Tucson Steak House & Bar: A Little Taste of Home

(UPDATE 01-31-2020)

We're always on the look out for a good American restaurant in our host province of Cordoba. But we don't go out as often as we'd like. So sometimes, we rely on our Argentine friends to tell us about a new restaurant in the area.

A few weeks ago, our friend Franco and his mom took my husband to Tucson Steak House & Bar in Felix Olmedo 2018, Rogelio Martinez. The name of the restaurant was a dead giveaway. It was an American restaurant. It had to be because Tucson's in Arizona. But would they have actual American food?

Luckily for us, they did. My hubby loved the food so much that he brought some home for me to try that night. And I couldn't believe it! Right in front of me were barbecue ribs, roasted potatoes with cheese, chives and bacon bits, and mashed potatoes with cole slaw!

Barbecue ribs!

This is what the barbecue ribs looked like when my hubby had them at the restaurant

Mashed Potatoes with cole slaw

Potatoes with Cheese, chives, and bacon bits

There was another side dish that put a smile on my face called a blooming onion. I hadn't had a blooming onion in over seven years and the only place I'd ever seen it was at Outback Steakhouse. Unfortunately, they don't have that restaurant in Argentina. So I gave up hope of ever having it again, unless I made it myself. 

But I love onions, so I was elated that the blooming onion was on Tucson's menu. I didn't take a photo of it because it didn't fare so well on the way home, but the taste was amazing. I highly recommend it. 

He also brought home some spinach dip. Again, it was a favorite side order of mine when we were in the States, and I never expected to see it on the menu here. And while it looked weird in a takeout box, it was delicious!

And there were other things on the menu that I wanted to try, so the following week, we went to Tucson.

The first things we ordered were the appetizers, which included some of the best cheese sticks we've had in Argentina.

We also ordered ourselves some barbecue chicken wings.

 And some mashed potatoes! But then our food arrived and we weren't even done with our appetizers, so we told our waiter not to take the appetizers away.

Our burgers were delicious! They also came with a side order of French fries and genuine cole slaw. And I say genuine because we've been to Argentine restaurants that claim to serve cole slaw. But it's never been as spot on as the cole slaw in Tucson.

I almost forgot to mention the alcoholic beverages, which they have plenty of. I had the Piña Cream, which I loved, while he had the Caipi Maracuya.

The restaurant's overall atmosphere was amazing. It wasn't rowdy. The guests kept their voices at a respectable level, which is a rarity here. The host and the waiters were pleasant and efficient, too.

The bar

There were two non-edible things on the menu that I loved. One was the fact that they offered menus in English upon request. The other was the fact that they don't charge for utensils, which is sadly, pretty common in Argentina.

The image above is just the executive menu. But their menu is far more extensive. They also have pasta, seafood and a variety of American style dishes as well as a small selection of Argentine dishes for the locals.

By the time we were done with our meal, we were so stuffed that there was no room for dessert. But this was something we remedied when we went back to Tucson the following week. 

We only intended to order cheese sticks so we wouldn't get too full. That way, we could enjoy whatever tasty desserts we ordered. But then I decided to try their Tex-Mex Tacos.

The meat inside the taco wasn't ground beef. It was more like shredded steak, but it had a distinct taste to it. Maybe they doused the beef in A1 steak sauce. I wasn't sure, but it really took away from the actual taste of the meat. But don't get me wrong. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't what I was expecting. So the tacos were a one time thing for me. The potatoes on the side were really good, though.

My hubby ordered the cheese sticks and a baked potato covered with cheese, bacon bits and chives.

But there was something off about the baked potato. In the States, we tend to fluff the inside with a fork before we add the toppings. This was basically a whole baked potato with the toppings. So, he had to slice the potato with a knife and eat it. It's not a big deal, but if you're going to put a baked potato on the menu, then serve it the way it was intended.

Now it was time for the main event: Dessert! I ordered the brownie with ice cream on top. My mouth watered when the waiter brought the plate. It looked so artistic, too. I didn't want to ruin it. But I was hungry, so I ate it anyway.

I'd like to point out that brownies aren't popular in Argentina, so finding someone that knows how to make one right is pretty rare, at least in Cordoba City. The caramelized nuts on the plate were also a tasty touch.

My hubby had the apple crumble with ice cream on top. And he loved it!

The great thing about Tucson is that they don't adhere to the Argentine siesta, well not entirely. They're open from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. every day except Fridays. On Fridays they stay open until 2 a.m. 

But here's something to keep in mind. If you order food between noon and 4:00 p.m., you're in luck. But the kitchen is closed from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. You can still go to Tucson and order what they call the merienda, which is like the Argentine equivalent of tea time. You can get coffee, and pastries, but you won't be able to order an actual meal until the kitchen reopens.

We're really glad that Tucson Steak House & Bar has come to Cordoba, Mendoza, and Buenos Aires. Not only are they introducing the locals to alternative dishes, but they're also giving American expats a taste of home away from home.

**************************UPDATE 01-31-2020****************************
We loved Tucson so much, that it has become our guilty pleasure. So, I added this update to show you what their blooming onion and a few of our other favorite dishes look like, in case you ever decide to drop by.

Here's the blooming onion, which is delicious! The only complaint I have is that I couldn't pull the fried "petals" without using a knife and fork. But other than that, it was still amazing and I would order it again. 

The chicken rolls are also my new favorite. The rolls contain chicken (Duh!), cheese, and marinara sauce. It's an appetizer, but it was a meal for me.

The other item I ordered recently was the American Wok. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with this one. Overall, it was okay. But there wasn't enough chicken in this dish, so it felt more like a vegetarian dish. So I'm pretty sure I won't be ordering this one again.

For dessert, I ordered the brownie with ice cream again. But my hubby ordered the Oreo Ice Cream cake on the menu. I had a bite of it myself and it was terrific!

Naturally, these delicious food items caused us to pack on a few pounds during the month of January. So we're going to have to get back on the treadmill before we go again. 

We Welcomed 2020 at the Sheraton in Argentina

(UPDATE December 2020: The Sheraton in Cordoba City has closed)

For the past few years, we've had to contend with our neighbors turning our street into a night club complete with lights and insanely loud and obnoxious music. And we were sick of it! So this time, we decided to welcome 2020 at the Sheraton in Duarte Quirós 1300, Cordoba, Argentina, and it was pretty much heaven on Earth.

For starters, the hotel is literally next door to the Nuevo Centro Shopping mall. So we checked into our hotel at 2 p.m., which was an hour earlier than the check-in time. But the clerk at the front desk was very accommodating.

So we walked past the lavish lobby and took the elevator to the 9th floor where our room awaited. We intended to leave our belongings there and head to the mall before they closed at 6 p.m. But the air conditioned room and comfortable chairs and bed made it difficult to leave.

The room reminded us of the Miccosukee Resort & Casino, which we frequently went to when we lived in Florida in the early 2000s. But this was our first time staying at a 5-star hotel in a long time, and the luxurious accommodations were alluring.

We were really hungry at this point, so we freshened up and headed to the mall to eat at Burger King and then made a quick stop at Starbucks.

Fortunately, there was a Disco supermarket in the mall, so we bought a bottle of cheap champagne and grapes to celebrate the new year.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and took some photos to share with you guys.

The view from our hotel room window on the 9th floor

The view of the pool from the 9th floor

They have a gym for hotel guests!!!

He does a great impression of someone who knows how to play the piano

But we still had a couple of hours to go before midnight and we had to think about our New Year's Eve dinner. The hotel was offering a New Year's Feast and were charging $4,650 Argentine pesos per adult ($77.84 USD) and $1,900 Argentine pesos for children under 10 ($31.81 USD).

This was their menu.

Now, I'm not saying the menu options were bad. But there were only one or two items that appealed to us, and we didn't think it was worth the price. So we opted for room service instead.

The price for room service menus were a little more down to Earth as you can see below. They charge $45 Argentine pesos ($0.75 US cents) for room service. The prices are all in Argentine pesos. Tipping isn't necessary, but I gave them $200 Argentine pesos anyway ($3.35 USD). Don't judge me. That's a lot in Argentina. You can enlarge the menu images by clicking on them.

We opted for the burger, which admittedly wasn't the most original item we could have gotten, but it was delicious! We didn't go crazy ordering food because we were still stuffed from eating at Burger King. We also bought two mini-empanadas in case the burgers weren't enough.

Now all we had to do was wait until midnight, Argentine time. We assumed that the view would be spectacular with all the fire works. But as it turns out, the night sky was virtually silent except for maybe five or six fire works in the far distance.

It was a bit of a bummer, but that's okay, because for us, it's not officially New Year until the ball drops in Times Square. Luckily, I brought my laptop with me. So I hooked it up to the room's flat screen TV and found a link to a live feed of Times Square. Then we set up the champagne and our grapes and waited for the countdown.

Even though we are thousands of miles away from home (and our loved ones), this tradition of celebrating with them from a distance always makes us feel closer to them somehow.

The next morning, we ordered ourselves the American breakfast, which was more like a continental breakfast minus the fruits (unless you count us). 

Admittedly, they could have added some pancakes. The cereal didn't come with milk, and I've never had yogurt for breakfast in my life. But it was still nice. The pastries, the scrambled eggs and the bacon were decent. I wish they'd given us butter for our toast, but next time I'll ask or I'll bring my own.

All in all, the experience was amazing and it opened our eyes to an obvious truth. Yes, it might cost a lot more to go to a five-star hotel, but it's worth it for the cleanliness and high quality service. And no matter where we travel, we'll always look for a Sheraton or a five-star hotel.

But how much did we really spend for one night? $8,455.54 Argentine pesos ($141.54 USD) and that includes our dinner meal and the American breakfast.

But if you're ever in Cordoba, Argentina, on business, vacationing, or you're an expat, who just needs a break from the rowdy neighbors, then I highly recommend the Sheraton. Oh, and did I mention that you can get a massage, too? I didn't do that this time around, but I'm definitely going to consider it the next time I come.