only there for just under two weeks, but you're right. I think back on what I ate (excluding the one McDonald's trip when I was craving) it was steak, steak, steak, empanadas, steak, pizza, pizza, steak. Again, all absolutely delicious, but I can see how it would wear thin during an extended stay.
- Jack
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