Friday, October 09, 2009
8:03 PM
I’m in a car with a driver on my way back to Buenos Aires. Rosario was much more than I anticipated and has a certain locale to it that I have yet to experience in any other city I’ve visited. You can definitely see and feel the European influence here, as this country was colonized by the English, French, and Italians.
Needless to say, the past two days have flown by. The team was more than accommodating and it’s always a pleasure to finally put faces to names that you’ve worked with virtually for months. After a 3 hour flight to Atlanta, followed by a 10 hour flight to Argentina, I met up with Sergio (the country controller) at our office in BA only to hop into his car for another 3 hour drive to Rosario.
Aside from the newness, as I’ve never been in South America, the country glows of its rich history scarred by economic mismanagement. Old and new buildings are tangled together like a pot of spaghetti. Certain areas are prevalent in their poverty. On our way to the plant only 30 minutes from Rosario, I couldn’t help but notice all the trash littered throughout the highways and boulevards.
Argentina is a huge hub for commodities. Its strategic location encompasses the majority of the Eastern coast of South America and its river system serves as the main highway for commerce via sea ports and vessels. Grain, soybean, and oil are among its major exports.
The food so far is phenomenal. No one is lying when they say that Argentina has the best steak in the world. Given its vast and diverse climates, cattle and livestock are one of its main resources. My first night in, I told Sergio about how I like to try new foods and the more unique, the better. The team had dinner plans at an Argentinean steak house, also know as a Parilla, which put Fogo De Chao to shame. We didn’t do the typical medley of meats that you’ll find at a Brazilian churrascaria as the team has something else in store for me.
We started off with the typical appetizers and salad. First up were French fries, a salad with a light vinaigrette dressing, and bread with a cheese spread. The next course contained meats that definitely intrigued me based on looks alone. Argentineans do not waste any part of the cow and I knew we were eating organs, I just didn’t know which ones.
Maria started to fill my plate, diligently trying to mask the look of each morsel by placing them upside down. I told them not to tell me what it was and that I would have to guess what each piece represented. In the end, I had tried their version of blood sausage, regular sausage, kidney, stomach, “sweat breathe” (which I can only believe was tongue), and cow brain. Yes, cow brain, which by the size of it completely explains how dumb an animal it must be if we were to judge by its size.
The main course was nothing like I’ve ever had before. I couldn’t tell if it was the cut or the way they cooked it, but these ribs were the finest I’ve every tasted. The meat was cooked on an Asador, an open fire of glowing coals around which a number of vertical metal crosses hold carcasses of goat, lamb and pork meat. These slowly rotate to get the most benefit from the glowing embers, and the chefs, usually in gaucho outfits, will come over from time to time to slice off portions as they are ordered by the customers.
The meat was thick and juicy, containing multiple layers, each with their own right in flavor. The outer most part, which most Americans are use to, reminded me of a pig roast, in the way that the skin was very crispy. It only lacked the layer of fat between the skin and meat that pigs are notorious for. Inch closer to the bone and the next layer of meat reminded me of duck - succulent in its own fat and very tender. The next layer closest to the bone definitely tasted like beef however much more lean and with a natural flavor only obtainable by a spit. My favorite part was the backside of the rib, where the meat was cooked just crispy enough to remind me of a beef flavored potato chip, burnt nicely to a crisp but not so much to lose its flavor. Dinner was definitely one of my trip’s highlights so far.
Sergio commented on the drive up that Rosario is the perfect city to inundate myself with the Argentinean culture. He said the city boasts the most beautiful women in the country. He was right. The women here were absolutely beautiful. Beautiful in that hair tied, sweatpants, chilling with no make up on beautiful. Beautiful in that I’m not used to seeing women like this on a daily basis beautiful.
The people are generally diverse, and by diverse, I mean there’s no way to stereotype an Argentinean the way we do other cultures. You can typically tell if someone is Indian, Mexican, African American, etc. but the people here are so different looking its hard to say. I also don’t mean diversity in the sense that there are all types of people here (black, white, Asian, etc.) Everyone here is Argentinean but you couldn’t tell based on the common characteristics. Blonde or brunette, light or nicely tan, there’s no telling then apart from the rest of the world.
A few random observations:
- People walk fast, but with no purpose. They are also on their cell phones most of the time they are walking.
- Unless they work in the service industry, they probably don’t speak English.
- There is trash everywhere. Everywhere.
- Traffic laws are more of a guide than a law. There is no issue with running red lights, especially when the light turns yellow. I assume that came from the Brit’s.
- I love the 3:1 exchange ratio from USD to Peso.
- Like Italians, the country shuts down, but only from the hours of 5-8. Dinner is typically eaten between 9-11PM.
- The Malbec wine has lived up to the hype.
- You can smoke anywhere and anything.
- The European feel isn’t just in the building architecture, it’s also in the cobblestone roads that defined downtown Rosario.
- I have never feared for myself or had such a heightened self awareness until I ventured out by myself last night. I hate having to continually watch my back.
