cheese, che, & chorizo.

our third day in los reartes brought an old friend of philip’s mom for a visit. we had since decided to make our way to alta gracia, a two hour drive north, the city which che guevara called home. a breath taking drive through the sierras brought us to a charming little city. our first stop was the Jesuit estancia, an impressive collection of stone buildings in the middle of the city that once housed a large Jesuit community. after wandering through the history filled buildings, philip and i relaxed in the park while his mom and her friend had themselves a guided tour (not particularly our style). we’d packed a substantial lunch of breads, cheeses, and fruits which we partook of in a waterfront, shaded park.

after lunch we made our way to the former home of che guevara’s family. full of relics of his time in alta gracia and beyond, it was a purview into the life of such a profoundly influential and dynamic man. lines of his poetry around every corner, letters to his wife and children, and photographs capturing famous and infamous moments this home is a well visited attraction in argentina.

we made our way back to v.g.b. and were treated to scrumptious coffee and pastries by philip’s mom’s friend; a delicious way to end a day of tourism.

and then i experienced my first…asado.

first of all, let me say, i broke my new found vegetarianism like it was my job. i figured if i was going to truly experience argentine culture, i had to partake in one of its largest facets: the meat.

asado, literally, means barbeque but, my friends, it is so much more than just a barbeque. asado is a way of life. it’s a process that, when all is said and done, takes about five hours. we were invited to an asado for friends at julieta & tati’s that evening an event was definitely anticipating.

in argentina there is no such thing as a gas grill and anything resembling it would be disgraceful. asado begins with either wood or coal that is lit and then let sit for between one or two hours in a pile, within the grilling area, so the coals or wood embers are glowing like a bat out of hell before any kind of cooking commences. once the coals are ready, they are transferred from the glowing pile to beneath the metal grill, then begins the parade of meats. asados, at bare minimum, have three cuts of meat but my first one had about six. from chorizo to marsilla (what i later found out to be blood sausage), i tried everything put on my plate. timing is so integral with so many cuts of meat and tati was the man for the job; such an impressive show.

the meat down here is just phenomenal. all grain fed and free range, it’s a veritable feast for the carnivore. (just to give a little perspective, there are more cows than people in argentina.) needless to say, i had a baptism by asado fire back into the meat eating world, and what a delicious fire it was.

the carnivorous miranda.