La Primera Observacion

Coming from a quiet town in New Hampshire to the bustling city of Buenos Aires has been quite an experience so far, especially relating to food. In the Northeast we have such different customs from down south and many have become apparent while out to eat in the city and the smallest differences may make the largest impacts. For example in the US we do not give anything out for free, no matter where you go or how much you pay, you will get what you paid for and nothing else; while down here with nearly every food item you order you will be given some sort of free pastry, tart, fancy bread, empanada, or cookie. With your coffee they will give you complimentary cookies on the side, with a sandwich I bought, I got a delicious complimentary tart, and with steak lunch I was given a handful of mini carne empanadas. So this is BA-1, US-0.

I went out to get lunch at a cafe/restaurant/bar and since i didn't know much spanish and couldnt read the menu all too well, i picked the Club Sandwich since the name was in english but the description was in spanish. My waiter was very nice and brought me water and the best orange juice i have maybe ever had, along with a complimentary orange colored tart before my food came out. The sandwich arrived with fat french fries on the side and a fancy toothpick holding it all together. The bread looked like actual dough and crumbled when I ate it. I took a few bites and decided to look inside it. Inside I found thin slices of ham, slabs of turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, and fat pieces of raw bacon. Fat, raw bacon.
Needless to say I discretely pulled those out and set them aside and ate the rest of the sandwich. The food was great aside from the bacon someone forgot in between the bread.
I had hot chocolate from Havana, which was delicious and the perfect temperature when it came out. Served with cookie and I bought a brownie as well.

At my home here I ate pasta with red sauce and other solids mixed in, with diced potatoes and hard-boiled eggs tossed in. Everything was again very good yet the noodles were a bit chewey, as i saw in a previous restaurant as well. This dish was much better homemade than in the restaurant.

Today, I went out to a late lunch after class got out, to Cafe Plaza with two other girls. I got some sort of tenderized carne, my first in Buenos Aires, and it was great. It was yes, tender, and served with these funny little balls of french fries on the side. The meat was great and my drink, a Strawberry Daquiri, was equally tasty, made with real strawberries so some chunks and seeds were left behind. Nice and hefty. Really nice waiter; very accomodating.

Yogurt is hard here, it is in a jello form and is much harder to find creamy yogurt than firm. And peanut butter-I crave thee. I also had my first vegetable since I've been here-it was steamed cauliflour.



I had more hot chocolate here and this time they gave me a cup with steaming
milk, and a chocolate bar on the side, and indicated that I was supposed to put the chocolate into the hot milk and create my own hot chocolate! How cool! I also got a fruit cup with it, which was soo yummy! It contained diced kiwi, pear, and mango, in orange juice.
Last but not least, I ate my first churro. Not just any churro, but a chocolate churro