Country House and City House

This past weekend, my hosts got me out of the city and into the Argentine country…land of the Gauchos (Argentine cowboys). Tony and Betina picked me up at the hotel, and we drove for about an hour into the country. I was amazed at how flat the landscape is…it’s as flat as a table-top…just like Florida!

Edi’s country home is on a huge track of land that used to be a cattle ranch. The property has been subdivided into a few dozen properties that are used by people from Buenos Aires to get away from the city and enjoy the country air. Each lot has a minimum amount of land (it appears to be a couple of acres, at least). This ensures some distance and privacy between the neighbors. What’s especially cool is that Edi’s house was designed by his daughter, who is an architect. How cool is THAT?!?

The house is long and narrow. The first floor is the living area with a living room and plenty of seating for family and guests. I especially like the wood-burning stand-alone fireplace that serves as a central focus point of the room. There’s a modern kitchen with sink and oven. Behind that, though, is the “heart” of the house. The dining room! It takes up about a football field’s worth of space. It can easily sit a dozen people.

The grill is prominently featured at the end of the dining area. The grill is of a unique Argentine design that I have never seen before. To one side, there is a narrow slit, perhaps 8” wide, between the bricks that form the structure of the grill. Here, the chef burns wood for several hours and turns it into hot coals. The coals are then taken by shovel to the grilling area which consists of metal grates that are angled so that the juices flow downward and collect into a special tray. This helps to minimize the amount of fat that falls into the flames and causes flare-ups. With this grill, the idea is to supply a LOT of heat, but no flames.

The meal itself, of course, was exceptional. Edi explained several times all of the types of meat that were served (there were at least seven varieties). But, I don’t remember their individual names. Suffice to say that there was meat from the throat of the cow, the ribs, the diaphragm, and intestines. We also enjoyed pork.
After lunch, we walked for about 20 minutes to the old ranch house from the original property. It was built in 1844, and is in surprisingly good shape. In fact, club members can arrange to have guests sleep in the original manor. My favorite features of this house were the inlaid-wood floors and the uber-cool retro-bathroom.

On Monday evening, Tony picked me up from the hotel and took me to his home in the city. He and Betina have lived here for four years. They used to have a larger place, but downsized after their three boys grew up and left home.
Betina is an incredible cook! We enjoyed a spinach roll, almond-crusted salmon, cheese potatoes, and desert. As always on this trip, I ate too much…but I enjoyed every bite!

Well, this is my last entry from Argentina. Tomorrow morning, I fly to Cape Town, South Africa, where all new exciting adventures will take place. Oh, and work, too…I suppose. Yeah, probably mostly work. ;-)