American Chicken Has Finally Arrived In Cordoba

(UPDATED ON 12/2/2019: AMERICAN CHICKEN WENT OUT OF BUSINESS)

There's good news for American expats living in Cordoba who have been craving some KFC, but don't feel like traveling to Buenos Aires. American Chicken, which is located in Boulevard Chacabuco 721 now offers a variety of fried chicken items.

While the menu may not be an exact match to KFC, it comes pretty darn close. They offer popcorn chicken shakers, chicken burgers, chicken wings, and even a bucket! 

The Super American 2 Menu Option. Look at the menu below to see what it comes with.

The Chicken Burger is delicious, but a bit more reminiscent of the Wendy's Chicken Burger

You can eat there, or order it to go. Just don't panic when you look at the prices. Remember that these are in Argentine pesos and 1 USD is currently worth $20.20 USD. You can do your own math on the converted costs here.

You can choose from three different sauce flavors like honey, barbecue, or spicy. You can also order sides like Cole slaw, French fries, and even mashed potato with gravy. 

Popcorn Chicken after I shook the heck out of it!

Small mashed potato with gravy. You can order a large too.

There are only two cons that I've found so far. For one thing, American Chicken doesn't have a phone number that you can call to place an order. I went on their Facebook site and even on Google to look for a phone number to call, and they didn't have one. We asked and they said that they don't give out their phone number because there are only three people working and they're too busy cooking and helping customers. So for now, the only way you can reach out to them is through social media, or by showing up.

Now the chicken wings, popcorn chicken, and chicken strips are great! But the other con I found is with their chicken breasts and chicken legs. They don't take the skin off, so after you've bitten through the crunchy outside, you wind up with a glob of fatty skin in your mouth, and no, that doesn't happen with KFC chicken. The last time I ordered from American Chicken, I found that the meat was a bit too pink, which might have explained why it was also chewy too, but I quickly took care of that by sticking it in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Oh, and before I forget, here are their hours of operation.

Hours

Saturday         12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

Sunday           8 PM - 12 AM

Monday          12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

Tuesday          12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

Wednesday     12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

Thursday        12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

Friday             12 - 4 PM, 8 PM - 12 AM

So those of you who have visited Chicken Brothers in Obispo Salguero 712 might be wondering what the difference is between American Chicken and Chicken Brothers. Chicken Brothers' crispy chicken is made of Rice Krispies to get that crunch we all love and miss so much. 

Chicken Brother's friend chicken version using Rice Krispies

Chicken Brothers offer an alternative using flour, but I haven't tried it so I can't comment on that. I would have done a taste test, but Chicken Brothers has been closed for renovation for weeks, and no one knows when they'll re-open.

All in all, the people working at American Chicken are friendly, and there's always a chance that they'll continue to improve their recipe, as in, not leaving the skin on some of their chicken pieces. But they better hurry up! Rumors are circling that KFC, Wendy's, Pizza Hut and Sbarro's are looking to set up shop in Cordoba before the end of 2018. 

But for now I'm impressed that Cordoba has a fried chicken place, and I would still recommend this place to anyone, locals and expats alike.

Argentine Starbucks Say Drop Dead to Plain Bagels

No Bagels? WTF Starbucks?

Yes. It’s a sad day for any expat living in Argentina who's a plain bagel lover and looks forward to their fix from Starbucks. Up until a few months ago, I relied on this popular international coffee joint to provide me with my Frappuccino fix and my plain bagel with cream cheese.

Cue Patti La Salle's "It's over," because that's exactly what it is. Starbucks in Argentina no longer serve plain bagels. When I asked several baristas, they told me they didn't know why and tried offering me an alternative, which is an "Everything Bagel" that contains Asiago cheese, poppy and sesame seeds, onion and garlic. No thanks!

To say that I was a little ticked off would have been an understatement. The only other place I could turn to for help would be Walmart, which until recently, offered a few bagels every now and then, but they're as rare to find as bacon and Mac and Cheese. So, I decided to reach out to the Powers That Be at Starbucks using social media to ask why they’d discontinued the plain bagel in Argentina. Did I get a response? Uh, that would be a huge no!

While Starbucks Argentina read my message, they never bothered to respond. So, I figured, the company down here was probably slacking off. It wouldn’t shock me. A few years ago, I e-mailed McDonald’s Argentina to see if they’d consider adding a more Americanized breakfast menu, and they suggested I leave Argentina to find my Americanized breakfast somewhere else. So, I reached out to Starbucks in the States to let them know what was going on. They also read my message, but failed to respond.

Fortunately, there's hope as we recently learned that Walmart stores in Argentina get a fresh supply of bagels at the beginning of every month, but they sell out fast. And as you can see, I already cleaned one store out last month, but when I went again this month, I was out of luck. It's a shame too because I bought a new toaster and everything.

I've come to the conclusion that my love affair with plain bagels is over for now. But I’m holding out hope that they may return some day. Until then, I’ll just count my lucky stars that I can still enjoy my Frappuccino.