Thanksgiving 2021 With a Side of Termination

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but like the previous year, it was just the two of us again and that's okay. As I've said in my other Thanksgiving posts, this is one holiday that only Americans can appreciate. For any Argentine guests we invite over, it's just a friendly get-together with lots of food. So, we didn't mind celebrating Thanksgiving by ourselves.

One of the things I love the most about this holiday is cooking with the hubs. Now I'll admit that I'm not the greatest cook in the world, but he is. And I'm just glad to help out cutting the potatoes and prepping the bread for the stuffing, but it's never easy during this time of year because it's scorching hot in Argentina. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a freak cold front down here during the months of October, November, and December! Regardless, the hubs and I started prepping a small Thanksgiving meal for two that we could enjoy.

We opted once again to not buy a turkey because most of it would have ended up in the fridge and we would have had to throw it out a few days later. We felt that it wasn't worth wasting money on, especially given what happened a few days before turkey day.

Out of the blue, I received a message from one of my "bosses" who handed me freelance assignments over the last seven years. She told me that we had been cut loose by her boss, though I suspect she only wanted to cut me loose, and I won't lie, it stung a little. But don't worry. I was only getting paid $30,000 Argentine pesos, which is the equivalent of $297.23 USD a month. Although $30,000 Argentine pesos isn't considered trump change in Argentina, it's certainly not enough to break a sweat over. Essentially, I was doing more and getting paid less, but getting taking advantage of is a risk when you do freelancing. I think the reason I'm so calm over this is that I've been doing other freelance work on the side for other people. This includes teaching English via Zoom. Plus, the hubs works on a lot of projects that pay fairly decent (by Argentine standards, at least).

So back to our Thanksgiving feast. In lieu of a turkey, we opted for seasoned chicken along with side dishes like potato salad, mashed potatoes, corn, and my favorite--stuffing. No, we didn't do a green bean casserole because frankly, we find it disgusting. Besides, we had plenty to eat like bread loaves, apple pastries, and pretzels from a German-inspired restaurant called Backerhaus. 

And yes, we had leftovers that lasted through the weekend. We planned on making a pie, which is traditional during Thanksgiving, but we were so tired of cooking all day and the heat in the kitchen was so intense, that we said, "screw it." So, we just had vanilla pudding and alcoholic smoothies to cool off while we watched a recording of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Then, we gasped when we realized that Thanksgiving this year fell on the same day as our 20-year anniversary. Although we celebrated 20 years of being together in March during our 9 year wedding anniversary, November 25 is the day that we officially became a couple. But when you've been with someone as long as the hubs and I have, you learn to celebrate your anniversary every day.

Another thing you might have noticed from the photo above is that I gained some weight. Surprise! I'm pregnant! Ha! No. This is Argentina. Not "American Horror Story" season 10. The truth is that I ate a lot between Halloween and Thanksgiving, so I'm trying to get back in shape because I know I'm going to pig out on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. I still can't believe there's only a month left before 2022 arrives. Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to start setting up the Christmas decorations.

Here's Why Pollos Prey's Fried Chicken Was an Epic Disappointment

As of 2021, Kentucky Fried Chicken hasn't expanded its empire to Cordoba City or any other Argentine province, except Buenos Aires. But over the last nine years, places have tried and failed to meet the delicious high standards of KFC. However, there have been a few places that have come close to imitating them like American Chicken and Chilling Brothers, which went out of business years ago, and Crocce, which is temporarily closed. But others, like Crocken, were total hits and misses.

Then came Pollos Prey, a fried chicken eatery that started out in Villa Dolores and expanded to Nueva Cordoba in late 2021. So naturally, the hubs and I got really excited about this place. After all, they claimed to offer fried chicken wings, fried chicken breasts and fries. No fried chicken legs? That's okay. I was sure the chicken breasts would be just fine, but I was wrong.

For starters, when we received our delivery, we discovered that the buffalo chicken wing sauce had spilled into the bag and the box. But I place the blame on the Pedidosya delivery person, who definitely did not get a positive review for this. Sadly, this was a bad omen of things to come. 

There was evidence of the sauce lid being taped, so Pollos Prey did take measures to ensure this wouldn't happen. That means that the delivery person mishandled the package and that's why the sauce spilled. Regardless, we had plenty of hot sauce and barbecue sauces in the pantry. So, this in itself wasn't such a big deal. What really ticked us off was the size of their chicken breast.

We ordered 8 chicken breasts and 8 chicken wings. At first, I asked myself where the chicken breasts were and then I spotted them, but wish I hadn't.

Seriously?!?! That's what they call a chicken breast? It looks more like a chicken nugget! What is it with Argentines and their small bite sized fried chicken pieces? I just don't get it. Below are photos of what a chicken breast looks like at KFC. As you can see, the difference is huge... literally! But that's not all.

KFC uses lots of herbs and spice in their batter to ensure that when customers bite into their fried chicken, it actually tastes delicious. That was not our experience with Pollos Prey, whose chicken was bland AF. I actually thought I had Covid because I couldn't taste a thing. Unfortunately, I found that this is a common theme in Argentine foods, which are generally bland. This is likely due to the fact that Argentines tend to stir clear of anything that tastes spicy, so KFC style seasonings will likely never be in the cards for them.

Also, Pollos Prey failed to realize that while the batter should be crunchy, it shouldn't be hard like a rock. I almost chipped a tooth trying to bite into the shell. It would have been easier biting through a lobster shell.

In conclusion, Pollos Prey's fried chicken was an epic disappointment and I couldn't unfollow their Instagram page fast enough. So, if you're an expat living anywhere in Argentina and are craving fried chicken, I suggest you grab a plane, take a train or a bus, and head to the KFC locations in Buenos Aires.

International Food Distributors and Restaurants in Cordoba City

When the hubs and I first got to Argentina, we assumed that we were going to find all of the same food products from the States on store shelves. We were sorely mistaken! Argentine supermarkets have about 15 percent of U.S. based products. Most people here have never even heard of Dr. Pepper, A&W Root Beer, Ruffle's Potato Chips, Twix candy bars, Lucky Charms, or salt and vinegar chips, so you won't find them on any shelves, at least not anytime soon. But we have found ways to get a few items that we've been missing from these international food distributors and restaurants in Cordoba City.

Mercado del Mundo

Mercado del Mundo has been our saving grace. Not only do they have a lot of the candies that we love like Coca Cola Gummies and Airheads, but they also sell delicious Belgian waffles and not the egg-y, plastic tasting imitation they try to pass off as waffles in Argentine establishments. And that's not all. They also have items like sweet relish to put on hot dogs, Old Paso Tex-Mex products, pretzels, digestive biscuits, TGIF sauces, and more. But they don't just have American products. They have items that will appeal to German expats and Brits as well. Also, the owner, Fede Moyano, who delivers the products, is pretty cute, too. If I had one complaint to make about Mercado del Mundo it's that they don't have every product shown on their catalogs. For example, I've asked for the Old Paso hard taco shells on more than one occasion, and they were out of stock. Luckily, I can order myself a couple of hard shell tacos from Miami Tacos that are already made for me.

Check out Mercado Mundo's catalog here and place an order today.

Almacen de Mario

Almacen de Mario was the first store we found that specialized in international products. At the time, we were able to buy Tex-Mex food items, egg rolls, and Kraft Mac & Cheese. Unfortunately, I haven't seen their Kraft products in years, and a lot of the items the hubs and I went there for have not been available since the pandemic. But they're still worth a visit as they have a variety of other products that may appeal to expats from various countries. For example, the last time I was there, they had a ton of fish items that I was told was perfect for making sushi. Now, sushi's not my thing, but for anyone who's interested in making it at home, Almacen de Mario might just be the place to buy products from.

26 Twenty Six Importadora

Looking for sauerkraut, onions in vinegar, dill pickles, or pretty much any German and Polish products from the company Rosnik, then check out 26 Twenty Six Importadora. They also sell Altmeister liquor. But that's not all. They have a small selection of Lebanese products from the company Zeeny as well.

Boro Casa Gourmet

Looking for East Asian products like Lee Khum Kee sauces? Then try Boro Casa Gourmet. They also sell products like powdered wasabi, rice noodles, and Kikkoman sauces. If beer products are more your thing, then you'll find beer brands from Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Peru, Italy and France, to name a few. They even sell products like oils, cheese, salami, cookies, and snacks from different parts of the world, like Bouquet Chips brands' Salt & Vinegar chips, which as I said earlier, is impossible to find in Argentine supermarkets.. If I had one complaint to make about Boro Casa Gourmet, it's that a lot of the products on their website are listed as "destacado" or out of stock. 

Explore their online store here.

Guateques

Guateques offers a lot of Venezuelan food items like frozen tequeños (fried breaded cheesticks) and hallacas, as well as items like pork rinds, Malta, plantain chips, Fig Newtons, and Lipton's Iced Tea.

BUT IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE MOOD TO COOK and would rather just order, I want to recommend these restaurants that offer food you'd find in the States and beyond.

Manolita and Co Pasteleria

Manolita and Co Pasteleria offers a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich that is truly delicious. It might not seem like a big deal, but Argentine McDs don't offer this type of breakfast sandwich, at least, not the way that it's done in the States. but Manolita does, and you can order it any time of the day. They also have:

• Red velvet cake
• NY cheesecake
• Apple Crumble
• Lemon Pie
• Cinnamon Rolls

And so much more. You can check out their menu and prices here.

Backerhaus

Backerhaus offers breads, pastries and other delicious German-themed items. They also have apple pies and pretzels. Check out their visually appealing Instagram, but fair warning, it will make your mouth water.

Miami Tacos

Are you missing those tacos from Taco Bell? Then order from Miami Tacos. They have crunchy and soft tacos, as well as burritos and quesadillas that will satiate your craving for Tex-Mex food.

Canerolls

Craving some delicious cinnamon rolls? Canerolls has you covered. They offer cinnamon rolls with toppings like cream cheese, Oreo, Nutella, Dulce de Leche, or just plain. They also offer Dulce de Leche and Oreo flavored milkshakes, which are perfect to cool off during the hot Argentine summer. Check out their website.

Pibi Guemes

If you're sick and tired of those Argentine pizzas that are too small, look sloppy, taste bland, and have cheese toppings that smell like feet, I feel you. Luckily, you can order NY style pizza slices or a whole pizza with toppings like blue cheese, real pepperoni, and more from Pibi Guemes. Check out their Instagram here.

Chicago American Bar

If you're craving Chicago style pizza, then come to Chicago American Bar. The pepperoni in their pizza isn't as legit as Pibi Guemes but it's still delicious. You can also order burgers, and side orders similar to the ones you would expect to find at T.G.I.F., like onion rings, and French fries with an array of toppings.

Xiongmao

Xiongmao has a variety of Chinese dishes that will satiate your craving for Chinese food. My personal favorite is their chicken and steak fried rice, which I highly recommend. They also have sweet and sour chicken, which I find delicious, but I'll admit that the breading isn't as crunchy as what you'll find in most Chinese restaurants in the States. But when you're living abroad and unable to travel home because of financial issues, you learn to be happy with what you have available. They're also very open to suggestions. I recently asked them if they could make General Tso's Chicken and they told me they would look into it and let me if/when it is available on their menu.

Tucson Steak House & Bar

Want baby back ribs? Tucson Steak House & Bar has them and so much more. My personal favorites are the spinach dip, chicken rolls, Arizona Baby Back Ribs, Monterrey Burger, baked potatoes and desserts like their brownie and ice cream and apple crumble and ice cream. But they also have a variety of other items that will entice fish and meat lovers both local and international. Check out their menu here.

D'Lucas Gourmet

If you're Venezuelan, of Venezuelan descent, love Venezuelan food, or you're looking to try something new, then check out D'Lucas Gourmet. They have a wide array of delicious burgers as well as tequeños, which are like cheese sticks, cachapas, and arepas. They're also partnered with Anana Postres to provide customers with delicious slices of chocolate cakes, red velvet cake, and tiramasu among others.

American Donuts

American Donuts may not have a huge variety of donut flavors like Dunkin Donuts, but given that there are no Dunkin Donuts in Argentina, this is the next best thing.

Go Donuts

Go Donuts and American Donuts are similar in that their flavor options are limited, but Go Donuts does have one advantage. They actually have Boston cream donuts on their menu. I've been begging American Donuts for nearly two years to add this to their menu and the best they could come up with was a coffee-flavored donut that proved unpopular.

VerGotas Waffles

VerGotas Waffles puts a naughty twist on waffles. Instead of the usual waffle-shaped square or circle on a plate, they made theirs in the shape of a penis. And in case, you were wondering, yes, we bought some. The shape was great, but I nearly popped my jaw trying to get one of these suckers into my mouth. As far as taste is concerned, they're a bit bland, which is the norm for most Argentine foods. But if you want to buy these for a bachelorette party, or you're single and craving something big in your mouth, VerGotas Waffles has you covered. Oh, and P.S. the word verga in Spanish is a vulgar term for penis, hence where the restaurant got its inspiration for the name VerGotas, which translates to huge penises.

These are just a couple of the distributors and restaurants that offer international food in Cordoba City. I'm sure there are others, but the pandemic has made it difficult to go out and look for more places. Hopefully, 2022 will be better, and the hubs and I will find more places to share with all of you. Until then, take care and stay safe.

Miami Tacos in Cordoba City are Seriously Delicious

(Update: October 2023 - Miami Tacos went out of business.)

We've been looking for seriously delicious tacos in Cordoba City for the last nine years. Unfortunately, the best we could hope for were the ones we made at home. So, whenever we found the hard shells from Old Paso at Walmart, Falabella (which is no longer in Cordoba), or international distributors like Almacen de Mario and Mercado Del Mundo, we made them. 

Before you ask, no, there aren't any Taco Bells or Chipotle's in Cordoba City or anywhere in Argentina as of 2021.

Luckily, we can now order from Miami Tacos whenever we need our fix of tasty street tacos. Admittedly, they're more American than Mexican. Their Tex-Mex menu items consist of soft and hard shelled tacos, burritos and quesadillas. They also have refried beans and chicken wings on their menu, but these last two items are listed as unavailable.

You can look at their menu items and prices here.

 

They offer ground beef and chicken tacos

They also sell churros

Nachos with cheddar cheese

Honestly, they won me over with their name Miami Tacos because Miami, Florida, is my hometown. But I was a little nervous about ordering from them because I've ordered from Argentine-based restaurants that claimed to have delicious tacos and found myself disappointed by how Argentine their food was. But as soon as I bit into my food from Miami Tacos, the crunch of the taco shells took me back in time to the 1980s and early 1990s.

Even though Miami has a huge Cuban population, there were plenty of Taco Bells around. Granted, Taco Bell is classified as American fast food, but no one really cares about that detail in the States and it certainly didn't matter to me growing up. 

You see, one of my most cherished childhood memories was of my mom and I sitting at a Taco Bell restaurant and having some deep and personal conversations. Those days are long gone, but the taste of the tacos from Miami Tacos brought me back to those moments I will treasure in my heart forever.

I've ordered twice from Miami Tacos and I'm 100% sure that I'll be ordering from them in the near future. That's not to say that there aren't one or two other Mexican restaurants in Cordoba City (that I'm aware of). But in my humble opinion, Miami Tacos really takes the prize!

PIBI New York Style Pizza vs Chicago American Bar's Pizza in Cordoba

Move over Chicago American Bar! There's a new pizza place in Cordoba City called PIBI and they're offering New York style pizzas! But is there a difference between the two restaurants? I was wondering about that myself. After all, we've ordered from quite a few places in Cordoba City that claimed to offer American food only to find ourselves disappointed with some poorly imitated Argentine equivalent. But we had to try and this is what we learned.

The difference between Chicago American Bar and PIBI is in the fact that Chicago American Bar's pizza slices are larger and offer a variety of other menu items like burgers, chicken wings and sides slightly comparable to those found at T.G.I.F. restaurants.

Chicago American Bar Pizza Slice

Chicago American Bar Pizza Cheese and Pepperoni Slices

PIBI Pizza Box

PIBI Pizza Mixed Slices of Pepperoni, Cheese and Mushroom

PIBI's pizza slices are about 30 percent smaller than Chicago American Bar's slice, but they're still a lot bigger than Argentine pizzas.

Large Argentine Pizza

A large Argentine pizza is generally about the size of a small pizza at Domino's or Pizza Hut. Also, the cheese they use generally taste like dirty feet, and they prefer adding ham toppings over pepperoni. In fact, most pizza places in Cordoba City have no idea what pepperoni is or they try to pass off salami slices as pepperoni.

Luckily, PIBI offers a variety of pizza toppings like regular cheese, mushroom, blue cheese, veggie, and thankfully, pepperoni. Best of all, they actually use real pepperoni, not slices of Spanish sausages like Chicago American Bar. Spanish sausage has the same color as pepperoni and a slightly similar taste, but there's something quite not the same about it.

The videos below are two large pizza orders from PIBI

Another advantage that PIBI has over Chicago American Bar is that they deliver anywhere in Cordoba City. Chicago American Bar's delivery is limited by the range of the delivery service they use. A lot of the times, they'll only deliver near Nueva Cordoba, forcing customers to physically go and pick up their orders or sit at the restaurant.  

If I have one complaint to make about PIBI it's that they're very slow when it comes to responding on Whatsapp, which is their preferred method for placing orders for delivery. In once instance, I placed an order at 6 p.m., which is the time they open, but they didn't get back to me until 7:30 p.m. There was also a lot of going back and forth before the order was placed, and the pizza was delivered at around 9:12 p.m. But honestly, we've found this type of delay to be typical in Argentina. Around here, it's not about providing good customer service in a timely manner. It's more of a "you'll get it when we're damn good and ready" philosophy. And if you complain, they treat you like you're the crazy one.

As far as whether we'll order again from PIBI, the answer is yes! Their pizzas are definitely worth the delay and if you're an American expat or a local looking to try some New York style pizza, I strongly recommend giving PIBI a try.

Halloween 2021: The Craze is Rising in Cordoba, Argentina

Everyone always says that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but for the hubs and I, the most wonderful time of the year is Halloween and we weren't about to let the pandemic get in the way of that. So in early October, we paid a visit to Smiles Cotillon in Cordoba City to get a couple of extra Halloween decorations and, of course, our new masks.

This was my attempt to look like the villain from Netflix's 'There's Someone Inside Your House'

Buying a different mask every year has become our tradition and we consider ourselves fortunate that we found stores like Smiles Cotillon that actually sell Halloween themed items. Although the popularity of this holiday has grown in Buenos Aires, it's still in its infancy in Cordoba City. But there are some signs that the Halloween craze is rising in our host province.

For starters, there's a restaurant called Ghost Kitchen that sells an array of burgers and sandwiches all named after characters from classic horror flicks like "Nightmare on Elm Street," "Chucky" and "Friday the 13th." Just don't expect the menu to come with a bloody knife or a ghost. The meals themselves, while quite delicious, are not visually out of this world.

We also found certain bakeries that sell Halloween-themed treats like Maravillas Pasteleria. This is where we got this assortment of delicious Halloween items you see in the picture above.

In addition to treats, we also came up with an assortment of snacks of our own like the facehugger eggs from the "Alien" films. They were so simple and easy to make. We just bought some generic version of Funions and set them on a plate and then added olives stuffed with red peppers. 

We also made the potato mummies we made last year and tried to make witch fingers from egg rolls, but the soy sauce for the nails kept running down the rolls, so it didn't work out too well. But hey! Still delish!

Admittedly, we might have gone overboard with the massive amount of candy we bought and received as gifts from our friend (see video above). But what would Halloween be without enough candy to put us into a diabetic coma? Don't worry! We didn't eat all of it. We have enough treats to last us a month, possibly more.

He turned 39, not 93 but for some reason the camera reversed the image

Suffice it to say, we're going to have to exercise quite a lot to burn off all the calories we've consumed and will continue to consume before Thanksgiving. It probably didn't help that we also ordered a Facehugger cake from Anana Postres for the hubs' 39th birthday.

But what would Halloween be without Michael Myers, am I right? No. He didn't visit us. We visited him... sort of. On October 16, we went to the movies for the first time since the pandemic. The theaters finally reopened a couple of months ago, but we were still concerned about the risk of infection, even though we're both vaccinated and still using masks when we leave the house. So we waited until the rate of infections subsided in Argentina (which they have) before risking our lives.

Luckily, the theater was virtually empty. There were probably four other people in the entire theater for "Halloween Kills." And I know this sounds crazy, but after nearly two years of being locked inside the house, we realized just how much nicer it was to watch films on video on demand. I'd forgotten just how annoying people are at the movies. Yeah, it was just four people, but they kept dropping their popcorn and talking throughout the movie. Regardless, we had a good time on our pre-Halloween date and we got to do some window shopping at the mall and walk around the city.

I'm already looking forward to Halloween 2022, but right now, we have to start planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas.