Seesea Travel Blog

     

Travel Location: Mendoza,Argentina

The first day in Mendoza, we walked around the city, getting acquainted with the layout.  That night, we ventured down the street towards Plaza Italia, and discovered an annual Italian festival (there is a big Italian history in Argentina).  The festival is three days each year.  It is a fair-style layout, with food and wine vendors everywhere, a central stage with music and traditional Italian dancing, and tons of people enjoying themselves.  We were going to eat at a restaurant, grabbing a typical Argentina dinner at 11:30pm, but it was closed, most likely due to the festival across the street.

Changing out plans, we purchased the tickets ($1 peso per ticket; $0.33 USD) and enjoyed the foods of different Italian regions.  We had some sausages over polenta, a tortilla type dish with ham and cheese, olives, and of course a glass of wine.  For dessert, we sampled this delicious strawberry-shortcake type pie dish.  In total, we spent $10 USD for dinner and wine.

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Mendoza is a food and wine connesuir´s dream.  Vineyards and wineries all scattered throughout the landscape outside of the city, gourmet restaurants fill the city streets, and the dollar/euro/pound make it easy to enjoy all of it without straining your wallet.

Yesterday, Thursday, we headed off on a food/wine tour with about 8 other people.  Half of the group was from Argentina and Brazil, while the other half was gringos (Sweden, UK, US, and Japan).

During the 5 1/2 tour, we stopped at two wineries (1 small, 1 big), an olive oil factory, and a chocolate factory (which also produced gourmet jams, liquors, and dulce de leche).  Each stop allowed us to understand the processes, sample their products, and enjoy learning about Mendoza.  The tour was only $13 USD per person.  But we did end up purchasing olive oil, a few bottles of wine, and some chocolate.  We also picked up a jar of quince/walnut jam as a gift for our soon-to-be-host in Còrdoba.

After the tour, we cleaned up and headed out to meet up with a British couple that we had befriended on the tour.  The four of us met at a wine tasting room called The Vines in Mendoza.  Their wine is only from small producers in Argentina, primarily in Mendoza.  The wine flights we tried last night were amazing.  We are planning to join the wine club, (http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/wine_club/), which offers quarterly shipments of 6 boutique bottles for $145, which includes the shipping.  Sadly, they don´t ship to Minnesota, so we may have it shipped to my parents in WI.

Following the amazing wine, we ventured down the street to a restaurant recommended by the folks at The Vines.  A typical Argentine grill style restaurant, Azafràn (Spanish for saffron) was an amazing experience.  Some of the best food that we have ever had…right up their with restaurants we visited in Las Vegas, NYC, San Francisco, and Minneapolis.  Our appetizer was beef tartare, served with an avocado-cilantro paste, slices of fresh mango, and a small arugula garnish.  Rachel ordered a filet, which was grilled with a sweet & savory reduction, mashed potatoes molded into shapes of ravioli, sauteed leeks, and a slice of goat cheese.  I ordered something called Lomo, which also a beef steak.  It was grilled with green peppercorn and balsamic reduction, sauteed mushrooms with leeks.  We knew the steak would be good, but our first experience with Argentine beef surpassed all expectations.  Tender, juicy…delcious!  The bill, which also included water and a corking fee (it is common to bring your own bottles from the local vineyards to a restaurant) was $43 USD, which included tax and tip.

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Sadly, we must leave Mendoza tonight at 10pm.  Overnight, we head to Còrdoba to meet our soon-to-be co-workers and host family.  With the vacation portion of the trip coming to an end, we are happy that we had such a great time in Chile and Mendoza, but we are also excited to begin working and hopefully helping the people of Còrdoba.

Ciao,

Jeff y Rach (Mendoza, Argentina; 7-March)