Little Italy
Monday, December 29, 2008
You’ve heard it before: Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America. Generally I’m leery of these descriptions, the ones that overlay one culturally distinct place upon another as a way to characterize it. I once read an article that described Portugal as “the poor man’s Italy.” While I’ve never been to Italy, Portugal seemed to have an identity unto itself, and I found it difficult to imagine that I was anywhere but Portgual. But as we rolled into Buenos Aires early yesterday morning, the streets still emptied of people, I couldn’t help but think, “I feel like I’m in Europe.” We made our way to where we’ll be staying for the next week and a half, an old mansion from Buenos Aires’ golden age that’s been converted to a guesthouse. A narrow marble staircase greeted us, as stained glass windows looked down from their high perch. A small salon with exposed brick rested at the top of the stairs, which opened onto a lovely patio. I felt like I was in Paris.
During Argentina’s wave of immigration in the 1800s, nearly two thirds of Buenos Aires’ population was European, primarily of German, Russian, Polish, and Italian descent. Wealthy portenos wished desperately to be European; they emulated popular French architecture of the period, even going so far as to import building materials from France. South America’s oldest subway system lives in Buenos Aires, its original wooden cars from the early 1900s still in operation, looking like something that should be rocketing under the streets of Paris. This European influence is felt everywhere throughout the city, from grand edifices to fashion and especially food.
Argentina is known internationally for its steak, but what gets less notice is its Italian cuisine. Due to the huge influx of Italians during the last 200 years, their food has become a mainstay of the Argentine diet. A stroll through the grocery store at Christmas revealed thirty different kinds of panettone, an Italian holiday dessert bread, and well as an entire wall of fresh pasta in the refrigerated aisle. Menus scream milanesa, the tender steak pounded within an inch of its life and dredged in breadcrumbs, while daily specials often include pizza, ravioli, fideos, and pasta shapes I’ve never even heard of, like sorrentinos. Buenos Aires is a city where you can walk into a modest cafe and expect a heaping plate of homemade pasta and sauce for a few dollars. God bless Argentina!
The 29th of each month is known as the Day of the Gnocchi when, throughout Argentina, every restaurant serves gnocchi. The story goes that, when money was tight at the end of the month, people sought out gnocchi, a potato dumpling that is both filling and quite cheap. While Argentina is now one of the wealthiest countries in Latin America, the tradition remains. Realizing it was the 29th, we marched into a restaurant today and, while it wasn’t listed on the menu, asked if they were serving gnocchi. “Of course,” responded the waiter, “it’s the 29th.” Minutes later a deep bowl of perfectly steamed dumplings were placed before us, dressed in a lovely fresh tomato and cream sauce. It was a perfect slice of Italy right here in the Southern Hemisphere. Amen!
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You’re in an ideal place to enjoy one of my favorites, osso buco! The Argentinians understand the language of “meat” and the Italians perfect that knowledge with their renowned preperation of veal. While you’re still in the vicinity of “Little Italy”, give it a try!
Here’s what’s in the fixin’s:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/osso-buco-recipe/index.html
I haven’t seen osso buco on any menus. They tend to prefer straight pasta dishes, like raviolis and noodles. I guess it’s sort of like the American-Italian dishes you’ve come to know.
Here’s an idea! Download the menu I sent you earlier, take it to the best restaurant you can find in “Little Italy”, give it to the chef, and see if he can prepare it for you and Maikael! Of course he’ll make it; it’s the 31st!
Have you clicked on Chris and Jodi’s blog site lately? You should as it looks like they are in Buenos Aires right now. Here’s a sample of what they had to say (which is only about 25% of their total entry:
“Our last days in Buenos Aires
Posted by chris on Tuesday December 30th • Argentina Category
Originally we planned to spend about two weeks in Buenos Aires, but getting short on time we decided that we couldn’t stick to our original plan. At most, we would only have six days—at the minimum three days if we made the trek to Iguazu Falls. Fellow travels told us that two to three days was enough to experience Buenos Aires. Thank goodness we didn’t heed their advice. Instead, we listened to fellow Seattleite and residence expert Tango Tina who recommended skipping Iguazu Falls for a longer stay in Buenos Aires. Based on the short time we spent in Buenos Aires we agree with Tina that a longer stay is preferable. We don’t feel Buenos Aires’ essence can be absorbed in three days, much less one month.
That being said, here’s our take on some aspects of this eclectic city.”
They are actually back in Seattle right now, but we’ve been in touch and they’ve given us some great recommendations. They went home for a few weeks before starting the next leg of their journey in Asia. I wish we could have met up!
From what I’ve read, the site of “Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre” – “City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds”) – Buenos Aires – was originally discovered in 493 years ago but a permanent settlement wasn’t established until 64 years later in 1580. These days, Buenos Aires is the home to over 13 million people which is larger than any metro area in the U.S.A.!
Frankly, I don’t know much about Buenos Aires’s 493 year history. Mostly I recall Argentina’s more modern history which includes the
Juan and Eva Perón period of the middle 1940’s and early 1950’s. Where many people had mixed emotions about their leader, Juan, many others embraced Eva who was affectionately referred to as “Evita”. Here’s a little bit about Eva that you hopefully might find interesting:
“María Eva Duarte de Perón (7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952) was the second wife of
President Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974) and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita, which literally translates into English as “Little Eva”.
Born out of wedlock in rural Argentina in 1919, at the age of 15, she made her way to the nation’s capital of Buenos Aires, where she pursued a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. Eva met Colonel Juan Perón in 1944 at a charity event in San Juan, and the two were married the following year. In 1946, Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina. Over the course of the next six years, Eva Perón became powerful within the Pro-Peronist trade unions, essentially for speaking on behalf of labor rights. She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health, founded and ran the charitable Eva Perón Foundation, championed women’s suffrage in Argentina, and founded and ran the nation’s first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party.
In 1951, Eva Perón accepted the Peronist nomination for the office of Vice President of Argentina. In this bid, she received great support from the Peronist political base, low-income and working class Argentines who were referred to as descamisados or “shirtless ones”. However, opposition from the nation’s military and elite, coupled with her declining health, ultimately forced her to withdraw her candidacy. In 1952 shortly before her death from cancer at the age of 33, Eva Perón was given the official title of “Spiritual Leader of the Nation” by the Argentine Congress.
Eva Perón has remained an important cultural figure in Argentine society, where she has been the subject of many biographies, novels, plays, documentaries, motion pictures, and museums. Cristina Fernandez, the first female elected President of Argentina, claims that women of her generation owe a debt to Eva for “her example of passion and combativeness”. Outside of Argentina, “Evita’s life has evidently just begun” as she has “attained the condition of apotheosis — becoming a deity in the new world pantheon of electronic celebrity.”
With thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber, many of us became familiar with Eva Peron from having been introduced to his “Evita” a few years ago. And, with thanks to “Evita,” many more of us became a little more familiar with the talents of Madonna. Check these out for quick review of both political and musical history:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUYMtCr_ic
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdD3MUFKleQ
And you discussion of “Little Eva” would be complete without this:
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5OoQadZTPk
I’m curious if the local stages of Buenos Aires sill produce “Evita”. If they do, I hope that you and Maikael can get a couple of tickets and see it. It would be interesting to see how an Argentinean production company would treat this worldwide favorite of many!
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
It won’t be easy
You’ll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love
After all that I’ve done
You won’t believe me
All you will see
Is a girl you once knew
Although she’s dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you
I had to let it happen
I had to change
Couldn’t stay all my life down at heel
Looking out of the window
Staying out of the sun
So I chose freedom
Running around trying everything new
But nothing impressed me at all
I never expected it too
Don’t cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don’t keep your distance
And as for fortune and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world
They were all I desired
They are illusions
They’re not the solutions
They promise to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me
Don’t cry for me Argentina
Don’t cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don’t keep your distance
Have I said to much?
There’s nothing more I can think of to say to you
But all you have to do
Is look at me to know
That every word is true
Osso-Buca? I’ve just found a great place right here in San Miguel de Allende that makes it great.