Like how there is chuck and chuck, there is aguja and aguja. Huh? Let me explain. There is chuck the primal cut which comes from the shoulder area with some of the neck and ribs included and, from this primal cut, there is a section of muscles that form what is called the chuck roll cut. (This section runs above the shoulders, along the back, from part of the neck to where the rib eye cut begins. From the chuck roll you get the roasts or steaks known as chuck eye, chuck, tender, and under blade. At times the chuck roll and its various cuts are simply truncated down to chuck steaks or chuck roasts. The same can happen to other cuts within the chuck primal cut but more often than not they are labeled as their proper names such as blade roast, cross-rib roast, 7-bone roast, etc. Confusing, right?

Are you familiar with those mainstream travel guides that dedicate a few pages to some bars, cafés, and restaurants that are considered authentic representations of a city’s energy and spirit? Well, Gabriela Kogan has taken that concept and wrote a book listing various establishments in Buenos Aires titled, “The Authentic Bars, Cafés, and Restaurants of [...]

I always wonder if I should hold off on posts such as this one. Most of the people who stumble across this site or have the feed plugged into their favorite reader are situated well above the equator. Grills are probably being packed away and many are looking forward to roasts, pasta, stews, chili, soups, or any hearty fare that receive front and center attention during the fall/winter seasons. Yet, here I am, in the middle of spring, writing about grilling up some flower buds that will well-stocked on the local shelves until some point in summer.

Click Here For The Matambre Challenge Overview The Challenger In Round Three Is: Salted Matambre One and a half years have passed since the last challenge and after the long painful process of getting my jaw to once again function properly, through strenuous physical therapy, the time has come for the third Matambre Challenge. For [...]

I finally got my hands on veal sweetbreads from a place is called, “we have to see you as a good customer before you gain access to certain things.” Just kidding, it probably came down to having bad luck on timing or other unforeseen causes. Or not? Most of the people I know say that this is the place to score but, I have always received a polite “no” or ramblings from the butchers about how the ranchers overslept or something. But ever so often, I hear from these same people, who recommend the place, “We had some great mollejas over the weekend, you should have picked some up.” “I tried looking last week but they didn’t have any.” “Oh, but you have to go around this time of the week,” they say. Yeah, well they never seem to have any when I go on those days. Since sweetbreads seem like a hot commodity it was probably bad timing. However, maybe the butchers remember me as the guy who only pops in to ask if the velvety thymus glands are in stock but doesn’t buy anything else. He’s probably loyal to another butcher shop. I’ll just have to start buying their goods to see if that turns things around. Anyway, a friend who is a frequent customer of theirs dropped off four pounds this past weekend while picking up some for himself.

Grilled provoleta is good stuff but sometimes it just isn’t enough to satisfy my melted provolone cheese cravings. With provoleta rellena, or stuffed provolone, you take two tasty slices of provoleta, add a few things such as roasted red peppers, ham, bacon, tomatoes, etc. in between those slices and heat it all up in a dish until the cheese gets all melted and a nice crispy exterior.

A commenter dropped a note on the provoleta page a few months back about a version of provoleta rellena she had in Uruguay that had bacon along with the other usual suspects (ham, roasted red peppers, oregano, chili flakes). Being one who never had provoleta with bacon before, (I don’t know why so don’t ask) I decided to give it a shot this weekend. Bacon and cheese, can it get any better?

There was an interesting little piece in the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Journal this past weekend about Argentinean and Uruguayan barbecue titled, “Love and Barbecue,” by Katy Mclaughlin. To sum it up, the author describes her transformation from being one who would admonish those who cooked a steak past medium or who grilled inferior cuts to a lover of the Argentinean style of barbecue. Although Mclaughlin only had to head to Queens to come to these realizations, I had to travel almost halfway across the world.

Before I moved to Argentina I had almost the same ideology that Mclaughlin once had. I too couldn’t see why anyone would want their steaks cooked over medium. With the flames that shot out of the grills I previously cooked on, steaks would have burned to a crisp if they were cooked for more than a few minutes each side. Same hideous creature would be placed in front of me at a restaurant, if requested well done, and sometimes that happened without making such a request. Roast cuts were meant for slow cooking. If beef ribs came out tough, they didn’t bother me but I didn’t enjoy them either. I have always been a fan of beef jerky so it wasn’t just about toughness.

Crispy churros filled with gooey dulce de leche washed down with creamy rich hot chocolate.

The days of relying on comfort food to get me through the winter is almost over, spring is just around the corner. Right, it was copious amounts of liquor.

Buying “natural” yogurt, just in flavor people, where I live can be a challenge at times. Acquiring plain natural yogurt without high amounts of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup is down right impossible. Although I’m sure times have changed, it was no easy feat when I lived up in Buenos Aires either. I’m not going to delve into the intricacies of why because, well, I’m not sure. But, I will say, do find it odd that yogurt-based products practically have their own aisle in the refrigerated food section of supermarkets yet plain natural yogurt is not one of them. Just as I find it odd that there are probably hundreds of thousands of sheep on this island yet products with sheep’s milk are not to be found. Oh well.

The weekend before last I took a little 3 day/2 night trip over to Ushuaia with some friends to meet other friends. I had a plan of putting together a little travel guide based on notes from previous trips and this one, but I’ve changed my mind for now. So, I’ll just post the observations I noted down on the day after I returned.

I wish that I had more photos to display or perhaps a better selection. A snow storm that moved on a day before left some spectacular scenery. Stupidity and overconfidence got the best of me and my camera’s battery died early the next day after arrival. After noticing the low battery warning blink on the screen while taking the first shot, I took as many as I could, as quick as I could, while fumbling through different configurations.