Meat! Lovely meat!! Huge great chunks of it!!
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2006
1
38
75
Trip End
Dec 13, 2006
Salta,
Argentina
Saturday, October 7, 2006
We are drooling as we type this entry and it has been 5 days since we ate this piece of heaven.
We spent the day wandering and exploring Salta. It is a nice city. Helped by the fact that it is sunny and hot and we had breakfast at a cafe on the Plaza, a nice way to start the day. You definitely feel like you've arrived back in a more European type of place on entering Argentina. Toilets work and have seats. Places are clean.
Mmmmmmmm juicy steak!
We walked to the market which was not like the markets we have seen in Ecuador and Bolivia
01 - The very colourful church in Salta
. It was more like a bunch of boutiques all connected together. Not the place to get cheap souvenirs but rather expensive one-of-a-kind pieces. (We left empty-handed once again as we have no room to lug rugs and wooden wine glasses around.)Tender, moist meat!
We made our way back into the center and took the cable car up to get a view of the city. It was a little cloudy for a good sunset but we did see a few streaks make their way through the clouds. There were also some nicely designed little waterfalls up there.
Perfectly grilled!
We got back to the hostel and asked the dueñas there where we could go for a good steak, as that had been on our minds since entering Argentina. They got really excited and animated and pointed out Monumental on our map. They kept insisting that we only order 1 filet and, if we were still hungry, to order more after. That gave us an idea of the portions they would be serving at this place.
Medium rare, melt in your mouth!
We found the no frills BBQ place full of locals, mostly families, and could tell that they meant business. No nice furniture or paintings on the walls - why cover up what people are there for? It is not the classy steak joint atmosphere that some people like but great for a good piece of meat
02 - Nice spire
. We decided to order 1 filet for Steve and a 1/2 for Tara and were pleased when that was what arrived. No salad or potatoes just two big chunks of meat. And wow was it nice. So with 1/2 liter of red wine and bellies full of steak we were 2 happy travellers. We then went to find a bar that was supposed to have good live music ("Sol y Luna" for those of you using the Lying Planet). When we showed up to where it should have been we only saw a hair salon. A moment later a very helpful (and very camp) guy came out to explain that the bar had closed down years ago but there is always a steady stream of Lonely Planet readers looking for it. He pointed us in the direction of another street with good pubs but by then we were beginning to digest our large meat meals and were ready for bed and sweet dreams of Argentinian beef!DAILY FACTS
- Stayed at: Residencial Elena, Buenos Aires 256, Salta (Tel 0387 421 1529). Lying Planet describes the atmosphere as "strange", which it was a little, but the rooms were fine and the price was reasonable. They have those toilets with a ledge on them though which we thought only existed in France.
- Tip of the day: Never order "te con leche" because you will invariably be brought a cup of steaming hot milk with a tea bag sticking out of it. Disgusting. We've found the best tactic to be to order the tea on its own and then, when the waiter arrives at your table make a surprised "oh, I forgot to ask" look on your face and ask for a jug of cold milk seperate. Don't just order milk, mind you, because it will come steaming hot and afford you very little temperature control
03 - The cable car up to the top of the mountain
. Be specific. Cold milk.- Observation: When we meet Argentinians (and indeed most other South American nationalities) for the first time, the conversation invariably goes like this (in Spanish):
"So, where are you from?"
"I'm from Wales." Pause and allow confused look to develop on asker's face. "In Gtreat Britain."
"Oh."
"She's from Canada."
Cue wide smile on face of asker. "Ah! Canada!! Great!"
- Out for food at: La Monumental, Entre Rios 202 (Tel 0387 431 7653). Monumental by name, monumental by nature. I think we've said it all. Go there. Now.
- Out for food at: La Tacíta, Caseros 396 (Tel 0387 431 8289). We popped in this place for a couple of empanadas (which were lovely) and had the pleasure of meeting the owner Porfidio who has to be one of the friendliest blokes ever. He pulled up a chair next to our table and had a good old chinwag with us. Top lad. Top place.
