Camacho Watcho

In celebration of my 200th post, I thought I would list the 10 posts that have gotten the most traffic since I started my blog almost two years ago. Cheers!

#10: Cafe Maude
#9: Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza
#8: Shamrock Grill
#7: Minneapolis Restaurant Week 2008
#6: My Final Week in Uruguay
#5: Uruguay v. Bolivia (5-0) This is my personal favorite.
#4: Mate (mah-tay) Although not on the top 10 list, this is part 2 to the previous post Mate…the rest of the story
#3: Kindee Thai Restaurant
#2: Punta del Este It’s odd that I failed to mention in the post that we stayed up all night gambling in the casino that weekend – I won $400 playing craps!
#1: A to Z Produce Pizza – Stockholm, WI aka: The Pizza Farm

It’s no secret that I absolutely loved the three months I spent in Uruguay! I shared many a story last year on my blog about it and I continue to long for the good times and good food that I had there. Therefore, when I heard that Anthony Bourdain had travelled there this past February and No Reservations would be airing the show in late July, I was excited! I DVR’d the show and sought out some friends for an Uruguay party!

The scene was set to happen at my house this past Sunday with our friends Ed and Carly. They had joined Kyle and me for the last ten days of our trip and had travelled in Uruguay and Argentina with us. We were prepared to eat and drink like Uruguyans and to enjoy the show! In true Uruguayan fashion, we started out the night with some beverages and appetizers. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from Pulenta Estates in Mendoza, Argentina. We had drank that wine in Mendoza as we stood under a trelise in the dappled sunlight, looking out at the Andes Mountains in the distance. Ahhh…that was the life. Our appetizers were twofold, a chorizo wrapped date wrapped in bacon and the typical melted provolone with oregano. Sweet and salty – I love that combination! If you’re wondering, the provolone platter was a purchase in Uruguay; you see these everywhere there!

We then started the show and began our asado (the Uruguayan terminology for grilled meat fest…my translation). A few tears came to my eyes as I watched Anthony drive around La Plaza Independencia, where I ate lunch every day when I was there. And we were overall happy with his choices for locations – Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio, Cabo Polonio, Montevideo (of course). I longed to be there with him. I was a little disappointed, however, that he kept hooking up with non-Uruguayans to get his tours and information. He made a comment at one point that he had not met any true Uruguayans…uh, try talking to some of the locals. I promise, they are very friendly and many speak English. The best part of it all was he and his brother eating at el mercado del puerto…at the same parilla where Carly, Ed and I had eaten just eight months prior! The show ended and our food fest began.

A quick overview of the food we grilled and how we prepared it. A true asado is not really a grill like we know it. I wrote about it last year when I was invited to an asado by an Uruguayan, so if you’re interested in the grill and technique, I’ve linked to it here. In true Uruguayan fashion, however, we did keep the preparations simple. Just sliced some veggies (peppers, onions, sweet potato) and threw them on the grill (parilla) along with corn on the cob, a large steak and some sausages. Although we were missing the typical blood sausage and sweet breads, we were pretty proud of how our asado turned out.

We broke open the second bottle of wine, a cabernet sauvignon from Finca Familia Cassone and again we were taken back to our wine tour in Mendoza. We had wondered if the wine would taste as good as it did that day in the sun, and we were not disappointed. Wow. For dinner, we served up our food family style, with a big platter of veggies, a platter of meat and, of course, a side of chimichurri. I am in love with this chimichurri (I’ve included a link to the recipe here). The food was simple and delicious.

The only non-South American part of the evening, besides the fact that the party ended at 10pm instead of the usual 4am that would happen there, was the dessert. I had previously bought some key limes that I didn’t want to go to waste. So, although this is not typical to Uruguay, we ate homemade key lime pie for dessert. And I have to admit that it was good!

A trip down memory lane on a wonderful Sunday night. Both Kyle and I said that we can’t wait to go back to Uruguay. Punta del Este…here we come! Well, maybe not now…but soon.

No, this isn’t some reference to the Saturday Night Live skit. Fish in a box is actually one of the foods that I absolutely crave from my experience in South America. The actual title on the menu was pez en un caja hierro, translated ‘fish in an iron box’. And it was just that. Simple and delicious.

This dish is served in a restaurant right next to the hotel where I stayed in Montevideo called S. de Sarten. From the outside this restaurant was unassuming however, upon entering the courtyard, you realize it is anything but. Open, modern, and decorated with warm lights and natural materials, I loved this restaurant immediately for its atmosphere. Then I read the menu and the pez en un caja hierro demanded my attention right away. Although I didn’t quite know what this would exactly turn out to be, I was sold.

The dish arrived, served in a caste iron box (of course) with a lid and fitted inside a wooden holder. They placed it in front of me and removed the lid, letting the steam rise from the box and fill the air with smells of fresh fish and vegetables. I was in love from the first smell and enjoyed every bite. I also enjoyed it on the several other occasions when I returned to S. de Sarten during my life in Montevideo.

The other night I was craving ‘fish in a box’ so I decided to try to replicate this recipe, using my large stainless steel saute pan with lid instead of an iron box. I was surprised at how simple it was to make and how similar the results were to the original. The original recipe called for linguado (sole), onion, pumpkin, and green and yellow bell pepper. I used orange roughy, green bell pepper, onion, snap peas, sweet potato and carrots. In reality, any mix of veggies that meets your fancy will work just fine. I used olive oil to grease the bottom of the pan, then placed the fish inside with the cut up vegetables on top. Then I lightly drizzled more olive oil and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper and course ground salt. Placing the lid on top, I steamed this on the stovetop for 9 minutes over medium-high heat.

Tasting the light but rich flavors and experiencing the varied textures, I again enjoyed every bite. A little trip down memory lane and a new favorite recipe for me. And, hey, if you’re ever in the neighborhood don’t forget to try the original at S. de Sartens in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Today is another day…I believe that is what I said a few months ago while in South America. It’s true, obviously. But, it’s something to take to heart as well. Be where you are and enjoy. So, on that note, here are my final days in Argentina and my return home.

The last few days after Mendoza were spent in Buenos Aires. This was my fourth and final trip and I was finally going to do some sightseeing. Buenos Aires is made up of many neighborhoods that have such unique personalities. It really is amazing to wander through each one and experience the people, the food, the sights and the sounds. I had already spent a great deal of time in Palermo, where most of the boutique shopping is, therefore we decided to start out on our first morning for La Boca. This is a bright, vibrant area of Buenos Aires where many artists live. There is a large market with tango, vendors and small shops called Caminita and it is also the home to several of the local soccer teams such as Boca Juniors and Boca River.

The next stop was La Casa Rosada…The Pink House. This is the government building like the White House in the U.S., located near Puerto Madero. The balcony of this historical building is the setting for Eva Peron’s many addresses to the Argentinian masses. From La Casa Rosada, we strolled along until we reached the Obelisk, which is located in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Buenos Aires. With eight lanes of traffic in each direction and billboards filling the sky, this area feels like a cross between Times Square and the Champs-Élysées.

After the Obelisk, we headed to the Eva Peron museum in Recoletta. While I’d love to say that we spent hours pouring through the history of Eva Peron’s life, we actually were starving by the time we arrived, so we ate lunch. Unfortunately, after lunch we decided that since it was so late in the day, we would leave for the next adventure. It pains me now, as I hear how amazing this museum is, so I will need to return someday to properly visit it. However, the artisan pasta we had there was amazing; I highly recommend it for lunch.

After the museum, we stayed in Recoletta and walked through the Japanese gardens. To be quite honest, these were a major disappointment. The Japanese gardens in San Francisco are much better and since we had more places to go…we left after just a few minutes.

Our next destination was the Recoletta Cemetery, where Eva Peron’s body remains. The area of Recoletta where the cemetery is located is very Parisian with its beautiful streets lined with high end boutiques. We first stopped for some ice cream at Freddo’s, which is an Argentinian gelatto store that is amazing! Kyle got the malbec ice cream – another high recommendation from me! After our ice cream, we headed into the cemetery, which is just beautiful. It is, however, a little creepy to be walking through the tombs and to see broken glass and granite blocks that allow perfect viewing of the caskets that are held within. If you are creeped out easily, I would recommend staying on the main, tourist path and not walking through the narrow aisles off the beaten track, as we did. While the cemetery itself was beautiful, the church next door is also quite amazing and actually offers fantastic views of the cemetery next door from the resident chambers.

After a long walk home, we settled in and decided where to eat. Truly, if you find yourself in Buenos Aires someday and you only have the opportunity to eat one dinner – you must go to Cabana Las Lilas. Yes, it is a bit touristy, but it is absolutely the best meal, steak, antipasti platter, dessert, experience ever. That is all I will say.

And so it was my final day in South America. It had been three months of pure adventure and it was perfect.

I knew it was inevitable; my final weekend in Uruguay had arrived. But, along with this knowledge, was the arrival with two friends from the U.S. – Carly and Ed. They arrived after work on Friday and the vacation began! I’m a little behind on writing, so this one might be a little long to get a little caught up. After Uruguay, there are more adventures in Argentina to be had before we return to the U.S. so I will continue to write as we continue to travel.

Montevideo
Friday night, I took them to experience a great parilla called Terracotta. The ambiance is amazing, along with the food and the wine. In typical Uruguayan style, we had provolone on the parilla to start, a bottle of Bouza Tannat-Merlot and then we ordered steaks. Of course, we could not refuse desserts, so we ordered a lemon pastry with a red fruit sauce and we left very full and satisfied. The next stop was drinks at Bar Tabare which is a bar that we had frequented over the past couple of months and that has a great, cozy atmosphere – great for catching up with great friends.

We had much to see in Montevideo the next day, so we woke up and headed to the clothing market. Vendor after vendor, full of clothing, jewelry, local crafts and food are set up each Saturday in a park in Pocitos. The amazing part is that this market, which is so large in size, is set up within a few hours and then taken down that very night, only to be set up again in a different location, Parque Rodo, the next day. As you wander the aisles of vendors, you get a great introduction to life in Uruguay – friends greet friends and they share a mate as they shop for themselves and for family.

You cannot go to Uruguay and not have a chivito – therefore we next went to Chivitos Marcos….the best chivito in Uruguay. Believe me, in the name of experimentation, I tried my fair share of chivitos just so that I could share with my friend the best one. Although this is a chain restaurant, it’s still a great experience. First, they take the thinnest sliced steak and put it on the firey hot griddle for literally a minute per side. They ask you if you want bacon or ham (or both) on your chivito and they pile it on top. Then you get your choice of toppings – olives, mushrooms, red peppers, carrots, onions, hot peppers, lettuce and tomato. The next question is ‘cheese?’ – of course! Then they put all of this under a broiler to melt it all together and then you have your choice of condiments….mustard only for me, but they have five different varieties of mayo for you selection, if you choose. This is all on a huge bun, which makes the sandwich perfect for sharing. Wow!

Our next destination was to the Old City – La Ciudad Vieja. There, we walked around the Plaza Independencia, down Sarandi to the Plaza Matriz and continued all the way to el Mercado del Puerto. We found el Mercado del Puerto bustling with locals and tourists enjoying medio y medio and asado. We found a spot at one of the many restaurants and ordered food and drinks – medio y medio, Patricia (Uruguayan beer) and a variety of meats from the grill…salchica, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), and lomo. Eating and drinking with friends at el Mercado del Puerto is a must do when visiting Montevideo. There is not a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Once we had had enough to eat and drink, we went back to the hotel for the required nap before we went to dinner. For my final dinner in Montevideo, I chose to go to S de Sarten, which is a wonderful restaurant near the hotel and that serves the most amazing fish. In fact, Kyle and I had eaten there a few days before and he insisted that we go back again before we left Uruguay. The dish is called “pez en caja hierro” – literally fish in an iron box. It is two pieces of sole and a variety of vegetables (red, green and yellow peppers, mushrooms, onions and pumpkin). Truly the best dinner I’ve eaten and something that I will try to replicate when I return home.

Punta del Este
Sunday morning took us to Punta del Este, where we spent a relaxing afternoon by the hotel pool. We went all out and stayed at the Conrad – defiitely a great place to stay in Punta. The view from our hotel room was simply amazing. I cannot think of a better way to wake up. That night we went to a restaurant on the port where we ate the freshest mussels, calamari and paella. I could have made a meal out of just the mussels and calamari!!! We hit the casino for a bit and retired early that night – bellies full, skin burnt to a crisp, and exhausted from the previous two days.

The next day we spent a few hours by the pool and then went to Jose Ignacio. I’ve mentioned this beach town before in a previous experience, but it was so amazing the first time that I had to take Kyle, Carly and Ed there to see it too. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at La Huella and then spent the afternoon lounging on the rooftop deck, reading, throwing frisbee on the beach and taking a stroll along the beach. It was terrible to have to tear ourselves away to leave for the airport, but we knew we had a wonderful adventure awaiting us in Mendoza and we had to go.

My final weekend in Uruguay was fantastic – spent visiting and experiencing the best of the best from my travels here and catching up with great friends! I will provide more summaries on the places and things to do in Uruguay in a consolidated list in case anyone is interested for perhaps a future visit to there….and if anyone is looking for a tour guide to go there, look me up!

This is my final week of work here in Uruguay. The time has just flown by, it is amazing that eleven weeks have come and gone. Once I have a little more time, I’ll definitely do some summary blogs and provide other details. For now, I just wanted to give some miscellaneous updates.

Kyle arrived a week ago Saturday into Buenos Aires! It was great to see him and we had a nice, relaxing weekend there. Well, most of it was relaxing…we mostly strolled the streets of Buenos Aires, sat in a plaza and talked, went to a couple cafes…and then Kyle had his first Latin culture shock when we were up so late on Saturday night that we saw the first rays of light on Sunday morning. We were having such a great time hanging out with Holly that the time just flew by and before we knew it, it was tomorrow. We left Buenos Aires and arrived to Montevideo on Sunday night and Kyle got to meet everyone here with whom I’ve spent the last 2 months. We had a big group dinner on Monday evening which I know must have been overwhelming for Kyle, but kept up with all the stories, names, memories, and even the Spanish that was surrounding him!

A quick story about Kyle and a taxi driver in Montevideo. The taxis use an interesting way of determining rates here. They have a meter, but the meter tracks “units”, which then translate to pesos according to two charts – a day rate chart and a night rate chart. I had explained all of this to Kyle so he would understand when he came to my office for lunch. After lunch, I put him in a taxi and told the driver where to go, which gave the driver the green light to try to take advantage of Kyle, a tourist. When they got to the hotel, the driver pointed to the chart (the nightly rates) and Kyle said, “No, day rates”. The taxi driver acted confused for a bit, but Kyle didn’t give in and then the taxi driver acted like he just made a mistake and then used the daily rates. Nice job Kyle, especially with your limited Spanish and only being here for two days at that point! I didn’t catch on to that scheme for at least a couple of weeks when I first came down here!

Carly and Ed arrived on Friday and since then we’ve hit Montevideo and Punta del Este. Wonderful food, wonderful sights, wonderful vacation! I’ll have more updates and pictures soon!

The theme of the week is parties! It’s been so nice that the people we’ve met here have invited us to several parties over the past few weeks. The good-bye parties are starting, which is amazing because suddenly my time here seems so short. We have been to three parties already and we have another one next week as well. The best experiences so far have been when people have invited us to their home. It is so nice to be welcomed in and to spend a great evening with friends. Below are some pictures of the parties we have had recently.

Fernando and Marian’s House:
Fernando is an entrepreneur that we know through our program. He and his wife Marian have been wonderful to us! Fernando has his own business, that is connected with our program. Marian is a wonderful chef and caterer…the food at this party was fantastic! And then together they have a business of making bags from recycled materials. They are truly amazing and I’m going to miss them!

Carmen’s House:
Carmen is the Director of the program down here in Uruguay. She invited us and all of her staff to her home this week to celebrate our time here and to have some fun for Holly’s birthday! Maria Martha, our main program contact here, cooked for us which was wonderful! Maria’s family owns the Santa Rosa winery in Montevideo, so she brought a huge champagne bottle for us to share in celebration of Holly’s birthday!

Holly’s Birthday Party:
We threw Holly a 30th birthday party at a local bar and it was amazing the response! We’ve been here for 2 1/2 months but there are so many people we’ve met through work and otherwise that have made the time here so great!

This past weekend took our crowd to Punta del Este…which literally translates to East Point. Punta del Este is the point at which the Rio de la Plata, which is the river that runs between Argentina and Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is a beach paradise in Uruguay that is popular among Argentinian and Brazilian tourists and celebrities as well. And, it is amazing!

Punta del Este itself is a busy, beach city with a large casino/hotel, many boutique hotels, a beautiful port and many many beaches. The restaurants and bars are very livey and fun and the nightlife is great! Surrounding Punta del Este, both to the east and the west, are smaller beach towns that are more unpopulated and they have a remote, wonderful feeling. We were able to experience both scenes and enjoyed ourselves immensely!

We were invited to stay the weekend at the house of the director of our program. He and his wife were amazing hosts and shared their home with the eight of us who travelled there. We had a wonderful time exploring the city, going to the beaches, horseback riding, gambling at the casino and eating more than our fair share of wonderful food, including an asado and the freshest seafood!

The most amazing thing that we experienced, however, was a true Uruguayan asado at the home of our host. An “asado” is a barbecue, but the experience is truly unique, as the barbecues here are not the typical Weber variety. They are large wood-burning barbecue (parilla) outside in a brick enclosed structure. The technique of an asado is quite an art! The way the meat is actually cooked is over the embers of the fire, rather than the larger fire itself. Therefore, a large fire is started on the side of the barbecue – it is usually a typical wood here that smells fantastic when it burns – and then the fire is tended to keep it hot. The embers are reintroduced to the fire during this step to keep them all hot until they are ready to be used. Once the fire has produced enough embers, then the grill is lowered and the embers are spread out under the grill. The fire is maintained to the side and as more embers are produced and fall through the grate, they are then spread out under the grill.

The meat of the asado is truly unique as well. The saying is that “no part of the cow goes to waste”. And it’s not only the cow, there are a variety of other animals as well. The girll is filled with all types of meat and as dishes are complete, the feeding frenzy begins. The appetizers were the following: thin sausages, provolone (which is grilled over the fire in a caste iron skillet), sweetbreads, and chorizos in a bun. Then we sat down for dinner and filled half our plates with salads and then the following meats were passed: pork ribs, beef ribs, chicken, lamb, steak, and blood sausages. Typically at an asado there are also all sorts of grilled intestines, but thankfully they didn’t have them at this one…with that darned New Years Resolution of mine, I would have had to try them…gulp! After the initial passing of meat, then anything else is put back on the grill. The tradition then is that you then take your plate out to the grill and pick any other meat that you want second helpings of. Needless to say, I was still full until the following night, but it was a wonderfully unique experience!

The coffee machine is broken at work. Normally, this would be a bad thing for me…as I love coffee. But, the coffee machine here is really an espresso machine that makes single espresso, double espresso and cafe americano…which is a shot of espresso with hot water. Don’t get me wrong, these drinks do the trick. I mean, they do have caffeine, right? However, as much as I’ve come to enjoy an espresso here, I don’t think it will ever compare to a cup of freshly brewed coffee from home.

So, what does it mean when the coffee machine breaks here? It means they bring in the substitute…a coffeepot. A coffeepot that makes brewed coffee. Ahhhh! A taste of home…the time is winding down and I’m sitting here in my office with my fresh cup of brewed coffee. I can taste the Caribou and Dunn Bros., I can imagine being at Key’s and Birchwood…that is the first thing I want when I get back. A huge cup of brewed coffee.

Up until this point, I have gone only to Uruguay soccer games, meaning the games between the national Uruguayan soccer team that competes for the World Cup and teams from other South American countries. The other side of Uruguayan soccer consists of the many local pro teams that complete for the Uruguayan and then the South American titles. Everyone here is a Uruguay soccer fan, but then after that everyone has a passion for one of the other pro teams as well. There are several teams and the largest rivalries seem to be between Defensor, Penarole and Nacional.

On Sunday, I went to the Penarole v. Nacional soccer game and because it is a game between two large rivals, they call it a “classico”. It would be similar to Ohio State and Michigan playing – this would be our U.S. equivalent of a “classico”. I have to say that this experience was much different than the experience of going to the Uruguay soccer game in many ways. First of all, there are police at the Uruguay games, but there are literally SWAT team members with plastic shields and face guards at this game. There are crazy fans at the Uruguay game, but there are insanely “out there” fans at this game. There are flags and streamers at the Uruguay games, but there are fireworks and smoke bombs at this game. There are cheers and chants at the Uruguay game, but let’s just say that when the 8 year old kid sitting behind us starting rattling off chants with many inappropriate words…I realized we were attending a game of a whole new level.

So today we were Penarole fans. Why Penarole? We went with Penarole fans, and we therefore sat on the Penarole side of the stadium. When you sit on one side of the stadium, it means that there are fences outside the stadium that actually don’t allow you to mingle with the other fans. Even though we were sitting on the Penarole side, we wore as neutral of colors as we could (Penarole is gold and black…go Hawkeyes! and Nacional is red, white and blue). Before and after the game, it is apparently wise not to be associated with one team or another. I won’t get into the full history, but there is some bad blood between these two teams and there is definitely a reason why there are SWAT teams and fences to keep the peace.

To sum up the actual game…both crowds were tireless with their chants, songs, drumming, jumping, and screaming. Literally the heart of the cheering section never stopped jumping and never stopped chanting. Both teams were feisty, picking fights a few times before and during the game. The SWAT team took the field twice, including one time just 3 minutes before the end of the game. For me, however, the height of the craziness happened when a fire broke out in the Nacional stands about halfway through the second half. Literally a quarter of one section was suddenly on fire (about 10-15 rows deep and 20 seats across), and fans had to move safety a short distance away in the stands. While a couple of my friends and I watched in horror, the rest of the fans (both Nacional and Penarole), continued their rival chants, jumping and drumming and the game played on as if nothing was happening. The fire was put out a few minutes later (by the fans…no police or any safety personnel attended to it) and the fans filed back in their seats and continued on, screaming about someone’s mother and someone else’s daughter and about what you are if you are a Penarole fan…as if nothing happened. Later, talking with a Nacional fan, I found that this is typical. Of course.

The game ended in a tie, which maybe was for the best. It was a completely crazy, good experience and one that I definitely will not forget. I have pictures to post eventually, but they were taken on a friend’s camera, so I’ll post them when I receive them. Wow – what a day!