The beauty of life or thousand culinary temptations…
The chocolate devil.
From the very first day in Buenos Aires I knew that it would be a very hard time to resist all it’s temptations. In the beginning I believed that the most difficult would be to keep my steadfastness passing by those countless kiosks in the city. Indeed it is still a constant challenge to my will. I mean everybody who knows me is aware of my really bad addiction to chocolate. So to understand my suffering just imagine a dry alcoholic who is confined in the stockroom of a very big a brewery. His struggle to resist the beer must feel similar to my stuggle to resist to all those colorful chocolate bars in the kiosks.
It’s hard to describe how many kiosks actually exist in this city. It’s mad. And they all look so fancy, offering thousand different little chocolate bars, bonbons and chewing gums. A picture consisting of million little details that all together create a fatal sugar bomb. A child’s paradise. These kiosks must inspire every filmmaker to turn a movie about the beauty of childhood. In particular those moments of happiness when your mum allows you to keep the change and you as a kid get all exited, run to the closest kiosk and then spend hours to chose some sweets. I love to see kids doing this here! And fortunately they have these perfect settings for their childhood-treat experiences.
The problem for me is that I feel exactly like those kids. Exited about all the different chocolate bars, unsettled by the huge offer. And which the worst in my situation: I have the pockets full of change! I could buy whole kiosks here! Each time I see a kiosk I can’t help thinking about how it would be so easy just to get out a bill of two pesos and give yourself a little chocolate treat. And then I say to myself that I am supposed to be an adult, to have a strong will – well at least strong enough no to collapse at the sight of each kiosk. I will be honest with you. It is not easy. It is a constant fight, a fight with the chocolate devil who lives in every single kiosk of Buenos Aires…
Dulce de leche.
Well, people who are from Buenos Aires or who have been here must have laughed at me while reading the frist part of this blog entry. They must have said to themselves that if I was already too weak to resist the kiosks I would never survive this city without actually dying from a sugar overdose or alternatively gaining 15 extra kilos. And they are right. They are totally right, since this city has so much more to offer than fancy little chocolate bars at every corner.
In fact, my first contact with a new local temptation happened by accident. I was in the supermarket and intended to buy cream. Instead, I bought Dulce the leche. What a fatal coincidence! When I opened the little tin I was surpised to find in it a caramel colored matter with a sweet smell and an even sweeter taste. I admit, I immediately fell for it. I know there are many people who don’t like that because supposably Dulce de leche is one of the sweetest things in the whole world. So you really must be into sugar to eat it pure. You wonder what it exactly is I am talking about? Fair enough, the local sweet speciality is cooked condensed milk. So actually it is not surprising that I like it, since cooked condensed milk is also a very Russian speciality. It has always been a part in my life, usually accompanying tea or coffee. Or instead of cream in a cake. Yummie.
Here in Buenos Aires, I have stopped buying it pure as (expectedly) I am unable to control myself when I have it in the fridge. My selfcontrol is eventually so weak, that I end up being sugar sick all the time. (Wow, I am confessing quite a lot today..)
Alfajores.
Fortunately, people have thought of addicts like me so many alternatives to the pure consumption of Dulce de leche have been invented. One of the most famous products made with Dulce de Leche are Alfajores. It’s a confection that usually consists of two or more layers of biscuit and one ore more layers of dulce de leche or jam in between. That is a speciality that is widely spread in the Spanish – speaking world. You can also find it in Spain and many countries of Latin America. Apparently its origin lies in the Middle East.
I swear Alfajores are incredibly tasty. Amazing!!! And the temptation of eating Alfajores every day is incredibly strong, since, as you can imagine, one can buy them at almost every kiosk in the city….
Café y medialunas.
So obviously, people from Buenos Aires have developed a certain sweets consumption culture. Usually, i will not see people eating their Alfajores in the streets. The perfect way to consume some treat is together with a nice coffee. I have mentioned earlier in another blog entry the beautiful procedure of serving coffee in this city. In fact, there is a whole coffee tradition in this city. There are so many coffee houses everywhere, and theit visit definitely belongs to an authentic Buenos Aires experience. You can see photos of a really beautiful and typical coffee house in an earlier blog entry. One more thing that is really remarkable in regard to the local coffee tradition is the fact, that coffee drinking times are very felxible. It is absolutely normal to find an crowded coffee house in the middle of the night. This is obviously related to the particular night life in this city. And again, I like that!
Another local tradition is strongly associated with coffee: Medialunas! Medialunas are little, tiny croissants you will usually eat in the morning. Plain or filled like a sandwich with cheese or ham. Or both. A very interesting mix of sweet and salty.
Helado.
Buenos Aires is a city of immigrants. The majority of the population has either Italian or Spanish ancestors. And happily they have brought many of their customs over here to South America. I am particularly grateful for the Italian contibution to the local culinary culture. Everybody knows that the best icecream in the world is supposed to be found in Rome. I would claim (and I know I’d find many advocates of this opinion) that the best ice cream is from Buenos Aires. They have just incredible ice cream. Every single ice cream I have had so far in this city was an intoxicating celebration. Incredible!
Here again, the best taste is obviously related to dulce de leche. Dulce de leche ice cream pure, dulche de leche granizado (with small chocolate pieces), super dulce de leche (dulce de leche ice cream with real dulce de leche), chocolate suizo (chocolate ice cream with real dulce de leche)…and so on. Amazing!
Pizzas.
And yes, the second hyper tasty Italian speciality Buenos Aires inherited is the pizza! Seriously, I may be tempted by many things. Nonetheless, before I came here I was definitely no big fan of pizza. But, holy shit, now I am. The pizzas you get here are definitely greasy calorie bombs, but this just does not matter.
Empanadas.
The Spanish obviously have left many traces round here. One that is culinarily important for me, are Empanadas: a stuffed pastry. A form of fast food that somehow appears in many different countries. It seems to be a very easy cookable product. So it’s just natural that they are to be found in so many places in the world. At the same time, as far as I am concerned I have never experienced such an extreme offer and presence of Empanadas like here. This is actually what you eat when you need a little snack. Eepanadas or medialunas. That’s the choise you have not only at every corner but actually every 5 meters. And I must admit, I like that!
Bets about my weight are totally accepted.
So now you hopefully have a good insight in an other very important aspect of life in Buenos Aires. Beyond asado. To be honest, this culinary culture they have here will be one of the things I will miss a lot when I go home. I mean, it’s not only that they have such a wide offer of tasty food. They actually have an eating culture that reflects the local way of life. They enjoy life and one important way to do so is by eating. Life seems to be a lot about indulgence and about socialising. You usually never see anyone eating in the street. If they eat, they sit down, they enjoy the procedure of being served and of eating itself. They spend time with friends. Food, drinks, cigarettes seem to be crucial parts of life. Vices just naturally belong to a good life and are celebrated. It so refreshing to absorb this atmosphere and to allow yourself to drift.
„Vices just naturally belong to a good life and are celebrated.“ I like that!
Again, Waleria, WE are going to eat a lot in…23 days now!
My schedule in Buenos Aires : party, dance, eat and listen to every single thing that happened since you’ve been there!
I will not eat for days before I come to I will have room for this delicious food!
It’s funny that you’re dulce de leche addict, this is going to be crazy and I’m sure you’re still skinny!
And about the kioscos ( ?), don’t worry, I’m friend with a guy who works in the kiosk next to my cousin’s flat, it’s all about having the right connections…
Besos.
ps : you are allowed to pick me up at the airport with dulce de leche ice cream like I said and medialunas con dulce de leche, of course!
omg i am so hungry now. i think im gonna go out and buy every item of food you just mentioned and eat myself to death! haha thanks for the icecream times today! xxxx