The best pizza place in Argentina, Pizza Piola, is opening a new branch in Palermo Hollywood.

The new store will open on Gorriti 5751.

Not sure what the opening date is but we’ll update this post with the details once we have ‘em.

The colorful pizza heaven has locations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, the U.S. and Turkey.

Oh, how lucky those countries are!

In Buenos Aires, Piola is located on Libertad 1078, just a few feet from Santa Fe.

*Special thanks to pizza lover “E Squared” for this slice of information.

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The New York Times today published nice little overview of places to eat if you don’t dig on meat.

For those who are vegetarians or who have vegetarian friends or relatives, it might be a good idea to bookmark this list for future reference. If you know of other good options for vegetarians, please leave a note in the comments sections. We’ll compile a list of the best places and publish it later.

You can check out the Times story here.

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The U.S. Embassy and the Centro Cultural Borgeswill open a photography exhibit Thursday highlighting the work of the great American photographer Steve McCurry.

McCurry is well-known, among other things, for taking the deservedly-famous photo of the green-eyed Afghan girl seen above. It was originally published on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985. Check out his blog here to see more of his stunningly good photos.

The exhibit will run February 25 through March 31.

Details follow:

What: Steve McCurry photography exhibit
Where: Centro Cultural Borges, San Martin & Viamonte, Room 21, downtown Buenos Aires
When: M-Saturday 10am-9pm, Sundays 12pm-9pm
Contact: 5555-5359

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Argentina, like Winston Churchill once said of Russia, is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”

The country is hard to understand, harder to explain and impossible to predict. Its bursts of economic growth and progress are consistently interrupted by fits of frustration every decade or so.

Over the past 50 years Argentina has seen 17 years of recession and another 17 of hyperinflation, according to a recent Deutsche Bank report.

In 1913 Argentina was the world’s 10th richest nation. In the U.S. in the 1930s people used to describe an exceptionally wealthy person as “rich like an Argentine.” But since then Argentina has stumbled in and out of trouble, failing to capitalize on its vast natural resources and educated population.

Between 1950 and 2003, Argentina’s per capita gross domestic product actually shrank 19% to US $3,760 from US $4,656. In the same period, Chile’s per capita GDP rose 173%, Mexico’s jumped 201% and Brazil’s soared 269%. Though these three nations’ growth started from a much lower base, they all made consistent progress while Argentina declined. Clearly, something went wrong.

What? (more…)

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To the potential dismay of countless Latin Americans, regional etymologists and local language lovers, Argentine President Cristina Fernández referred Monday to U.S. citizens as “americanos” and not “estadounidenses,” or, more commonly, but less accurately, “norteamericanos.”

“When few or no Argentine tourists came here, this place filled up and continues to fill up with Spaniards, French, Germans, Americans, Englishmen who came to to visit…,” Fernández said in a speech at the Calafate glacier in Santa Cruz Province.

Here’s the text in Spanish:

“Cuando poquísimos o casi ningún turista argentino venía acá, esto se llenaba y se sigue llenando de españoles, franceses, alemanes, americanos, ingleses que vienen a conocer … aquí vienen de todo el mundo.”

As many native English speakers know from personal experience, some Argentines – and, of course, some Latin Americans – take offense at such use of the term “americano,” believing (correctly) that when formally used in Spanish it refers to all residents of the Americas, not just citizens of the United States.

Like it or not, however, many – perhaps most – Latin Americans, particularly those living closer to the U.S. in countries like Costa Rica, Colombia or Mexico, commonly refer to U.S. citizens as “americanos.” The vast bulk of Argentines I know use the term this way. I know very few Argentines who regularly use the term to refer to all residents of Latin America.

Regardless, usage of the term has generated fierce debate on the streets and in the online world, including on the pages of this blog.

I first learned about the distinction while sitting in the Plaza de Mayo in the summer of 1995. A young man approached me and asked where I was from. “I’m American,” I said, thinking very little of my use of the term. “You’re not the only American here,” the man responded, angrily. “You Americans think you rule the world. We’re all Americans. But you wouldn’t know that, would you, because you think you’re the center of the world.” (more…)

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The Seattle-based bean grinder to the masses has opened a new store in downtown Buenos Aires, further reinforcing the notion that it is winning over Argentines and their taste buds.

This is the company’s 15th store in Argentina, and it’s first in an office building.

Starbucks is also about to open two other stores, both located at the UADE university, downtown.

“We’re very displeased that Starbucks is opening yet another sucky chain store in Argentina,” the company’s CEO said in a statement. “The coffee sucks and is expensive but people keep coming. They just can’t help themselves. We take their money and buy dollars in the local currency market. It’s a sweet gig.”

All right, so that’s not really what Starbucks said. Starbucks press releases always follow the same template. Here’s the real one:

“We’re very happy to be starting 2010 with the inauguration our 15th store…,” Starbucks Argentina General Manager Diego Paolini said. “This is just the beginning of a year of great growth and consolidation in the local market. We hope our customers keep choosing us as they have until now.”

Starbucks is having much more success than many of its foreign fast-food predecessors. As noted in a previous post, other companies that have crashed and burned in Argentina include Dunkin’ Donuts, Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut, Fuddruckers, Subway Sandwiches, Schlotzskys, and Wendy’s.

My favorite store is on Federico Lacroze in Belgrano. The building it’s in is gorgeous.

You can find all of the local Starbucks locations here:

(more…)

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OK, I’m completely biased and have no pretense of journalistic impartiality for this post.

But isn’t my new little pug one of the cutest dogs you’ve ever seen?

His name is Yoda Buki. He’s about three months old, fits easily in one hand and has the sweetest possible disposition. This second photo makes him look much bigger than he actually is.

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The daily La Nacion this week published an excellent interactive, Flash-based infographic to accompany an online story about beef prices and inflation.

The graphic allows you to hover over a virtual online cow, seeing how each part of the cow corresponds to different beef cuts. You can see how the prices of those cuts have risen in recent years. It’s a great way to learn the names of different cuts.

The graphic is a good example of how La Nacion is moving to catch up with media like The New York Times and, my paper, The Wall Street Journal, by improving its online offer. Clarín, Argentina’s top-selling newspaper, still trails behind with an awful website, an awful online layout, and virtually no interactive online graphics.

To see the story and La Nacion’s infographic, click here.

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By Brittany Darwell

Got milk, need granola?

Granola Mix, a customizable granola company, aims to solve that.

After a year at a Buenos Aires consulting firm, former Chicagoan Marina Lidow decided it was time for something more fun. Marina missed the cereal options she had in the U.S., so she learned to make her own. Thinking she could fill the void for others, Marina started Granola Mix with her boyfriend Adrian Carpintero. (She likes a healthy breakfast. He likes his with chocolate and candies.)

Granola Mix caters to either preference. Although they offer some pre-mixes, you’re missing out if you don’t create your own on their snazzy website. Start with your base: plain muesli, honey nut granola, chocolate, reduced fat or granola bars. Then you have 19 dried fruit choices, 7 types of nuts, 7 kinds of seeds and 12 “fun” options, from chocolate chips to Sour Patch Kids.

My selection was honey-almond granola with dried apricots, dried cherries, crystallized ginger and flax seeds. It came in a paper carton with printed nutrition information and my name handwritten. The honey almond base was not too sweet, which was the right balance to the fruit and candied ginger. The granola was nice with milk or mixed in yogurt. It’s tasty enough to eat straight out of the container, but a bit messy since there aren’t many big clusters.

I liked my healthy mix, but if you need a sugar fix, make your own at GranolaMix.com.ar. Also check out their breakfast-in-bed gift baskets.

*Brittany Darwell spent three months in Buenos Aires after graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism this year. She writes about food at HeCooksSheCooks.net.

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Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales will give a talk in Buenos Aires this Friday at 10 a.m.

The lecture, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, will deal with “Wikipedia, Wikia and the future of free culture.”

The talk will have simultaneous translation. For more information, click here. To register, call: 5252-0260

Where: Sheraton Libertador Hotel, Avenida Leandro N. Alem 1191
When: Friday, 10 a.m.

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Some of the Many Spices Used in Cooking Indian Food

By Fiorella Donayre

Five minutes into the class, Juhi Manwani’s kitchen fills with an intense and delicious aroma of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, garlic, cumin and coriander as she cooks and explains with detail how to prepare peas pilau (spicy rice with peas), paneer (cottage cheese), saag murg (chicken spinach curry) and homemade yogurt. The small group of foreign students follows closely, sipping sweet lassi and enthusiastically inquiring about the best places to find ingredients and spices. They also help, kneading aloo tikkis (savory potato croquettes) that they will later deep fry and serve with a tasty coriander chutney; they flip mung pancakes in a pan. The class wraps up with a tasting of the food they’ve learned how to make.

Juhi began cooking in 1995, after she moved to Buenos Aires and missed the food of her homeland. She started teaching Indian cooking classes in 1999 and founded a catering service the following year. (more…)

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By Brittany Darwell

Despite the ubiquity of the phrase, “puertas cerradas” (“closed doors”) doesn’t fit what Dan Perlman does. Perlman and his partner welcome at least 20 people, most often strangers, into their home each weekend for dinner. Another 12 or so visit for cooking classes during the week.

“Underground restaurant” doesn’t work either. Perlman’s Casa SaltShaker is listed in several city guides and has been mentioned in the New York Times and The Guardian. Entirely legal, with certification posted in the kitchen, “speakeasy” is also far from appropriate.

That’s why Perlman calls his in-home restaurant “a salon for food and conversation.” No pretense of mystery or exclusivity. Perlman wants people to know just what a SaltShaker evening entails: a communal table and five courses with wine pairings by a professional chef/sommelier.

“We get people who’ve read about us or got the number from a friend, and they have no clue what they’re getting into,” Perlman said. (See his comprehensive FAQ page.) (more…)

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