Argentina

I am back in NYC after a month and a half of travels - a full month in Buenos Aires! They pronounce it something like "bwo-nus eye-eee-des"

What a place. It's like the europe of South America. Heavy on the Italian and looks like Paris at times.

A group of friends talked about going there a number of years ago and it didn't work out but left me always wanting to go there, so when I realized my schedule and housing situation were aligning perfectly to allow me some free time I pulled the trip together quite quickly.

The vacation part of the trip worked perfectly, I found myself in a place far away from New York City and with a world of new sights and sounds and tastes to experience - and there was no rush, I had plenty of time.

Of course, taste was a big highlight. They are known for two things - their many cows and all the beef they provide and their lovely red wine - Malbec. That doesn't get much closer to the center of my culinary inner motivations so I was at home. The only thing missing - sauces. They're not French.

Their two most ubiquitous foods are pizza and empanadas. They are everywhere. Honestly, I don't know how they can not get sick of seeing them everywhere. But they are good. The pizza is different from ours and I like it better. Empanadas are getting a foothold here, but we have much to learn from them, for example making the bread thinner so it's not so doughy. Here is where we could quickly take them over. They only have like five types of empanadas. If someone here were to learn how to make empanadas right, and then to go crazy with all kinds of flavors, we could one up them. Our dollar is doing so bad against other countries, we must find some new place to dominate!