Beatle-Mania

Latin American Beatles, anyone?  Last night the Velma Cafe in Palermo Hollywood (located at Gorriti 5520) offered us just that.  The place doubles as a cafe and a theater, both are adorable.  Our friends Allison and Scott at Married and Mobile invited us to the show a couple of weeks ago and were nice enough to buy tickets in advance on our behalf.  You buy tickets for a specific table, and have a waiter to order food or drinks from during the show, and we happened to snatch up the last table in the place. 

The 4 BeatleBand did a pretty good job on Beatles songs, and they did their very best to play the part.  We started off with 70s Beatles and worked our way through 2 costume changes, each change taking us back an additional decade of music.  They played such classics as Jardin Pulpo (Octopus's Garden), Hey Jude, Twist and Shout, and although they didn't play it, the audience requested Amarillo Submarine.  Between the four of us, we voted that Paul was the absolute best impersonator, and John was a pretty close second.  Ringo sort of looked like somebody's uncle Julio and we're pretty sure that George was some sort of last minute fill in player.  He was rocking the guitar, but had little to offer in terms of vocals or true impersonation. 

We had a blast, and had a good chuckle over the pronunciation of certain songs, Back in the USSR, Paperback Writer and Hey Jude in particular.  Afterward, we went to a new parrilla restaurant called Miranda and had beef brochettes (basically kababs) and an ENORMOUS baked potato.  It was delicious.  It was a ton of food.  It was 12:00am.  No wonder I'm gaining weight like woah down here.

We'll definitely keep an eye out for other shows at the Velma, it was totally worth the $40 peso ticket price.  And it makes me wish we had Beatles Rock Band on hand.  I'm loving me some Beatles music.

Panini (And Holiday Drama)

Coto, you don't know me at all.

Let me set the scene:

Thanksgiving Day, 2009, I've lived in Buenos Aires for 5 days.  Our moving shipment is due to arrive in our new apartment the next day, so my plan is to go grocery shopping, clean the apartment and prepare to welcome our belongings to our humble abode.  I venture out to the closest grocery store, Coto, for my first Spanish-speaking grocery shopping trip.  I should mention that virtually every store in Bs.As. delivers, and since we don't own a car, I had our groceries delivered.  I was prepared, since I barely knew how to spell my name in Spanish, I bring a card with our new address written on it so there would be no confusion about destination of our groceries.

I pay for the groceries, went to our empty apartment and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Imagine my surprise when - count them - SEVEN HOURS LATER we have still not received our groceries.  We have to call a coworker of Jon's to call the Coto helpline to figure out where our groceries were, only to find out that they were sent to the wrong street.  Why that didn't warrant a phone call from Coto, I'll never know.  Not only that,  we shouldn't expect to see our things for at least another 3 hours.  SERIOUSLY?!  TEN HOURS for delivery??  We live like 10 blocks from the store.  Worst. Shopping. Ever. 

So, on Thanksgiving night as we waited for our well-traveled groceries to arrive, we tried Panini for the first time.  Panini is a chain of café-style restaurants with a location directly across the street from us on the corner of Libertador and Callao.  Across the street was as far as I could have made it, since I had sat in an empty apartment for over 7 hours terrified of missing the blessed grocery delivery, I didn't even leave for food.  So we sat at an outdoor table on the beautiful November day and waited to be waited on.  At this point. I'm done with waiting.  We go and get our own menus.  We vigorously wave to a waitress to say that we're ready.  We wait for a plate of saltines crackers and ham made into tiny sandwiches that looks like a kinder-gardener's mid-afternoon snack to be delivered and I send it back because there's no cheese.  The waitress and her cracker plate return only for a gust of wind to blow the whole plate, crackers, ham and cheese into my lap.  I start to cry.  I swear off of Panini.

A few months later I realize that Panini may have been given a bad shake.  It's not their fault that Coto sucks.  It's not their fault that the wind gusted my food into my lap.  To date, Thanksgiving Day has been my most frustrating day here in Bs.As. so maybe it just wasn't the best time to try a new restaurant.  We have since been there three other times, and though the food has been better (it's also been worse...) the service has been consistently horrendous.

In our best meal there, Jon had a steak sandwich:

 And I had a roast vegetable sandwich

The insides were good, but the bread was stale, hard and burnt.  Bad combo.  The menu prices are reasonable, but they are all a la carte, no sides with this meal.  We had a pizza once and it was decent - but I can't tell if it's because the pizza was good or if we just desperately want this super convenient café to be good.  One thing is for sure, the service is terrible.  I went for a quick bite with my brother Chris while he was in town and when we walked in there were five employees behind the bar eating and zero employees helping the 7 or 8 tables of people in the dining room.  It's not that big of a place either, it's not like we couldn't see each other, it's more that the staff just doesn't care.  Panini is a good stop for coffee and to catch up with friends because you'll never be bothered.  More likely. they'll forget you're even there.

All in all, a big thumbs down to Panini.  Even on my best days, it's unimpressive.

US Passport Renewal

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of visiting the US Embassy in Buenos Aires for the first time.  We just received notice that we need to begin the process of renewing our resident visas, and the first step of that process is to make sure that our passports are valid for at least the next year.  My passport passed this test, Jon's however, did not.  Thus, we needed to go through the exercise of renewing a US passport in Argentina (although I think these are the same steps for any foreign country with an Embassy).  Here's how:

• Check with the US Department of State website to see if you are able to apply by mail or if an appointment with the Embassy is required for your passport renewal.  This website nicely lays out the information needed to apply for a passport renewal.
• If you are eligible to apply by mail, you have the option of actually applying by mail or physically bringing the information to the Embassy.  We opted to apply in person, which does not require an appointment. 

There were a couple things not covered by the website with regard to applying in person.

1. If you are applying for another person (ie - me for Jon) be sure to bring your US Government issued ID (passport, license, etc).
2. The renewal fee (currently US$110.00) can be paid by cash or credit card.  The DHL delivery fee that you prepay to have the original and newly issue passports returned to you must be paid in local currency cash.  

The US Embassy is located in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Av. Colombia 4300 (54-11) 5777-4533 and though it's not the prettiest embassy in the city (on the contrary, it's probably the least attractive), it is certainly a secure facility.  Getting in is similar to getting on an airplane, no electronics, no liquids and everything goes through a metal detector.  After giving away my electronics and showing my ID, the nice officers at the embassy showed me exactly where to go, Window 15.  

The waiting room was packed with people waiting for a total of 18 windows.  I waited for 15-20 minutes before my number was called up to the DMV style window, where I turned in our papers, waited in line at another window to pay the processing fee, then returned to the first window to turn in my receipt.  I was then directed to an outdoor DHL window where I waited to pay for the delivery of the passports to our apartment.  All in all, the process took about an hour, not too bad considering the number of people in the waiting room.  According to the nice embassy people, we should have Jon's new passport delivered to our apartment within 10 calendar days. 

The Need for Change

There are a countless number of cultural differences that take getting used to in a new country.  Argentina is no exception. 

Some differences take one or two instances of exposure before growing accustomed.  Little things like remembering to ring a bell and get buzzed in to enter stores during business hours (due to heightened security) or to avoid shopping in the middle of the day when many shops inexplicably close for a few hours. 

Some take months of exposure before becoming habit.  Things like kissing on the right cheek when greeting hello and goodbye to people - even during first meetings, or remembering to keep my keys in hand while leaving our Alcatraz-style apartment so that I can unlock the three separate doors on my way outside. 

And then there differences, the one in particular that inspires this post, that are easy to remember, but incredibly difficult to understand. 

Change.  Literally, coins or monedas.  There is a perpetual drought in Buenos Aires in the form of small bills and change.  It is some sort of bizarre phenomena that I cannot for the life of me figure out.  This extreme culture difference is exacerbated by the fact that coins are something that I've spent all my adult life in the US trying to get rid of.  There are literally trays of free pennies for those who just want to give away their change.  Not only that, but who uses cash anymore??  Aren't we a plastic-using society?  Not here, not in Bs.As.  All cash, (almost) all the time, and don't even try to pay with your $100 peso note because you can be sure that they don't have change.

We have managed this money drought a few different ways.  First hurdle: Breaking large bills.  Whenever we withdraw money from the ATM, we always attempt to withdraw in odd numbers, the best being a number that ends in $90.  This plan is foiled by the ATMs that only carry $100s and $50s.  Keep in mind that a $100 peso bill is roughly the equivalent to US$25, so it's not like we're toting Benjamins all over town.  Another way is to pay with a $100 at any store that will accept it, more likely at larger grocery stores or upscale shops.  We then stockpile the smaller bills in our safe for later use.  It has become my part-time job to ensure that we have small bills in our safe at all times.  It sounds silly, but it's a very real part of everyday life to make sure that you always have small bills in your wallet.  The lack of can lead to very uncomfortable situations. 
Exhibit A) I was riding in a cab with $212 pesos in my wallet (with two $100s), we arrived at my destination and fare was $18 pesos.  The cabbie couldn't break my hundred and I had no other money.  I had to short him $6 pesos for the ride, and clearly no tip.  Awkward. 
Exhibit B)  I was shopping at a small bulk health food store where the shopkeeper needs to portion out and weigh all of the items.  After putting together 7 or 8 items, I went to the register with my $100 and they couldn't break it.  And they didn't take credit cards.  And I left the store empty handed - 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

So many bus rides!

Second hurdle:  Coins.  Coins are the only form of currency for those that use buses, and since Jon uses the bus to commute, and I use it when I know where I'm going, we go through a lot of change.  People go to great lengths here to avoid giving you change.  Some small shops will give you candy instead of change when your bill is uneven.  Cashiers will ask you for change to round up your bill so they can supply your change in all paper.  Taxi drivers will round your fare down to avoid giving you coin change.  It's incredible.  So, how do you accumulate change?  The method of choice for me, up until yesterday, was to go to the bank.  I would travel to the bank, a couple times a week, stand in line like a dunce for 15-45 minutes and receive a grand total of $10 pesos worth of change.  That's right.  Even the BANK is stingy with coins.  Yesterday, I discovered the mecca of all change locations:  Retiro Station.  Retiro train station has a designated window for monedas because it is a huge bus hub and their train ticket machines only accept coins.  This window inevitably has a 100 person line, but I happen to be at the train station yesterday and it was worth it to save a trip to the bank.  I was even going to kill two birds with one stone and pay for my pesos with a $100 bill, so I could get small bills AND coins.  Imagine my surprise when I get to the window and the man behind the counter gives me $50 coins.  FIFTY.  Five saved trips to the bank.  I couldn't believe it.  And then, I couldn't believe how happy I was to receive coins.  Times have certainly changed.

Our coin reserve is plush now, although it certainly won't last forever.  Note to those in the Bs.As. area that need coins, Retiro is the place to go.  Anyone with other change and small bill tips, please feel free to share.  This is one battle that I had never envisioned myself fighting.   

Puratierra

3 de Febrero 1167, Belgrano, +54 (11) 4899 2007  - During our delightful evening at Casa SaltShaker, we asked our chef, Dan, to name his favorite restaurant in the city and the answer was Puratierra.  We waited for a chance to go with some restaurant savvy friends and that chance came last weekend.  We called on a Friday night for Saturday reservations and they had plenty of availability, especially for our requested 8pm dinner time.  We were the first ones to arrive, obviously, and the restaurant stayed empty until 9:30 or so when a stampede of people filled the place to capacity.

The restaurant looks to be a converted brownstone, with exposed brick accents and incredible lighting.  I loved every lighting piece in this place.  The tables were a little tightly spaced together, but the atmosphere was comfortable to converse over dinner.  The dining room has large windows to the kitchen, so you can enjoy watching the chefs work, while not having to battle with all of the kitchen noise.  Over the kitchen window is a large chalkboard that displays the night's specials. 

I wish I had taken photos of our food, each dish was a work of art.  We started with an amuse-bouche (my Top Chef phrase of the day) that was sent to our table by the chef, of diced vegetables and lengua (yeah, that's tongue) that was good, although I had trouble getting over the lengua part.  We ordered a small pizza and a roasted vegetable appetizer for our starters and they were the perfect size for four to share.  As a main entree, our friends ordered the squid ink linguine while Jon ordered the lomo (tenderloin, obviously, he has a new found obsession) and I had a chicken breast with potatoes.  All dishes were delicious, and as stated before, they could have been works of art.  We ordered specific entrees from the menu, but there is also an option to order a certain number of courses and have the chef decide what's best.  From what I remember, you can order anywhere from 3 to 9 courses, similar to the menu option we chose at Tegui.  This is a great option if your in the mood for an adventure, but as Jon and I still squirm when someone mentions sweetbreads, we are not quite ready for this type of experience.

We splurged and ordered dessert, although I don't think anyone really needed it.  We had an upside down apple tart that was delicious.  If you go to Puratierra, be sure to order a dessert, it was worth every bite.

This is definitely a special occasion place, the prices are higher than we spend on a weekend dinner.  if you have someone to impress, or are on a first date, this is a perfect place to go - it's impressive start to finish.