la poesía de las empanadas

When asked by friends and family if I'm eating well in Argentina, I often detect a presupposition that I will reply with tales of exotic foods unknown back in the states. The truth is that while Argentine cuisine has its delicious side, it is an anomaly in Latin America in that it is heavily influenced by European traditions. The spices of Mexico, the tropical flavors of Central America, and the citrus-drenched seafood of Chile and Peru are just as foreign in Argentina as they are in the States, if not more so.

Here in Argentina, it's back to the basics: fresh pasta, pizza, potatoes, and plenty of home grown beef, often in the form of the ubiquitous 'milanesa', a steak that has been pounded thin, battered, and deep fried. Argentines also have an obsession with dulce de leche, a spreadable caramel sauce that is put on toast, in the middle of chocolate covered cookies called alfajores, in coffee, in ice cream... basically in any dessert or on any food that you want to make taste like dessert. A man standing in front of me at the supermarket a few days ago had in his cart, I kid you not, six tubs of dulce de leche, a cup of yogurt, and a toothbrush.

Another staple in Argentine cuisine is the galletita, or cracker. It's hard to imagine a food you could be less excited about, but walk into any supermarket and you'll find an entire aisle devoted to the beloved galletita. Galletitas with or without salt, whole wheat galletitas, gluten free galletitas, galletitas with a touch of sugar, galletitas with added fiber, low calorie galletitas, galletitas with omega-6 fatty acid. What strikes me as even odder is what galletitas are served with-- pretty much anything and everything. They accompany an afternoon tea, a dinner of pasta or rice, a beer before bed, and they are served for breakfast with, what else, dulce de leche. Everytime I find myself marveling with bemusment at the galletita aisle, I think about the things an Argentine would find strange in a supermarket in the States. To them, the peanut butter section would be a source of infinite confusion.

One staple of the Argentine diet I have yet to mention is the empanada, which, for those who are unfamiliar, are like classy hot pockets. As ubiquitous as the milanesa and as versatile as dulce de leche, the empanada is the go-to food when you're in a hurry, when you're hiking, when you don't have a lot of money, or when you're tired of ham and cheese sandwiches (one thin slice of ham, one thin slice of cheese, no matter how thick the bread is), which are also EVERYWHERE. I once ordered a vegetarian sandwich... the veggies were great, but the ham and cheese I discovered underneath was unnecessary.

Empanadas come in many different varieties, but at most places you have three choices: carne, jamón y queso, or pollo. Empanadas de jamón y queso are delicious but oftentimes very greasy, so I usually opt for a couple of the meat and a couple of the chicken, although I'll always go for 'veggie' if it's an option. Here, 'veggie' means they put canned or frozen spinach in it.

Empanadas are good for more than just sustenance. The price of an empanada is a barometer with which you are able to measure the cost of living in a given area. In Bariloche and Calafate, where tourists seem to outnumber residents and everything is expensive, an empanada will put you back 3.50 pesos, or a little less than one US dollar. 5000 kilometers to the north in Abra Pampa, where I'm pretty sure I was the only tourist in town, I got three empanadas to the peso, and I also found the cheapest lodging of my travels thus far: 15 pesos for a private room.

In Cafayate, a small wine town south of Salta where you can hire a local to give you an hours-long tour of the nearby mountains for a fraction of what it would cost in Calafate, an empanada goes for 1.75 pesos. It was here I discovered La Casa de Las Empanadas, a hole in the wall empanada joint that cooks up some seriously great empanadas filled with local vegetables, fresh goat cheese, sweet corn, and even wine.

While you're waiting 15 minutes for your empanadas to be cooked (always made fresh to order!) you can check out the hundreds of poetic messages on the walls of La Casa de Las Empanadas, inscribed by locals and tourists alike who know a good empanada when they taste one. Some are witty, some rhyme, some are a bit vulgar, but they all reflect the simple joy of biting into a cheap, fresh, hot empanada. If your castellano is better than mine, please feel free to offer your version of the translations!

rapido como hasta
la muela me queme!!
pero empanadas como
éstas nunca probé...

Translation:
I eat so fast
until my molars burn me!!
But empanadas like these
I have never tasted

-Ivan de Tucumán, 18/02/08





Veni, Vidi, Comi

Translation:
I came, I saw, I ate

-MT, 13/01/08




Siempre pensé que la mejor empanada
era la que femenina.
Pero en esta cantina
me cambiaron la vida.

Translation:
I always thought the best empanada
was the empanada of the woman.
But in this little restaurant
my life changed.

-Daniel y Hernán 26/02/08






Para comer estas empanadas
tenes que abrir las piernas
y agacharte...
¡por lo jugosas!

Translation:
In order to eat these empanadas
you have to open your legs
and bend forward...
because of the juices!

-Anibal, Gaby, Leo, Romi, and Silvana Torres





El viaje se disfruta mas
con estas ricas empanadas

Translation:
You enjoy your travels more
with these delicious empanadas

-Inés, Daniela, y Laura 9/1/08





Empezando por la misión,
Recorriendo el norte,
No hay mejor broche de oro
que las empanadas
de cafayate!!!

Translation (this one needs work):
Starting the mission
traveling throughout the north,
there is no better final touch
than the empanadas
of Cafayate!!!

-Jose, Mick, Félix 21/1/08





Si pensaste que tu vieja hace
las mejores empanadas...
Te engañaste!!!
Esta casa te lo demuestra

Translation:
If you thought that your mom makes
the best empanadas...
You were fooled!
This house will prove it to you

-Tomi, Vero, Lore 14/01/08





America,
recorremos.
Y en Cafayate
las mejoras empanadas comemos!

Translation:
America,
we're traveling through it.
And in Cafayate,
we ate the best empanadas!

-Aymi y Pancho 15/02/08