According to the Economist, vegetarianism may be breaking out in full force in BAires. What happens if in the near future we can't find any bife de chorizo or entrana? Frankly, in our visits to BAires we haven't seen many veggie friendly spots though, in truth, not sure we were looking. Yet, we have had some really terrific salads there - served immediately prior to a huge steak hitting the table.
And, I wonder if chimichurri counts as a vegetarian option?:)
Argentina's meaty diet: Bife de lomo, or bean sprouts?
Aug 6th 2009 | BUENOS AIRES
From The Economist
"The discreet rise of vegetarianism in the carnivorous capital of the world"
It would do Argentines good to eat less meat as a health issue... but the drop in per capita consumption is more an indicator of the purchasing power of the minimum wage than anything else.
erik123
Aug 17, 09, 12:11 pm
I wonder who the Argentinians bribed at the statistics office to so completely out-(m)eat the Uruguayans? Since the diet is virtually the same that number should be closer together.
I wonder who the Argentinians bribed at the statistics office to so completely out-(m)eat the Uruguayans? Since the diet is virtually the same that number should be closer together.
Nonsense. What is your basis for such claim....?!?
iwanderafar
Aug 20, 09, 3:27 pm
I'll let you know if a vegetarian can survive in Argentina without wasting away... Great to hear about those salads. I was having a feeling it was going to be a difficult trip food-wise -- just bread and wine.
I'll let you know if a vegetarian can survive in Argentina without wasting away... Great to hear about those salads. I was having a feeling it was going to be a difficult trip food-wise -- just bread and wine.
I'll let you know if a vegetarian can survive in Argentina without wasting away... Great to hear about those salads. I was having a feeling it was going to be a difficult trip food-wise -- just bread and wine.
Nonsense. What is your basis for such claim....?!?
My wife told me - and she is always right!
In all seriousness - I would think the diet is pretty much identical in both countries so meat consumption should be very similar (even discounting economic conditions, etc.).
Gaucho100K
Aug 25, 09, 6:24 pm
In all seriousness - I would think the diet is pretty much identical in both countries so meat consumption should be very similar (even discounting economic conditions, etc.)
wrong !!!!!!!
You need to brush up on your economic history.....
speaking of vegetarian.... this thread should discuss Provoletas... :D
iwanderafar
Nov 19, 09, 11:46 am
Okay, now I have proof. Vegetarians can eat very well in Argentina. There are good salads EVERYWHERE. And then there are also empanadas with cheese and onion, humitas (corn meal tamale with cheese and peppers we got in Salta -- yummmm), omelets (French and Spanish style), mushroom ravioli, butternut squash ravioli, flan, gellato .....
Even Estancia Santa Suzana was able to provide a delicious vegetarian meal (sacrilege, I know).
The only thing we had trouble finding was soup. Argentinian restaurants have very little soup.
Thanks to everyone who answered my questions and provided information. We had a wonderful 3 week trip (Buenos Aires -> Iguazu -> Salta -> Bariloche -> Buenos Aires ->Colonia, Uruguay -> Buenos Aires).
erik123
Nov 22, 09, 6:44 pm
Okay, now I have proof. Vegetarians can eat very well in Argentina. And then there are also empanadas with cheese and onion, humitas (corn meal tamale with cheese and peppers we got in Salta -- yummmm), omelets (French and Spanish style), .....
Possibly fried in lard?
Gaucho100K
Nov 22, 09, 7:28 pm
Fried empanadas are a lot less common than most assume.... they are actually very hard to come by. Most all are oven baked.
iwanderafar
Nov 23, 09, 5:30 am
Besides baked are better. The fried ones taste like egg rolls to me.
And unless you are cooking it yourself, you can never know for sure that something is really vegetarian when you eat out. That applies to the U.S. as well.
SoFlyOn
Nov 23, 09, 9:57 am
Okay, now I have proof. Vegetarians can eat very well in Argentina. ... And then there are also empanadas with cheese and onion, ...
Um, what about the grasa vacuna in the dough? ... :eek:
Eastbay1K
Nov 23, 09, 10:47 am
Um, what about the grasa vacuna in the dough? ... :eek:
Shhhhhh.
erik123
Nov 24, 09, 2:22 pm
And they fry the onion in vegan sunflower oil.
Eastbay1K
Nov 24, 09, 6:03 pm
And they fry the onion in vegan sunflower oil.
You know, I once did see Florence Henderson on an Argentine TV commercial deep frying empanadas and only 2 tablespoons of oil were missing from the fryer when she was done. :D
Gaucho100K
Nov 24, 09, 7:22 pm
whats all this blabber about grasa vacuna...???? :mad:
Like you Gringos up North dont use deep frying for anything, right...???? :rolleyes:
And pleezze dont even get me started on that Chernobyl Crisco crap.... :rolleyes: :mad: :td: :mad:
El que mira la paja en el ojo ajeno tienen una viga en el propio... :rolleyes:
HIDDY
Nov 24, 09, 7:55 pm
I've never had a fried empanada however my wife tells me it used to be quite common doing them deep fried in pork fat.
Coming from Glasgow where one can get just about anything deep fried I'd certainly be willing to give them a go. ^
Gaucho100K
Nov 25, 09, 6:48 pm
Frying in port fat... hmm never heard of that. Yes to Cow Fat and Chicken fat.... but not pork lard.... must be tasty though !!!
Eastbay1K
Nov 25, 09, 6:53 pm
Frying in port fat... hmm never heard of that. Yes to Cow Fat and Chicken fat.... but not pork lard.... must be tasty though !!!
Not to hijack the thread, but what is pork fat called in argentino? (By the way, your typo was quite funny and appropriate - "port fat." A nice tawny? :D)
Gaucho100K
Nov 25, 09, 6:59 pm
pork fat would be grasa de cerdo o grasa de chancho... not sure it has a dedicated name but I will check with my Carnicero tomorrow since I have to see him to place my order for the weekend asado !!!!
SoFlyOn
Nov 26, 09, 9:49 am
...
And pleezze dont even get me started on that Chernobyl Crisco crap.... :rolleyes: :mad: :td: :mad:...Well they have to do something with all that soybean oil. Et voilą! Crisco. :rolleyes::D
WillTravel
Nov 27, 09, 8:06 pm
pork fat would be grasa de cerdo o grasa de chancho... not sure it has a dedicated name but I will check with my Carnicero tomorrow since I have to see him to place my order for the weekend asado !!!!
I looked up "lard" on Babelfish. I'm not sure which version of Spanish Babelfish favours, but it provided "manteca de cerdo". So far as I can tell from my visits, "manteca" is used in Argentina to mean cow butter, but in Mexico and Spain, "mantequilla" is used for butter. Then I found this definition for "manteca" on Wikipedia:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manteca
However, "pork fat" differs from "lard", I think, in English, so would the corresponding Spanish terms be "grasa de cerdo" for pork fat and "manteca de cerdo" for lard? And would the latter term be used even in Argentina?
alanw
Nov 28, 09, 12:41 pm
In Spain, manteca de cerdo is (rendered) lard. Grasa de cerdo would, technically, be pork fat but it's typically called by other names depending on the form and what it's used for.
Also I know of Gaucho's quote in post 23 isn't a typo, but that means something really, really, really different in Spain than it does in Argentina. :)
Gaucho100K
Nov 29, 09, 4:47 am
The above distinction between manteca and mantequilla is correct...
Panam Clipper
Mar 6, 10, 2:33 pm
New York Times article about meatless restaurants in Buenos Aires
Well written and properly researched.... good article. These dont come in so often these days...
Gaucho100K
Mar 15, 10, 1:42 pm
Glad you had a couple of good vegetarian dishes.... did you get to try any of the dedicated vegetarian places..???
jbcarioca
Mar 15, 10, 1:54 pm
Vegetarian places are popping up in some unexpected places in the whole Southern Cone. Rio now has about four decent places, including two that are vegan. One, Vegan Vegan even has vegan Feijoada, proving that anything at all is possible. I actually quite like it. I tried two such options in BA and liked them both. SCL has some also, so serious vegans can visit much of the region and remain in compliance.
Gaucho100K
Mar 16, 10, 11:50 am
Are Vegans allowed to consume eggs & milk...?
andimal
Mar 16, 10, 1:36 pm
Are Vegans allowed to consume eggs & milk...?
They are not. Generally no animal products/byproducts at all, sometimes including even honey (from bees) and cane sugar (apparently processing involves bones somehow) depending on how strict they are.
Gaucho100K
Mar 20, 10, 7:51 am
They are not. Generally no animal products/byproducts at all, sometimes including even honey (from bees) and cane sugar (apparently processing involves bones somehow) depending on how strict they are.