From False Alarms to Fried Chicken: KFC Opens in Córdoba at Last

In early November, I wrote about how false Google information led me to Nuevocentro Shopping in Córdoba City in search of a newly opened KFC. Unfortunately, the place wasn’t open yet. The only sign of hope was a construction wall hinting that a KFC would open there someday.

One of our Argentine friends was surprised when we told her about the whole ordeal. She didn’t really get it. The first thing she asked was, “Why the rush?” We tried explaining that it wasn’t just about the fried chicken—KFC represented home for us. She still didn’t understand and gently suggested that we try to find other things in Argentina that made us happy instead of getting so attached to one restaurant. Although her words stung a bit, we knew she couldn’t truly grasp what it feels like to miss home. So we let the conversation go.

Jump to December 11th—and our dreams finally came true.

KFC, which until recently had only operated in Buenos Aires, had begun expanding into other provinces, and Córdoba was finally getting its turn. So, just like before, I rushed out of the house to see it for myself—and, of course, to bring home a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

When I arrived at Nuevocentro, I headed straight to the food court, which was surprisingly empty. For a moment, panic hit me. Was I really about to be disappointed again? Thankfully, no. All I had to do was turn the corner—and there it was.

KFC was officially open for business, and customers were already digging into their fried chicken and sides.

There was also a huge line—something you usually only see at Burger King or McDonald’s here. I jumped right in, but the wait wasn’t bad at all; within 15 minutes, I was at a touchscreen menu placing my order.

The staff was incredibly friendly and helped answer everyone’s questions, which was great because I had a few of my own. For instance, I didn’t see cole slaw or onion rings on the menu. It turns out they’d run out of onion rings, and cole slaw wasn’t available at this location yet.

Also missing were mashed potatoes with gravy and warm biscuits—staples back home. Apparently, they’re not offered anywhere in Argentina, not even in Buenos Aires. But honestly, I came for the crispy fried chicken, so I wasn’t too heartbroken.

I ordered an 8-piece bucket, two medium fries, two bacon-and-cheddar fries, a large popcorn chicken, and four medium drinks.

Since I was paying in cash, I had to finalize the purchase at the register. Before doing that, I asked one of the staff members to take a photo of me in front of the giant fried chicken bucket display. She happily said yes, snapped the pic, and sent me on my way to pay.

The area was loud and chaotic—people were placing orders faster than the kitchen could keep up—but it made sense for a grand opening. I wasn’t expecting perfection; I just wanted a bucket of chicken to take home to the hubs.

When I got my order, I noticed they’d given me four small drinks instead of four medium ones. Normally, I might have said something, but since I had a ton to carry and was taking the bus, I figured smaller drinks meant slightly less odds of spillage.

If I had one complaint, it’s that they were extremely stingy with sauces. My huge order came with exactly one honey-mustard sauce, and I had to buy barbecue sauce separately at the register.

By the time I got home, we had to reheat everything, but it was still delicious. We were just grateful we no longer had to travel all the way to Buenos Aires to satisfy our KFC cravings.

In the photo above, the hubs decided to mess with me and completely “Tiny Tim” my plate—if you’ve seen A Mickey’s Christmas Carol, you know the reference. Tiny Tim’s family was so poor they could only afford the tiniest meal for Christmas Eve dinner. Thankfully, that wasn’t our reality, and he filled my plate properly after he finished laughing. Even after we ate until we were stuffed, we still had leftovers for the next day.

This year has been emotionally and financially tough for us, so having a simple moment—something as small as enjoying familiar comfort food—felt like a much-needed break from everything. I guess that's not the kind of thing every will understand. But sometimes it's the little things, like a bucket of fried chicken, that remind us joy can show up right when we need it the most.

Thanksgiving 2025 in Argentina: A Smaller Feast, But Still Full of Gratitude

Thanksgiving has always been our second-favorite holiday, mostly because it gives us an excuse to make an outrageous mix of sweet and savory dishes. Over the years, our menu has shifted, but we always make room for the classics: turkey (or sometimes chicken), mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, biscuits, corn, and stuffing. Sadly, cranberries remain elusive here in Argentina—at least for now—and we’ve never been fans of green bean casserole anyway.

This year, though, we decided on a smaller Thanksgiving for a few reasons. First, we already did a big Thanksgiving-style meal during our halfway holiday in June. Second, both our gas and electric ovens have been acting up. While we can bake basic things like cookies, cakes, and pies (with the occasional culinary tragedy), cooking a turkey for six hours just wasn’t happening until we get them repaired. And third—our budget is tighter than it’s been in years. Many of our tenants moved out recently, some because their contracts ended and others because of property issues.

Even so, we still enjoyed a delicious meal, just the two of us.

The Main Course Misadventure

For the main dish, we ordered a chicken from a place called Good Chicken here in Córdoba City. It was, without question, the first and last time we’ll be ordering from them. We specifically asked for the chicken not to be cut because we wanted it whole. As you’ll see in the photos below… they cut it anyway.

But that wasn’t even the worst part. The real problem was the hair strands still attached to the chicken. That made us seriously question how well it had been cleaned before cooking. We ended up re-seasoning everything ourselves because Argentine food can be pretty under-seasoned. Then we threw it into our electric oven for 45 minutes to reheat before serving.

Prepping the Meal

Unlike previous years, the hubs did most of the cooking while I made a run to Cotillón Chialvo, the party store that stole our hearts on Halloween. I was hunting for Christmas decorations (more on that in an upcoming post).

Thankfully, I made it back in time to help with the final prep work. By the time we were done, we had stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and our questionable-but-edible chicken ready to go. 

It was a simple, budget-friendly meal, but considering how much we do have—especially compared to so many people in the world—we had no real reason to complain. Plus, it tasted great, and we even had leftovers for the next day.

Dessert: The Real Stars

Now the desserts? Oh, we thrived. And by “we,” I mean my husband, who is an absolute wizard in the kitchen.

The apple pie was better than ever—and not just any apple pie. This was a butterscotch apple pie. The only downside is that I am absolutely terrible at cutting pie slices, so they looked a bit tragic on the plate. Trust me, though: it tasted great.

We also made a peanut butter pie with a dark chocolate topping and a special message.

Then came our dark chocolate treats, molded into pumpkins, turkeys, and leaves. The pumpkin and leaf candies had peanut butter filling, like homemade Reese’s cups, while the turkey-shaped ones had half a cherry inside. Unfortunately, it was very trial-and-error. Most of them fell apart while we tried to remove them from the mold, but we still managed to save a few survivors.

And then there were the Pop Your Cherry Pudding Cups: vanilla pudding layered with vanilla cookies and topped with two cherries. Simple. Indulgent. Perfect.

Since November in Argentina is basically summer, we also made pumpkin spice “blizzard” drinks—blended pumpkin purée with pumpkin spice, sugar, and lots of ice. Refreshing, festive, and lifesaving in the heat.

The next day, we made Thanksgiving truffles using pumpkin purée and melted white chocolate tinted with orange food coloring. They were meant to resemble pumpkins, complete with a little pretzel-stem on top.

We also had just enough homemade pumpkin purée left to make a pie. The hubs discovered a much easier method thanks to an online recipe. In previous attempts, he baked the crust, added the filling, and then baked the entire pie again. This time, he baked the crust as usual but cooked the pumpkin mixture separately in a pan. Once it was ready, he poured it into the crust and let it chill in the fridge to firm up. 

While the final texture was more pudding-like than traditional pumpkin pie, it still tasted absolutely delicious.

Our First Thanksgiving Tree

Of course, decorating is an essential part of the celebration. We’ve done Halloween trees for years, but this year, we created our first Thanksgiving tree. We decorated it with plastic leaves, pumpkins, dark brown ornaments, gold and orange tinsel, and a few unique touches. Honestly, it turned out adorable.

This was our first attempt

Our second attempt with more ornaments and tinsel

The axe represents the villain from the film Thanksgiving

The gun is there because well...people love shooting things during the holidays

To honor those who wish to stuff themselves with something other than turkey

I added the witch hat because I didn't have a pilgrim hat until the day of

Parades and Horror Flicks

While eating, we watched the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC—last year’s version, since the 2025 parade hadn’t been uploaded yet. The 2024 parade was pretty underwhelming because of the rain, and the hosts didn’t help. As much as I love Hoda Kotb, I’m not sad that it was her final year hosting.

We were tempted, though, to watch footage of the 2025 parade that someone posted without commentary—just the parade itself. I only discovered it because actor Robert Picardo shared a clip of the Starship Enterprise float. It was followed by a giant Jason Voorhees balloon. Since Star Trek and horror are our thing, we gave it a try. Honestly? We loved it more without the constant talking from Al Roker.

Over the weekend, we also watched some Thanksgiving-themed horror movies, including:

• Thanksgiving (2023)

• Black Friday (2021)

• ThanksKilling (a terrible movie in the worst way—the turkey puppet carries the whole thing)

• Kristy (not fully Thanksgiving-themed, but it takes place during break)

We also watched a couple of Thanksgiving episodes from our favorite shows:

• Grey’s Anatomy — Season 2, Episode 9

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season 4, Episode 8

Now that the leftovers are gone and Thanksgiving is officially behind us, we’re more than ready to jump into Christmas mode. Until next time, let the festive chaos begin!

Stranger Things at McDonald’s Argentina… Minus the Toys

In case my last few posts weren’t enough of a hint, I’m a huge horror buff. I’m also a huge fan of the 80s, given that I grew up in that decade. So it’s no surprise that the Netflix series Stranger Things appeals to me. Granted, the last couple of seasons haven’t been as great as the first, but I’m hopeful that the final season will deliver a satisfying conclusion. Plus, Linda Hamilton is joining the cast, and she’s one of my all-time favorite actresses, so bonus!

Recently, there’s been a lot of excitement in Argentina about McDonald’s releasing Happy Meal toys modeled after the show’s famous characters—Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Will, and even a Demogorgon. But in most cases, the good collectibles never make it to Argentina, so I didn’t have high hopes.

Then, on McDonald’s Argentina’s Instagram, they started subtly teasing Stranger Things. It began with a receipt that had the number 11 printed on it. Naturally, I assumed this meant the collectibles would be available here. Based on the online comments, it seemed I wasn't the only one. I was only interested in the Demogorgon, but still—hope is hope. Then, on the 18th, something disappointingly strange happened.

They announced a Stranger Things menu, which included a chicken or beef burger served with the buns flipped upside down.

The names of the sandwiches on the wrappers were intentionally reversed

They also introduced a McShaker Fries bag: you toss your fries into a paper bag, add a paprika seasoning packet, and shake.

The result? Slightly spicier fries—kind of like Checkers fries but without the crunch. The bag itself as well as the seasonal packet had an image of an old-school cassette with the Stranger Things logo on it.

The cups featured a red silhouette of the kids riding their bikes, which, combined with everything else, made the whole experience feel pretty cool for Stranger Things fans.

The best part was the oversized Happy Meal box designed to look like a boombox. For those of you who aren’t as old as I am, a boombox was a large machine where you’d insert magnetic-tape cassettes to listen to music. But there was something crucial missing…

Where were the collectibles? Had they been transported to the Upside Down, or had the employees simply forgotten to include them? Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised us. McDonald’s employees in Argentina have a reputation for forgetting drinks or even entire side orders.

I reached out to McDonald’s Argentina on social media to ask why the toys weren’t included, and—as expected—they never replied. The customer service in Argentine McDonald’s is famously atrocious. I even went to one of the restaurants to ask in person, and they told me that the toys were not part of the Happy Meal in Argentina.

So, in conclusion, the only things we’re getting down here from McDonald’s are boxes, paper bags, and cups promoting Stranger Things—all of which end up greasy and stained from the food and therefore destined for the trash.

Were the hubs and I disappointed? Absolutely. Shocked? Not at all. Still, it was nice that McDonald’s Argentina did something to promote the show. And honestly, both the burgers and the fries were a bit spicier than usual. This will undoubtedly not be popular with the Argentine locals, who seem to despise anything even slightly spicy. But we were “lovin’ it” to the last bite!