Tuesday night, my Spanish school hosted a dinner at El Desnivel, a typical Argentina parilla (steakhouse). I went with a couple of other people from Road. Because it was my first parilla in Argentina, I decided to splurge and not worry about the cost whatsoever. I ordered the FINEST steak on the menu (loma), along with a nice side item and a drink. Including the tip, the approximate grand total came to a whopping $17. That's right--17 US dollars. I could have ordered a medium cut of steak for about $7 if I had wanted to. And El Desnivel is not atypical. Food (particularly beef) is VERY cheap in Argentina. Most restaurants average about $5-$7 for main plates. A typical alcoholic drink like a daiquiri or margarita will cost $3 or $4, and only a 10% tip is expected. What all this adds up to is a very UNHEALTHY summer of MASSIVE QUANTITIES of eating for me!
We also got to do a little exploring of the area of San Telmo, where El Desnivel is located. Although the area did not seem to be the safest, we were glad that we got to see this historic part of town where tango originated in Buenos Aires. Among the attractions we saw were the narrowest building (pictured at left). Also, on the walk from the subte over to the restaurant, we got a nice view of the Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada at night (pictured below).
No comments:
Post a Comment