Food

So you walk into a restaurant. The lights are dimmed and the place is nicely furnished - dark cherry wood tables, off-white cream linen. You look around and see couples talking, their faces lit by the candles on the tables. Some light music plays softly in the background.

You sit down and order yourself ravioli with a tomato cream sauce, a side salad, and a glass of wine. The food arrives and you tuck in. The pasta is fresh, the ricotta and cheese filling is subtle, the rose sauce has a touch of garlic, and all the flavours mix wonderfully in your mouth. It's one of the best meals you've had recently. Although you're stuffed at the end, you can't pass up trying a desert - a crepe filled with dulce de leche and a scoop of banana ice cream on the side. When made with real fruit and cream, banana ice cream is tough to do right. But from the first bite, it's clear this place knows what they're doing. It's smooth and creamy, not icy, and with only enough sugar and vanilla to bring out the flavour of banana, not smother the taste.

When the check comes, you signal to the waiter. "This can't be right. The prices on this bill are all mixed up."

"Oh no sir," replies the waiter, "I'm quite sure we didn't make a mistake."

"But look," you say, "right here. My main dish - you've only charged me the price of a side of fries. In fact, the total on this bill is a third of what it should be."

"That's right sir. We're running a special right now."

"Really? That's incredible! Fantastic!"

"It is sir. In fact, we're not the only ones. Kesta, next door to us, is doing the same thing. And so is Mezziati, 2 blocks south. In fact, come to think of it, so is every restaurant in this whole city."

"What an opportunity," you think as you pay your bill and walk out dumbstruck. As you wander home, you think about trying ultra-chic Olsen's the following night where a main is normally a wallet-busting $45, now reduced to an easier-to-swallow $15.

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Welcome to the world of Argentinean restaurants. Of course, had the above scenario been true, the waiter's reaction would have been more along the lines of "Are you nuts? Our economy crashed. Thanks for rubbing it in my face buddy."

But as a foreigner without the problems of a devalued currency, it's a strange place to be. Places like Peru and India are cheap, but in many cases so is the quality. My experiences so far in Argentina suggest prices are low without the corresponding drop in quality. Ordering a deliciously prepared organic, free-range, grass fed steak costs little more than a Big Mac in the US. Even the airline-style meal on the bus from Bariloche to Buenos Aires came with steak. I've heard that one of the reasons meat is so cheap is because exports are forbidden. Opening up meat to exporting would raise the local price, which in turn would enrage much of the populace for whom it is a large part of the culture.

I was surprised a few nights ago to walk into what I thought would be a nice casual cafe, only to be treated to excellent service, extras like fresh bread with a tomato and herb sauce, and a pizza covered with chopped fresh basil. (In our first several months of travel Anne and I had trouble finding anything fresh. If you grew up in Ecuador you'd be forgiven for thinking carrots are grown in tins on supermarket shelves. So I was excited by fresh basil.)

It's a nice place to end my South American travels, and I think I'm going to enjoy the following weeks here in Buenos Aires. It's also interesting to try to understand the cause of the current scenario. I'm slowly uncovering memories of high school economics classes with Mr. Martin, although it's too bad many of them were scheduled right after lunch when I was at my drowsiest.