Surviving the Buenos Aires Beef-Fest

After grazing around endlessly, anxiously for the last 2 months, feeling like I was just 'wasting my youth', I decided to finally "take advantage of 'still being young' and 'seeing the rest of the world'" (like so many have urged me to do before)

And since my brother has been residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, (not to mention the whole 'backpacking Europe' thing being so stale), I decided to seize the opportunity.

Boy, am i so glad I did...

My fragile, little mind was becoming brainwashed by everything I had been fearfully reading lately: Omnivore's Dilemma, Fast Food Nation and countless different kinds of RAW food propaganda. And I had been agonizingly giving in--"eating food, mostly plants, not too much"(Pollan), trying to eat completely RAW (don't know why or how I did that) & cut white sugar and flour from my diet--I was becoming into my worst nightmare, some sort of health-food fascist.

Then I came to Buenos Aires and ate...


beef:

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sugar:

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carbs:

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and everything else in between:

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this was every single day, twice a day

...everything that has been madly preached to avoid (at least in the states) to not to ingest.

And I feel just fine...

It's absolutely mind-boggling to see just how different stuff is compared is to the "jjan-kie" united states. (yankies is what they call americans overthere)

I'm still trying to adjust to not starting to party until 3AM 'till sunrise, EVERYDAY!

(if anyone wants the specifics on any of the pictures, please let me know)

DineLA Discovered: GRACE and Greed

Ok, ok, i know I shouldn't of but...I eventually gave in to blogger pressure. I went to GRACE to 'take advantage' of this coveted situation, if you can call it that.

After the traumatizing experience on Wednesday (read earlier post), I felt almost conditioned to go, even if I should of saved the few bucks I do have for my first international trip on Sunday, even if I hadn't even packed a single sock. But alas, the pressure of it all did me in.

So, I went with a mindset: to see if this whole thing was really worth it. Since I had already tried to re-enact the missed dinner yesterday in attempt to console myself, I sort of had an idea, or at least something to compare it to.

I was the first one at the bar to evade the rest of the poor, dazed masses later on. But once I am handed the menu, and see the various, clever 'upgrades', teasing me with their Truffled Risottos and Trio of Sorbets that made the advertised menu look like the gourmet equivalent of a 'value meal'. I was a breath away from almost ordering them too (It would have been my first real time tasting Truffles), but then, I realized, if I did, the whole meal would of cost over $50! Around the same price it would of usually amounted to if I came any other day! It all suddenly became clear: my dad was right (like always)..."es pura propaganda" (its all publicity!)

But this realization came after I had already devoured my complimentary bread, so I ethically got one of the cheapest things on the menu ($11): Winter Squash Soup.
And with my first Zen like tasting of it (how would you savor an $11 soup?): surprisingly salty for such a subtle, sweet fruit as a squash, and the pumpkin seeds were already having that musty, rancid nut/oil taste!

And to think, I nearly drove myself deranged by the mere anxiety of it all...