El Tigre

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Saturday we had a trip to El Tigre, a city which is just north of Buenos Aires, and the Parana River Delta. We toured a series of islands and waterways, where many people have weekend houses. It sort of reminded me of in the United States how people have lakeside cottages they go to during their days off.

Instead of roads, there are rivers, and instead of cars the people have boats. Even their supermarkets are on boats. It was a really pretty area to see, and it was nice to have a day away from the city, even though I’ve found I love living in the capital.

We spent most of the day at a recreation area called El Alcazar, which had beaches, areas for sports, and food. One of the highlights of our day was lunch, when we ordered a parillada. Parillada is basically a mix of all types of grilled meat, made fresh over the coals by men (I suppose asado is a macho thing, equivalent to guys in the U.S. grilling). The freshly grilled meat is put on a mini-stove that you take with you to your table so the meat stays nice and hot.

Parillada was a fantastic cultural experience. Not only do you get different kinds of meat with your parillada, but different cuts, including the innards. While we were waiting for it, I thought of asking the men at the parillas what everything was, but I figured it was better to eat first and ask questions later. With some help, we managed to identify brains, kidneys, and possibly some heart and intestines. For those who are less daring, the usual (by American standards) parts of the animal are also included. It’s all served in a hot heap with lemon and chimichurri, a spicy herb sauce.

I tried a little of everything, and I have to say I was surprised at how good the brains were! The first bite was decent, but after the second and third I was pretty impressed. It’s cliché to say, but they taste like chicken. The heart didn’t have much flavor, and the intestines (or were they kidneys?) weren’t very popular among us—it kind of tasted like chewing on fat. I have pictures of all the goods that I will post as soon as I get a cord for my camera.

Culturally, I knew the Argentines like their meat, but you don’t realize how tough it can be on your stomach to eat just meat for a meal if you’re not used to it until you’re faced with a parillada. It was good and we all enjoyed it, but we ended up sharing it with around 9 or 10 other people since we couldn’t finish it and wanted to avoid the shame of returning our plates half full. More than the meat, I liked the idea of community around the meal (you’re all digging out of one big platter) and the idea of using the whole animal.

After sunbathing and letting all that carne digest, we took a boat to the Puerta de Frutas (“Port of Fruit”), an open air market where there’s actually only two stands with fruit. By this point in the day we were feeling pretty lethargic, especially since we had spent time baking our pale selves in the sun. It didn’t help that we had stayed out the night before until 2:00 a.m. (early by Argentine standards) and had to meet up to leave Buenos Aires before 9:00 a.m. (Thank goodness for café!) We pretty much drank some licuados (smoothies made with fresh fruit) and walked around a bit. I went on a quest for a mate, but the only ones I could find were a bit too touristy.

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Photos

Tigre
Supermarket boat!

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Parillada for three

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Let's play "Guess the innard!"

Tigre
Where we spent the day