At many barbecue parties around the world you’ll find classic dishes that accompany the main attraction of meats. In Korea you’ll see different types of kimchi and pickled vegetables. In the Caribbean, rice and beans and plantains. In the U.S., potato salad, cole slaw, and corn. One of the classics in Argentina is ensalada rusa, or russian salad. Ensalada rusa is probably one of the most popular side dishes in Argentina for a variety of foods and occasions.

The original “russian salad” was supposedly invented by a French chef named Lucien Olivier at the Hermitage Restaurant in Moscow, Russia around the 1860’s. Named salads or their dressings always seem to have a debate, myth, or mysterious history in regards to who invented them, the original name, where they were invented, and the original recipe. Hmmm, I think I’ll let you seek that out for this salad. In current times many countries or regions have their own variations to the “russian salad” but the basic components are root vegetables and/or meats mixed with mayonnaise. The Argentinean version of ensalada rusa at its most basic level, and it doesn’t stray too far from that, is quite simple: potatoes, carrots, peas, and mayonnaise. Some may add beets, eggs, ham, or anything else to give it a personal touch but the typically the common form contains only those four ingredients previously listed.

Ensalada rusa is very easy to make and preparation falls more into the class of “to taste” instead of measurements. Some like to do equal proportions of potatoes, peas, and carrots while others like a lot more of one ingredient than the other. Me, I like my ensalada rusa with more potatoes and here is an approximation of what I prepare.

2 cups boiled potatoes, diced small*
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup cooked carrots, diced small
Mayonnaise
Salt to taste if needed

*Cook the potatoes however you like but I prefer to keep them whole with the skins on while boiling. Then when cooled, peel and dice them.

In a large bowl, add potatoes, carrots, and peas. Gently fold in mayonnaise spoonful by spoonful, so as not to break up the potatoes, until the vegetables are lightly coated or whatever consistency you prefer. Don’t go overboard since some cringe when they see too much mayonnaise. You can always place extra mayonnaise on the table at serving time for those who like their salads heavy.

Mmmm, once again, simplicity at its best.

That camembert was good eh? So good you went to take a nap AFTER STEALING IT FROM ME!

The dog ate my homework. Really. Everything was perfect. Toasted rind. Cheese oozing out. Good lighting. Then I turned my back for a second and poof no more. This 6 month old monster decided to creep up out of nowhere and steal it off the table. Couldn’t believe it. All that work was gone! My mouth was watering yet someone else got to savor perfection. Savor no, gulped is a better word. Oh well, but don’t worry, no one was harmed. She did however get screamed out of the area.

When I saw Dan’s post over at SaltShaker about grilled camembert he enjoyed at Lo Rafael, I thought hmmm one of those little wheels just might have to be forcefully volunteered as a specimen on my parrilla. Like I’ve mentioned before, the chance to enjoy many culinary delights at a restaurant near the bottom of the world is not one that comes easily. When you need something done around here you just have to do it yourself.

Cheeses like camembert and brie are some of my favorite types of aged curdled milk. You know the sort that appear to have been drenched in powdered sugar or fine bleached flour, yet are actually coated with a fungi rind. Thick slices on a baguette with a light warming in the oven until the cheese starts to melt like butter. Good stuff!

I’m no cheese expert, but sometimes I taste a little bitterness on the rind of these cheeses. Sometimes a little too much. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or the result of bad storage. Therefore, I wasn’t quite sure what would happen in regards to bitterness when grilled on a parrilla. When I saw Dan’s photo I noticed what appeared to be a bit of charring on the cheese and posted a comment to see if indeed it affected the rind’s taste. He replied that it was more toasted than charred and delicious. That was good enough to give me the green light on giving a lil ‘bert the grilling it so deserved.

I only have access to Sancor’s (large dairy company) Camembert, which isn’t bad but lacks in flavor and texture compared to the really good stuff. And if you get a freshly delivered batch and it was stored well, it really does appear to be frosted with powdered sugar with hardly any bitterness. No gourmet cheese shops in my area offer anything artisanal from around the country much less anything imported from say France. You gotta make due with what you have.

Although I’ll probably experiment a little bit more in the future I followed everything I did with the first attempt. The outcome was good, short of my dog stealing it, and I didn’t want to try something different, then fail, and start all over again.

Before cooking I decided to keep the cheese slightly cooled. I know that’s a no-no in the grill world but being that camembert is a very soft cheese I feared a melting explosion might occur within a minute on the grill. Cheese is not to be wasted.

I set the grill to where I could keep my hands right above the rack for about 5-6 seconds. Right about the time when your hand screams to the brain: “Please move me!!” Go slow and maybe a disaster won’t be in the making, I thought. Next, made sure the grill was clean and lightly oiled. You don’t want that rind to stick so that upon flipping, all that cheese slips through the cracks; literally.

After I placed the cheese on the rack, I think for every minute that passed I couldn’t stop myself from peeking at the bottom. After six minutes, when there were some nice grill marks and the side felt soft, I decided to give it a flip. Six minutes later the cheese was ready.

You know on those food tv shows how the host or guest exaggerates their satisfaction when sampling food? Swaying their head and upper body around with moans of “That is good, that is good. Oooh man that is so good, so good!” I think I was doing that myself after cutting into this and slathering it onto crackers. Luckily no one was around to see me. Lightly smoky crust with an unbelievable silky buttery cheese. But still, I think it could even be better. Next time I’ll leave it on the grill for a couple more minutes on each side. Also, Sancor produces a camembert-bleu cheese hybrid nambed Blue-Bert and that might just need a trial too.

So just what kind of beers are at one’s disposal her in Argentina. Well like the majority of every other beer loving country you have largely distributed domestic brands, large/medium/small imported brands, craft/micro brews, and brew pubs. Please forgive me if my reviews are lacking any kind of quality below; not that any of my writings do. I’m not going to write about how the beer pours and if one head has a slight tan color with a creamy taste that delicately slides off the tongue. If you are looking for that go to RateBeer.com.

The Leader

The number one beer brewer in Argentina, I guess you could say the Anheuser-Busch of Argentina, is Quilmes. But psst, Quilmes is actually controlled buy Quinsa, a Luxembourg-based holding company in which Ambev has a stake and plus others or something like that. Pretty confusing, but hey, what company isn’t part of a holding company these days. Well, I’ll spare you the history of the early beginnings, acquisitions, shares, and holdings for another day. Maybe not. If you want to know more check out Quinsa’s site. Let’s just leave out all of the technicalities for now and just say that Quilmes is Argentina.

Quilmes Cristal, the flagship of the company, is everywhere. The logo sporting the national colors and also resembles the flag can’t be missed. Quilmes Cristal is a lager and is somewhat decent for a mass produced beer. Much better than most large-scale brews of pale-type lagers in the U.S.

They also produce:

Quilmes Bock - Quilmes bock doesn’t really taste like a real bock, so the the only bock you get is in the actual name. Yes it has a higher alcohol content and caramel color it is seriously lacking in the taste department and quite metallic. Tastes a lot better on tap, well that is if the keg is “fresh”.

Quilmes Stout - Pure crap. Take Quilmes Cristal, add some Coca-Cola syrup, and voilà! No really, that’s what it tastes like. Overly sweet and that sweetness leaves an aftertaste that is on par with letting a spoonful of sugar disolve on your tongue.

Imperial - A pilsner that is only offered in 3/4 liter or liter bottles. Most often offered in restaurants or supermarkets. I like it better than Quilmes Cristal.

To sum it up the national beer brewer doesn’t have what I want. Whoever created the Bock and Stout needs to be thrown in jail for illegal assignments of brews that have no similarities to what they are supposed to represent.

Other large domestic beers

Isenbeck
Palermo
Schneider
Salta
Iguana
(A few others)

Most of these are fit into the pale lager class but some do offer dark beer selections as well. Again, they are nothing to write home about. Next!

Large International

The majority of these beers are known throughout many parts of the world and are either imported or bottled in or around Argentina. In Buenos Aires, all of them can be found. In other parts of the country they should be available in and around any area that has a decent population size, distribution point, or supermarket chain store. As with the domestics, these are typically offered in liters and individual sizes.

Brahma (Brazil)
Heineken (Holland)
Warsteiner (Germany)
Budweiser (U.S.A)
Stella Artois (Belgium)
(forgetting a couple others?)

Prices vary. Brahma and Budweiser are usually around the same price as Quilmes. Heineken, Warsteiner, and Stella Artois are slightly more expensive. Maybe 1 to 1.5 pesos more for liters. I drink many of these beers a lot but they still don’t offer what I want in terms of BBQ beer. But heck, sometimes I’ll even go for a Budweiser on occasion just to remind me of home. Yeah yeah it sucks but sentimental memories need to be refreshed from time to time.

Imports

Visit a large supermarket chain, duty free, specialty store, and sometimes even a kiosk and you might just find a small collection of imports from around the world. Also an ever increasing amount of bars and restaurants, particularly in Buenos Aires, but that’s not a place that one frequents to buy beer to take home or elsewhere so that’s as far as all go for not in that area. Obviously there is no point in listing them all but I’ll list some.

Leffe
Holsten
Duvel
Chimay
Bavaria
Corona
Guinness
Negro Modelo
Grolsch
Asahi
(And many more)

Wait, didn’t I say before that I miss having a wide variety of beers to choose from? Now you are probably thinking that is some contradiction after seeing just some of the beers listed above. You see there is a wide variety of beer to choose from in Argentina. The key is access. The most accessible place is Buenos Aires and perhaps a few other large cities. The problem is, even there, you don’t have a liquor store down the block or road that carries a large selection like what I was used to in the U.S.

Craft / Micro brews / Brewpubs

El Bolson
Antares
Patagonia
Barba Roja
Beagle
(And many many more)

Argentina has a decent amount of craft beers and brew pubs but like without a good distribution system, they’re usually limited to their own regions, cities, or towns. Also, as with all craft/micro brew beer they have their ups and downs. Some are great with a vast variety of flavors, ingredients, or methods of production. Others taste fantastic draft but don’t hold up well in bottles. Some have too much carbonation. A few have too much of a sour note. Extremely sensitive to how they are stored or delivered. Etc. Etc.

And So Far The Winner Is…..

So out of all of the bland mass produced beers, fancy imports, and local micro brews there is one brand that sticks out, quenches my thirst, and makes me say AAHHHH after each pull. It–whatever you refer a beer to as–has become my BBQ buddy. Of course I haven’t sampled every beer that is available somewhere in this country, but this one has satisfied my needs so far in the taste department.

Antares Porter.

Actually I like a few of their brews but haven’t been able to sample all of them yet.

I came across Antares years ago at The Clover in Buenos Aires. I remember clearly because that bar and a couple others had probably the most extensive beer lists in the city at the time. Antares Imperial Stout and Barley Wine on tap in pints and these beers pack not only flavor but serious punch. 8.5% alcohol for the Imperial Stout with a whopping 10% for Barley Wine. With the Barley Wine, I can only ingest about half a pint. A little bit too syrupy for me and the flavor is also quite strong. Perhaps a good after dinner drink.

Unfortunately, after I moved to the end of the world, I lost contact with my beloved happy hour companions. For over a year, I had to drink with the common folk like Quilmes, Heineken, and Warsteiner. There is a brew pub down the street from me which has remarkable beer, but doesn’t bottle it. Not to mention they don’t have an age restriction at night so whole families with their kids running around screaming and chasing each other like its a freaking Chuck E. Cheese doesn’t create a pleasurable environment.

About a month ago the sun broke through the clouds and ended my misery. No, I did not shrivel up into carbon powder from the lack of a decent ozone layer up above. Norte, a supermarket chain, decided to bring some of the Antares love to the far reaches of the Earth. However, only Porter and Kolsch.

This was the first time I tried the Porter and it was truly love at first taste. Did it rank up there with some of the best beers I’ve ever had in my life? In this class, very close. But it did immediately bring flashbacks of great beer from the good ‘ol days. This Porter, in my tastes at least, closely resembles a mixture of say Oktoberfest and Porters offered in the U.S. Decent notes of chocolate, caramel, and coffee yet with a slight amount of fruitiness. Clean and crisp yet lacks the slight syrupy texture that many porters carry.

Just the type of beer I absolutely love to barbecue or grill with.

Try them out if you have a chance. They might just end up being the Samuel Adams of Argentina. Cerveza Antares. I don’t think they had a brew pub in Buenos Aires when I moved so I’m definitely going to have to add that to my destination list. Can’t wait to try the Scotch Ale.