

Follow along as we explore Patagonia, one trail and one glass of wine at a time.
I am paying today.
My body has deciced to do a detox of its own - violently expelling everything from my system I have loaded up in the last 5 days. Marc got me some super delish yogurt from the supermercado and I determine I am back on the wagon. 8 hours of hiking in the Tierra del Fuego National Park and I'm really back on the wagon. Speaking of trekking, if you care to read more about our journey than my food-obsession POV, check out Marc's blog with tons of great photos.
That is, until we "grab a bite" at a local pizza joint. The brushetta is phenomenal (it's summer here so the tomatoes actually taste like something) and the pumpkin calzone knocked our socks off. Should have stopped there, but you know I didn't and we wrapped up the meal with a cheese/onion stuffed pizza. That's right - had to go with the twice the cheese and crust option.
Marc says we are "gorging" ourselves which makes me feel like a fat American pig. Tomorrow is a new day ...
Our last night in BsAs and we went out with a bang ... and a stomache-ache.
After our customary siesta (from about 5 - 7pm) we headed to a neighborhood cafe, Terra Coffee, for a beverage. I went with yet another local Malbec and it will come as no surprise that Marc selected a Quisme. This time, the Litre of beer was served in a cute little pitcher!
Around 11p we headed back to Palermo Hollywood (of the previous night's sausage adventure) to hunt down some chow. We opted for a little spot called Carita Morena. We sat at a small table near the kitchen and watched massive tabletop grills piled with meat get delivered to drooling Americanos.
Hooray for empanadas on the menu. We got two as an entrada. The verdura was stuffed with creamy spinach and onions, while the carne was a deliciously spicy number. The meat had the consistency of something between a chunky italian sausage and ground beef.
For the plato principal, this place was kind enough to offer 1/2 bife de chorizo and mini bife lomo (sirloin steak and ribeye steak). We ordered one of each with papas fritas.
I have to tell you, this was the classic porteno meal I have been imagining! The meat was expertly grilled to medium-well done (my preference) and it was tender and flavorful. Like no meat I can recall in the US. The fries were thick cut, greasy and kind of like what you'd find at a London pub shop. We probably could have done without the chips - but it's hard for me not to order them.
While we were completely stuffed from the main course, I took it upon myself to order dessert - Panqueque con Dulce de Leche. A crepe with rich, creamy caramel. Wowza.
To top it off, we drank a "3/4 bottle" of Malbec, but since it was 750ml, we counted it as a full bottle.
All told, the meal was more food than two people should have eaten and only cost us about $30. We waddled home around 1am and crashed out for 2 hours before we had to be up again and catching our flight to Ushuaia.