Crocce VS Crocken: Who Does Fried Chicken Better Here in Cordoba?

If you haven't been reading my blog over the years, then you probably don't know that my husband and I are addicted to fried chicken. And no one does it better than Kentucky Fried Chicken. Unfortunately, the only city in Argentina with a KFC is Buenos Aires. 

Over the last nine years we have not been able to make it home for a visit (or some KFC) mainly because of our budget. But we have traveled to the Argentine capital several times and treated ourselves to some fried chicken. But with the pandemic making it difficult and in some cases risky to travel, we've been stuck in Cordoba City without access to any decent fried chicken.

A while back, they had two restaurants here in Cordoba City that had passable fried chicken. One of them was American Fried Chicken and the other was Chicken Bros (which later became Chilling Brothers). Unfortunately, both restaurants went out of business a while back.

But we noticed that a couple of fried chicken places popped up in our Instagram suggestions recently and decided to check them out.

The first one was Crocce, a delivery-only location that's open from 8 pm to Midnight Fridays through Sunday and offer 8 and 12-piece buckets of fried chicken, as well as Arabian and Argentine empanadas, breaded steak sandwiches (milanesa sandwiches), burgers, and some desserts. So, we decided to order an 8 piece bucket to try them out and see if they compared to KFC's fried chicken.

Well, the most painfully obvious thing we noticed was that the entire bucket fit in the palm of one hand and that the fried chicken pieces were nothing more than tiny pieces of breaded breasts and wings. So, if you're expecting portions as big as the ones at KFC, you're in for some disappointment. But don't rule Crocce out just yet.

The pieces, while small were still pretty good. In fact, we've ordered from them more than once. Sometimes, we've even ordered their breaded steak sandwiches and their Arabian and Argentine empanadas to mix things up a bit.

Argentine empanadas on the left. Arabian empanadas on the right.

Crocce milanesa sandwich

If I had one complaint to make about Crocce is that they wrap their food in a type of wax paper that smells awful. The only way to describe the smell is like some form of burning earwax. So, if you're in Cordoba and you order from them, get rid of the wax paper right away before it ruins the taste of your meal. Other than that, I would highly recommend Crocce. But what about Crocken?

Well, what can I say about Crocken? Hm... give me a second. I'm trying to be nice here. Okay, fine. I can't. I'm tapping into my inner Simon Cowell and saying that it's a no for me.

Crocken was so bad that I didn't even bother to take a photo of my order. You can check out their Instagram page here, place an order and judge for yourself. They too serve meager sized fried chicken, chicken wings and chicken tenders, all of which we tried. Unfortunately, the breading on the chicken tenders fell apart before we even grabbed one. Also, the chicken wings had so much fat and skin on them that it felt like I was biting into a lump of warm flesh. And as far as the fried chicken pieces themselves, they were small and bland. In fact, they were so bland that I thought I had contracted Covid. I couldn't taste anything. I'm not kidding. I got so nervous that I literally ran into the fridge and stuck a piece of candy in my mouth to make sure. It turns out that there was nothing wrong with my taste buds. The chicken simply sucked.

So, yeah. The truth hurts, but there it is.

I'm sure there are other fried chicken places out there in Cordoba City that we haven't discovered yet. I'm not even sure if they'll ever be as good as KFC. But for now, I would say that Crocce is pretty decent when it comes to fried chicken, and the customer service is really great, too.

Oh and before I forget. If you're searching for fried chicken in Argentina, the locals call it pollo broaster.

Looking for Lipton Iced Tea in Cordoba? Guateques Has It and More

If you're from the states, then you've either had iced tea and loved it, tried it and hated it, or have at least heard of it. Unfortunately, this drink hasn't been too popular here in Argentina. Oh, sure, they had a product called Fuze Tea, which was like Nestea or sweet ice tea in the states, but it failed to win over the people in Cordoba City. So, about a year or so after we arrived, Fuze Tea disappeared from the shelves and were never seen again. There might be a few places in Buenos Aires that still sells them, but don't quote me on that.

But recently, we've discovered that there's a Venezuelan store in Cordoba City called Guateques that has all sorts of items that are pretty common among Venuezuelans like tequeños (fried breaded cheeseticks). However, they also sell some items that my husband and I totally loved. One of them was Lipton's Ice Tea as well as a peach flavor variant.

At first, we were a little nervous that this wasn't really Lipton's Ice Tea. But a couple of spoonfuls into a pitcher of ice cold water and we were happier than a pig in sh*t! But this wasn't the only thing that put a smile on our faces.

My husband LOOOOOOOVES pork rinds and we were fortunate enough that they had some available.

Another item that we missed from the states was Fig Newtons, which Guateques has! Alright, so they aren't store brand. They're actually made by a company in Buenos Aires called Todo Casero that makes the Fig Newtons and then delivers them to Guateques in Cordoba City.

This version of the Fig Newtons actually has guava (guayaba) filling and not actual figs, but they're still pretty good. I would highly recommend them because I have yet to find anything remotely similar at the local supermarket.

They also sell plaintain chips, which gave me a positive flashback to my childhood. A little backstory here: When I was growing up in Hialeah, Florida, my Cuban school bus driver would buy plantain chips from these street vendors while waiting for the light to turn green. Then she would distribute the chips for everyone to eat. For my husband, of course, plaintains connect to his Puerto Rican roots, so these plantain chips from Guateques have become a staple in our home.

And there was one last item that simply can't get enough of and it's Cheez Whix, which is like the Cheez Whiz in the states. And for those of you who have been living in Argentina for a while, rest assured that despite the name, this tastes just like the real thing. It is NOT like the American cheese that Argentines try to pass off as cheddar by melting it. Cheez Whix is as close as you're going to get to Cheese Whiz down here.

For anyone in Cordoba City looking to order from them, I recommend checking out their Instagram here, or messaging them through Whatsapp at: 3512027739. And yes! They deliver, and the person we contacted has always been super nice and accommodating.

Nine Years in Argentina: Still Waiting for the Silver Lining

For years, expats and locals have been telling us to look for the silver lining in our decision to move here. But June 2021, makes it nine years since my husband and I relocated to Argentina, and I'm still waiting for the silver lining in the sky.

Don't get me wrong. It's not all doom and gloom down here. We've been spared a lot of the social and political drama that occurred in the states in 2020. We both have stay-at-home jobs with flexible schedules, plenty of food, our physical health, and most importantly, each other. I even published a new novel, which you can buy by clicking on this link. And I received my first Covid vaccine this month. But our mental health, at least mine, is another story.

Dealing with sh*tty neighbors who are constantly vandalizing our property and attempting to break in is stressful, especially since our home has become our proverbial prison. Granted, we have plenty of creature comforts and I've always been a homebody. But I do miss the days where I had the option to go out and explore the city, go shopping, or even travel. But that's not possible right now because of several rotten apples.

After months of people doing whatever the hell they wanted, the Argentine government noticed that the rate of infections had gotten out of hand and finally imposed a phase I quarantine towards the end of May and again in June of 2021. So, basically, it's like we're reliving 2020. But it was inevitable since a lot of people started walking around without masks or any regard for social distancing. And as you'll see from the numbers below, Cordoba and the country in general have been experiencing a seesaw effect in the number of daily cases.

• On May 20, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 35,884, of which Cordoba had 3,516.
• On June 2, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 35,017, of which Cordoba had 4,996.
• On June 3, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 32,291, of which Cordoba had 5,145. 
• On June 12, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 18,057, of which Cordoba had 2,701.
• On June 13, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 13,043, of which Cordoba had 1,555.
• On June 15, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 21,292, of which Cordoba had 2,655.
• On June 17, 2021, the number of cases nationwide were at 23,780, of which Cordoba had 3,055. 

The quarantine was met with heavy resistance from locals, particularly from business owners who seem to care more about their businesses than everyone's lives. This level of ignorance seems to be common among a majority of the locals. Even the people we know or work with would rather break the rules and the laws in order to "have fun." This only serves to delay the country's return to a sense of normalcy like back home in the United States, Israel, and New Zealand.

Reasoning with anyone here is pointless and only results in conflict. A lot of the arguments I've had with the locals have stemmed over the fact that they firmly AND MISGUIDEDLY believe in one of three things:

1. The virus is a hoax
2. Getting infected is inevitable, even with precautions, so why fight it?
3. If it happens, it happens

In Cordoba City and the overall province, the infection rate has skyrocketed. The same can be said for all of Argentina. And while the quarantine has helped those numbers go down a bit, the people who have refused to wear masks or continue to gather in groups have turned 2021 into a really bad year for the population in general.

Sadly, I know a lot of our Argentine friends think we're insane for being so guarded, and this has led to a different level of social distancing that we will most likely never recover from. But as I've mentioned in other posts, my main priority will always be the safety of my husband and myself. Anyone who feels offended by how we go about staying safe or our decision to follow the health protocols, can suck it. There are still plenty of potential friends out there when all of this is over. But we only have one shot at life.

In the meantime, while we wait for the world to return to normal, we've been keeping busy with work, special projects, and celebrating the holidays a little early. 

Although Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are still several months away, they always take place during the Argentine spring and summer months. So, when the summer heat combines with the heat from the oven, our home turns into a volcano.  Besides, we're used to the chilly weather in the states during the holidays. So we decided to celebrate a mini-version of these festivities during the Argentine fall and winter months. We already had Halloween in May and plan to celebrate Thanksgiving in June and Christmas during my birthday month of July. 

So, in retrospect, I guess the silver lining was right in front of us the whole time. And yes, we might be alone again, but in the words of Seven of Nine, we will adapt.

I Received My First Sputnik V Vaccine... Now What?

Like a lot of people around the world, I had been waiting patiently for my Covid vaccine appointment. But the waiting ended for me on Sunday, June 13, 2021, when I got a text instructing me to report to the Orfeo Superdomo—one of many vaccination centers throughout Cordoba City, Argentina.

I was a little nervous because I'm one of those people that obsesses over reports about people dropping dead hours after they've been vaccinated. I certainly didn't want to become a statistic, but I figured that any kind of vaccine against Covid is better than nothing.

When I arrived at Orfeo, I was given a disposable mask, similar to the ones used at hospitals, to replace the mask I was wearing. This was not optional.

After checking in, I was escorted to the waiting area where other people were sitting at a respectable distance. 

I was so nervous from the night before that I didn't get much sleep, so I closed my eyes thinking that I'd have to wait a while. But my group was called 5 minutes later.

I sat in front of a group of nurses, one of whom explained to us what type of symptoms we should expect after being vaccinated. It's pretty much what a lot of websites are claiming which is that you might experience headaches, body aches and chills. I asked the nurse if we were able to take cold medicine or pain pills, and she said yes. But I read that these can actually diminish the immune system's response to the vaccine. Anyway, once the brief question and answer session was out of the way, they started innoculating us.

I'll be honest, I barely felt a thing. If the needle was in me for more than 3 seconds, it was too much. I couldn't believe how quick and painless the process was. And I didn't even have to wait around to see if I got dizzy or anything like that. They just gave us a slip of paper that served as proof of our vaccination and politely showed us the door. I was very impressed by how efficient everyone was. And I consider the first vaccine an early birthday present to myself. I'm turning 44 next month.

Now, this goes without saying, but in case anyone is wondering, it was free of charge. Also, I don't think anyone in the world would be so cruel as to charge people for a Covid vaccine. Hopefully, no one proves me wrong.

I was fine for the first 12 hours or so, but by the time I went to bed, I got the chills. Now, this was to be expected because it's winter down here in Argentina. In fact, it snowed at some point in the night for the first time in forever and my husband and I didn't even know it had happened. But we had two heaters on at home and I was covered in four layers of comforters, so I knew that these chills were a side effect of the vaccine. The chills were followed by a slight fever, a severe case of diarrhea, and some minor body aches that persisted through the better part of the following day. But all of my symptoms, except for some minor discomfort in the injection site, faded within 24 hours.

Now, I'm looking forward to getting the 2nd vaccine, which I was told will be in about 20 days. We're still waiting for my husband to receive his appointment for his first vaccine, which I hope will happen within the next few weeks. 

As far as life returning to normal around here, I don't have an answer for that. In the States, everything seems to be getting back on track and masks are no longer required because the rate of infection is under control. Argentina, unfortunately, is not at that stage, at least, not yet. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be by the end of the year.