Medical Care in Buenos Aires

I had been planning to get a post out with more details about medical care here, but Laura at "Moving to Argentina" beat me to it, bless her heart! It's a good post; go read it.

This post should only be the beginning of a thread on the subject. There's really too much to be said on the subject even given the space of a half-dozen posts.

I can't say enough about the medical care available here in the city. I'm impressed with both the facilities and the professionals themselves. It's not just that it's "as- good- as" the US...it's better.

First, the government ensures that it's free to all as a basic human right. Not just to citizens but to anyone in Argentina. There was a story in the paper a few months ago about a northern hemisphere type that came here for some extreme fun and ended up fucking himself up to the point that he had an extended hospital stay. After finally checking-out...he, no doubt sheepishly, inquired as to the bill. They looked at him like he was nuts.

MtoA and I have something above and beyond that basic National Health Care (do you mind that I capitalize that?) called a Pre-Paga. It's like private health insurance but since it's "layered" on top of National Health Care so it's nothing like the expense of private insurance in the States. I'm glad to hear that Laura's outfit, Medicus, is such a good one. My wife and I use Centro Medico Pueyrredón and I could not be more pleased.

Your Pre-Paga gets you seen with no wait and some discounts on drugs and free eyeglasses and free dental (I still can't get over going to the dentist and not having to pay anything.) You get a big book of all sorts of medical pros all over the city and suburbs sorta like any HMO or PPO in the US.

(Do you know the difference between HMO, PPO, and PLO? You can negotiate with the PLO. Sorry, hee hee, couldn't resist.)

They usually maintain a facility of their own (more than a doctor's office, less than a hospital) where you can go and use the facility's staff professionals instead of choosing your own doctor's office in your neighboorhood...this will usually save you the co-pay on a visit to your neighborhood doc. I developed the habit in the US through moving around a lot of not really caring what doctor I selected. So I grab the 152 and head for the "headquarters facility" and I like everybody there. I can also pay my monthly bill at the main desk when visits coincide.

I usually like to speak in terms of pesos for things like this but I can't resist putting the price of medical care in US dollars for the full impact. My plan recently went up in price: our monthly bill is $57.00 USD.

That's a lot especially considering that you could go to a shiny clean public hospital and keep those greenbacks in your pocket. But I can't help thinking that US Social Security pensioner would dearly love to have the opportunity to pay that for half the quantity or quality that I can get for that amount.

That quantity/quality includes, like Laura said, housecalls if you need them. You also get some pretty deep discounts on drugs, free eyeglasses and lenses, free dental, psychiatric care, probably some form of coverage on cosmetic surgury, and some pretty damned impressive emergency care.

While doing something really stupid in the kitchen one night, I severed a little tendon in the back of my thumb. My wife made a phone call to a 24 hour number rather than look it up in the book, stuffed me into a taxi, and ensconced me in maybe the finest hospital in BsAs with the acknowledged best hand surgery unit in town. This hospital is not normally covered in my plan but...the emergency plan includes it. Surgeons were summoned from their dinner hour, I was examined briefly then wheeled into surgery. I spend that night and the next in a semi-private room and they wanted to keep me one more but I insisted that I was OK to go home.

That's another difference between the US and here: the care is more attentive on all levels. I never got the impression that I was getting different treatment than the locals, either.

It was all free, that is, included in whatever I was paying monthly at the time. There were a 4 or 5 copays on the bill that month, about a dollar each.

There is virtually no scar, and I have 98-99% usage of my thumb owing, no doubt, to the weeks of physical therapy that they insisted I undergo...also at no extra charge.

Just one man's story but a happy one.

Banda Ancha...o Banda Chancha?

This from an Argentine news agency named DERF on April 3: (caution: some of the promos may not still be available) by Ricardo Sametband.

¡Mamita linda! ¡Qué bolonqui es! This seems to be a great article and one-stop reference on the subject and is very current. But it is so confusing that I don't think anyone ever read it even in Castellano! I say this because it has been reprinted on web multiple times complete with a big typo. I'll point the typo*** out with what I think the author was trying to say.

Anyway, you have a lot to consider in choosing a Internet Service Provider in the big BApple. I'm now actually feeling a bit proud of myself for being a boludo about it and saying, "just get my wife some cable TV and tell 'em I'll take whatever internet they have!"

You are probably used to being constrained in your broadband choices by what cable company has served you in your other life. Here in BsAs you have the additional "feature" of being at the mercy of whatever telephone company (Telecom or Telefónica) is available to you in your area.

When you add in the guys that give you a deal on only using your rig for nights and weekends, as well as the penalty/rate-hikes for straying into the workaday hours, you've got as complicated a choice to make as I have ever seen anywhere.

That's pretty cool, though, when you consider that all of this means availability with a capital "A" and if you can digest this list it could mean that you will find something that fits your usage so well that you'll never pay for anything you won't be using.

This is a L O N G post but it doesn't seem to make any sense to break it up by company. Just keep scrolling and don't let your eyes glaze over until you've found the ISP of your dreams.

I'll paraphrase here in English Sr. Sametband's summary which gives good advice on making your broadband selection...or even select broadband at all. If all you're going to do is send emails, do some chat, and surf some basic internet pages that are not terribly graphics heavy or flashed to the bejeezus...you don't need more than 256K and for that kind of usage you might get by quite nicely with dial-up.

On the other hand, once you start getting into anything more you gonna feel the need fo' speed. Big-file downloads like music and webcam/videoconferencing and telephony will start pushing you well past 512K depending on what you're doing.

He also reminds us that some contracts call for a cancellation fee, some don't and that your mileage may vary depending on how many users are using your connection at the same time.

Another piece of advice is check their websites before you rule any of them out...they change (usually lower) their rates, throw in freebies, and extend their promos all the time.

However, in perusing a few of these sites it seems that some may be pulling the old trick of moving to a "IVA (surprise!) NOT included anymore" rate structure to try to hide increases or make them look like reductions. Keep an eye out.

Translating this was so freaking mind-numbing that I developed some serious sympathy for the author not even half way through it. Not only that but when cross-checking some of his entries I found that some companies had sweetened the pot a little or a lot. Anyway, it's a good snapshot of a point in time in what looks like a very competitive market.

Use it as a rule of thumb...then check your thumb carefully.

Mike

" By Ricardo Sametband
A guide for getting to know what the local ISPs offer in order to get your house connected to the web with a faster connection than conventional dial-up. The prices, the promotions and what you have to have up-front to get the best plan according to your needs:

Wide-band providers in Buenos Aires:

The email accounts mentioned are POP; the subscriptions offer a helpdesk and a webpage. The prices have the IVA already included. Usually, there is a charge for instalation between 50 and 75 pesos. The broadband modem is usually provided.

ASDL

Arnet
0800-888-ARNET - www.highway.arnet.com.ar

Pricing: base rate plus usage

640K and one mailbox costs $19.90/mo + 4¢/minute. First 3 mos free promo. You can pay the installation charge at the end of the month.

640K and one mailbox costs $24.90/mo + 4¢/minute after your first 90 minutes.
...after your first 3 months, your base rate goes up to $49.90.
...after your first year, your base rate goes up to $69.90.

2.5M with 3 mailboxes, a webpage, costs $49.90/mo + 4¢/minute after your first 90 minutes.
...after your first 3 months, your base rate goes up to $109.90.***
...you can get the same deal but with 1090 free minutes for $128.90.

5M with 3 mailboxes, a webpage, costs $79.00/mo + 4¢/minute after your first 90 minutes.
...after your first 3 months, your base rate goes up to $147.90.
...you can get the same deal but with 1090 free minutes for $166.90.


Flash
0810-888-8558 - www.flash.com.ar

Pricing: base rate plus usage

for Telecom customers:

640K*** and one mailbox costs $21.10/mo + 4¢/minute. First 3 months free promo. No free minutes.

2.5M and 5 mailboxes costs $21.10/mo + 4¢/minute. No free minutes.
...after your first 3 months, your base rate goes up to $115.90. No free minutes.

5M and 5 mailboxes costs $79.90/mo + 4¢/minute. No free minutes.
...after your first 3 months, your base rate goes up to $155.40. No free minutes.

for Telefónica customers:

Noche 256K and one mailbox costs you the special promo rate of $29.90/mo with unlimited usage from 8pm to 8am Monday thru Friday and all day/night Saturday and Sunday.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $83.55.
...step out of line into non-vampire hours: $2.40/hr (or fraction thereof?)

The 60 horas plan gets you 256K and one mailbox for the special promo rate of $29.90.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $83.55.
...step out of your monthly 60 anytime hours: $2.40/hr (or fraction thereof?)

The 100 horas plan gets you 256K and one mailbox for the special promo rate of $29.90.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $89.55.
...step out of your monthly 100 anytime hours: $2.40/hr (or fraction thereof?)

The Base 256 plan gets you 256K and one mailbox for the special promo rate of $48.28.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $93.75.

512K and 5 mailboxes costs you the special promo rate of $48.28.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $117.90.

1M and 5 mailboxes costs you the special promo rate of $48.28.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $142.10.

2M and 5 mailboxes costs you the special promo rate of $120.90.
...after 6 months, your base rate goes up to $226.75.


Inter.net
0810-321-8000 -
ventas@ar.inter.net

Ricardo tells us that for Telecom customers that the bandwidth for the following tariffs is quadrupled at no extra charge! For you Telefónica tipos it is as follows:

256K with 5 mailboxes costs $60.37/mo., first 3 mos. free.
512K with 25 mailboxes costs $90.62/mo., first 3 mos. free.
1M with 25 mailboxes costs $60.37/mo., first 3 mos. free.


Netizen
5093-8500 - info@ntzn.com

for Telefónica customers:

The 512K Basic plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $108.80/mo.
The 512K Full plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $133.00/mo. & includes a free domain name.

for Telecom customers:

The 1.2M Basic plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $109.00/mo.
The 2.4M Basic plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $142.90/mo.
The 1.2M Full plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $128.25/mo. & includes a free domain name.
The 2.4M Full plan with unlimited mailboxes costs $161.22./mo. & includes a free domain name.


Sion
0800-777-7466 -
info@sion.com

for Telefónica customers:

The 256K Control plan gets you 5 mailboxes and 100 hrs for $19.00 your first month.
...after that month your rate goes to $44.90.
...for months 2 and 3 it's $49.90.
...after that you pay $89.90/mo.
...any over-hours cost you $1.60 each (of fraction thereof?)

The 512 Premium plan gets you 5 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2-6 cost $69.90 each
...after that you pay $109.90.

The 512 Full Pro plan gets you 10 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2-6 cost $72.9 each
...after that you pay $112.90.

The 1M Full Pro plan gets you 10 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2-6 cost $84.90 each
...after that you pay $134.90.

The 2M Full Pro plan gets you 10 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2-6 cost $119.90 each
...after that you pay $204.00.

for Telecom customers:

The 2.5M Premium plan gets you 5 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2 & 3 cost $64.90 each.
...after that it's $102.90/mo.

The 5M Premium plan gets you 5 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mo 2 costs $76.00.
...after that it's $136.90/mo.

The 2.5M Full Pro plan gets you 10 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mos 2 & 3 cost $69.90 each.
...after that it's $107.90/mo.

The 5M Full Pro plan gets you 10 mailboxes for $19.00 your first month.
...mo 2 costs $76.00.
...after that it's $142.90/mo.


Speedy
0800-222-2468 - www.speedy.com.ar

The 256 Control Plan with 1GB of usage/mo. and 1 mailbox costs the promo price of $25.00
...after 3 mos you pay $65.22/mo.
...every MB across the line costs 1.8¢

The 60 Hora plan with 60 anytime hours and 1 mailbox costs the promo price of $29.90.
...after 3 mos you pay $78.53/mo.

The Night/Weekend plan with 1 mailbox costs the promo price of $29.90.
...after 3 mos you pay $78.53/mo.
...anything outside of M-F, 8pm-8am, & all Sat/Sun will cost you 3¢/minute.

The 100 Hora plan with 100 anytime hours and 1 mailbox costs the promo price of $29.90.
...after 3 mos you pay $84.58/mo.
...anything above and beyond 100 hours will ding you 3¢/minute.

The Speedy One plan give you 256K and 1 mailbox for the promo price of $48.28.
...after three months you pay $90.63/mo.

The 512 plan gives you 512K and 3 mailboxes for the promo price of $48.28.
...after three months you pay $114.83/mo.

The 1M plan gives you 1M and 10 mailboxes for the promo price of $48.28.
...after six months you pay $139.03/mo.

The 2M plan gives you 2M and 10 mailboxes for the promo price of $48.28.
...after 6 months you pay $223.73/mo.


UOL
0810-999-0100 - www.uol.com.ar/suscribite

for Telecom Customers:

The Light plan gives you 640K and 1 mailbox for the promo price of $24.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $49.90/mo.
...after a year it's $69.90/mo.

2.5M with 5 mailboxes is $44.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $114.90.

5M with 5 mailboxes is $75.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $154.90.

for Telefónica customers:

The Light plan gives you 256K and 1 mailbox for the promo price of $19.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $84.46/mo.

512K with 5 mailboxes is $42.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $109.38.

1M with 5 mailboxes is $75.90.
...after 3 mos. it's $136.00.


Now for all you cablemodem jockeys:

FiberTel
4778-6000 -
ventasresidenciales@fibertel.com.ar

for CableVisión customers:

512K w/5 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after 3 mos. it's $88,21/mo.

1M w/5 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after 3 mos. it's $88,21/mo.

2.5M w/10 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after June. it's $120.00/mo.

for non-CableVisión customers:

512K w/5 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after 10 mos. it's $110.00/mo.

1M w/5 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after 10 mos. it's $130/mo.

2.5M w/10 mailboxes is $40.00/mo.
...after June. it's $145.00/mo.

Now get this: Fibertel is going to give progressive discounts depending on the success of the national team in the World Cup! I don't understand the structure but...¡AGUANTE ARGENTINA!


Flash
0810-888-8558 - www.flash.com.ar

128K with a mailbox is $19.90 until August 1.
...after that it's $44.90.

600K with 5 mailboxes is 19.90 until August 1.
...after that it's $69.90.

1M with 5 mailboxes is $19.90 until August 1.
...after that it's $105.40.


TeleCentro
0810-810-1111 -
ventas@telecentro.com.ar

256K with 3 mailboxes costs you $105...and they throw in the cable TV for free!
512K with 4 mailboxes costs you $123...and they throw in the cable TV for free!
1M with 4 mailboxes costs you $143...and they throw in the cable TV for free!

Internet in Buenos Aires

(Part 2 here)

An internet micro-outage (less than 10 minutes) at exactly at 12:45 today that I experienced in the middle of a call to Yanquilandia got me to thinkin' about anybody in a similar situation.

How are youse guys doin' on your internet connection?

God knows, we residents here are fortunate in terms of the web. This place must truly be one of the great good places for internet in the world. But getting your home-rig together has been a problem for some of us. I hope that we might be able to share tips here that could cut down on the headaches and surprises.

Personally, I run a Cablevision/Fibertel cablemodem setup that costs me:
$145.28 ARG
-$14.27 ARG free trial/2.5 mega that you see on all the billboards around town.
-$46.10 ARG because I'm a Cablevisión customer
+$ 3.80 ARG for 5 mega of extra storage...for which I think I'm billed every 2 months.

That's a grand total of $107.34 argentine per month.

I run all that through a VOIP gizmo that allows me a Chicago areacode/tel# for a normal "Ma Bell type" deskphone...into a wireless router for two computers.

Whaddya tink? What are you using?

What's your rig? Are you happy? Got any stories to tell? How hard was it to decide on a provider or were you locked in by what was available in your barrio?

Was installation a nightmare or a was it seamless?

Did you do a cost-analysis or did you just grab something without much thought?

Did you consider working/playing out of a cybercafe across the street or 'round the corner?

How's your speed? How do you measure it (meter or just plain satisfaction)?

Have you heard much about the efforts to turn BsAs into one big wireless hotspot? Are you interested in that?

Like I said, we should share such knowledge to wise-up ourselves and save some others headaches.

Gimme gimme gimme,
Mike

...a little more on the 5 Year Brick Wall (from Salon.com)

fiona said...
Interesting theorising, Mike. I do notice a tendency in myself to immediately ask "how long are you staying" when I meet someone new. Not necessarily because I think they will break my heart in any particular way, but often because they have a different agenda to the long-termers. A LOT of people zip through this town, and you can't develop meaningful relationships with all of them. Incidentally, interested in the Brick Wall theory. Where would I get my hands on more info on that one?

This phenom won't interest everyone but there is a significant number of us that have long term plans for BsAs...and this theory kinda throws some cold water on them.

I ran into the study a few years ago and, while I can't find it again yet, the conclusions stayed with me. As I mentioned before in a post, my dear aunt and uncle that set me on this expat trail (truth be told) lived and loved in Mexico for 4 years and 364 days. So I have strong suspicions that the theory is true.

I promised Fiona that I would dig up this study and send her some more on it.

In the meantime, I couldn't help but notice this from a Wednesday column in Salon.com about an expat in Sweden:

"For the past five years I have been living in Sweden...now I can't decide if I should stay or if I should move back to the U.S."

Nothing definitive there and everybody's story is different...but I thought it might keep you interested until I can locate some more.

Remate en Cacharí

Yanqui Mikey is so very proud to have "YouTube'd" himself well into the 21st Century with a ¡VIDEO POST! on your faithful blog of things BsAs.

We decided to unecessarily burn some more of the planet's GNC and slide down to Cacharí to view a dozen of our tasty terneros that we sent to a local auction in a small town near our spread. We usually sell directly to invernadores through our consignatarios where they are, as the word suggests, wintered. The unusual method of sale was because of the unusually small lot (12) and an interest on our part in doing something different and maybe learning something new.

The following is not exactly vegetarian-safe but you may rest assured that, due to legislation signed by K recently, relatively none of our animals go directly to the frigorificos...because they are too young to have achieved the legal weight for slaughter.

So this was kind of cool. I don't think 6000 people live in Cacharí but there were that many cows there yesterday...the most they've ever had there on one day. Not ever having been to anything like this, we don't know how typical it is but it was big fat slice of La Argentina that even few Argentines get to see.

The visit started about 1:30 pm with a lunch for the buyers and sellers. There were about 50 of us that commandeered a local restaurant to dig into some fine asado. This was accompanied by lots of the usual suspects: red wine, salads, fiambres, and a local speciality: a multi-layered torta that is dusted with powdered sugar into which a hot branding iron with the name of the town is plunged into the dusting...carmelizing the town's name into the top of the cake. I've never seen this done anywhere in the world. It is a way-cool technique that could be emulated to great effect by almost anybody. (full disclosure: The Yanq was a baker as a very young man.)

We then drove to the end of Main Street where the pavement ended in front of the not- so- mini stockyards. Shaded under scads of big old trees, behind a big colonial-looking building, were maybe 100 small pens and yards with great wide "streets" between them through which the auctioneer rode on a tall horse-drawn coach which he stopped at each pen. He described each lot over a portable loudspeaker and took the bids and brought the hammer down...and moved onto the next lot. The crowds of buyer followed along on foot. Very efficient and fun.

On the grounds, on a tremendous autumn day, there were big out-buildings where gaucho- types sat around under the porches and passed the mate and even cooked some bife. The Mrs. and I spied another that had a table set with refreshments and contracted ourselves a couple of gin and tonics (with big cubes of ice!) for a total of 3 pesos. Needless to say, we ordered another round on the way out.

Ultimately, the hammer came down on us and our dozen at a little less than our going rate. But we attibute most of that to a slightly depressed market, the fact that there was a record amount of animals on offer, and that our incredibly beautiful terneritos had to be mixed in with some "lesser" calfs because they were too few to take up a pen by themselves. But all in all, very enjoyable.

Expat Groups...Have No Axe, Will Not Grind

Miss T, writes in a comment:

"Did you have a bad experience Yanqui Mike?
I haven't gone to any meetings yet, but belong to the yahoo group for BA expats. Most of the time I find the info helpful, but there are times when people go on and on about freakin' peanut butter or where to get orange juice, it can get a bit tedious. But I am looking forward to meeting quite a few of the members when I get back to town!"

No, no, no! As hard as I tried in wording the last post, I could not avoid sounding like someone with an axe to grind. There is no axe and even if there was I wouldn't grind it.

I used to spend a little time with one of the big ones here in town, then I dabbled with another group, and now I'm a very infrequent visitor with another that I like very much.

I'm just generally fascinated with the dynamics of these orgs. What's it like for the organizers and the core of people that never leave...because the vast majority show up once and never come back.

I never derived much benefit from them...but I sure had fun on occasion. Most of the time, actually. But I think that some people find love, money, salvation, everything...and others either detest these groups or destest the idea of even thinking of involving themselves.

Another thing that keeps my eye on this phenom is "The Brick Wall." It is well known among expats and the sociologists that study them that an expat that stays in a country for more than 5 years is rather unlikely to return to the country of their birth. By the same token, any expat that has been in-country for less than 5 years, no matter how fancy their patter, stands a much better than average chance of going back.

Even further, there are two classes of expat in any country: the long-termers and the short-termers. These two groups tend not to associate with each other. That's really fascinating to me.

The long-termers will tell you that it breaks their hearts not to even begin relationships with people that have not been in town for long...even when they look like good prospects for staying. They say it's just too painful to "break-up" after developing a relationship, even with all the promises of visiting and constant contact through email and such. The short-termers will tell you stories of unexplainable "cold-shoulders" from long-term people that they really hit it off with. I'm not just refering to singles, these comments are more likely to come from couples looking another couple to pal around with.

Personally, I don't fall in either group. I'm fully comfortable with other people's feelings either way and, even though I have plans to be planted over by Ol' Perón up in Chacarita, I view even the most permanently seeming things as being relatively transient all things considered.

My dear aunt and uncle, that set me on this expat trail, truth be told, lived and loved in Mexico for 4 years and 364 days. So I have strong suspicions that the theory is true.

The big thing to me is: I've never heard both sides share their opinions about the experience with each other. The stayers stay and the goers go and they don't have much contact with each other after the fact.

Let's change that!

Love, Hate, Indifference...Expat Groups

I would dearly love you to share your opinions regarding these organizations.

Tell me if you love them and why. Tell me if you hate them and why. And if you don't have much of an opinion either way, why do you think that is?

Have you ever "belonged" to one of these or attended an event? What keeps you going? Why did you stop? Did you ever find them useful? Did you ever have a bad experience?

Gimme, gimme, gimme!

baexpats.com...11am, every Tuesday

I did it! I finally made it to a baexpats.com event after many months of lapse. Nice group. I won't try to remember everyone's name but it was impressive how diverse 10 people could be: sexes, ages, nationalities. A very well done and interesting variation on these kinds of getogethers in that you didn't have to be hungry at whatever designated dinner hour we proto-porteños eat, no one concerned themselves with the menú, no table service so there was none of the commotion of splitting the bill. Just 100% cafecito-talk among all us strange people with our strange stories.

It looks to be a regular thing, every Tuesday, sametime, sameplace.

I have been meaning to introduce a bit of discussion about the many ExPat/ Newcomer/ WelcomeWagon organizations that are available in town...but I haven't done so and here is a new kind of event that baexpats.com is trying for the first time and I'd like to get out a shout to Chris and Igor y Cía before it's too late.

I would dearly love your take on these groups both individually and as a whole. I am familiar with some personally, some I've heard of, and some are springing up like mushrooms it seems. I like baexpats though I have trouble coordinating my schedule with everybody on earth. The coffee break thing is walking distance from my house so I'm going to do my best to check it out.

Coffee breaks at 11 with www.baexpats.com

We would like to try something different this time. This Tuesday morning at 11am we are meeting for a coffee break at Aroma Cafe on the corner of Uruguay and Santa Fe. Number of people here have expressed an opinion that in addition to the our dinners we should do something that is less about food and more about conversation. Well, that means this Tuesday, Monday 9th is going to be your lucky day (or rather morning :).

Aroma is a chain of coffee stores similar to Starbucks. They do not seem to have a particular fixation on Argentine traditions and go beyond usual coffee with medialunas type of breakfast. You can select from several coffee brands and drink types, desserts are interesting. You buy things at the counter and take them to your table and the whole atmosphere is very informal.

We are going to meet downstairs - there is usually plenty of space there.

For a review of the place you can check this blog message.

New Parrillas...

http://parrillasyanquimike.blogspot.com/

I think I have every little hidden gem that was sent this way updated on the Parrilla Escondida page! If I have missed any...please do me the personal favor of pointing out my error.

Wow. There are some good ones. I can't wait to sink my teeth into some of these fine recommends. There's also a link to Laura @ Moving to Argentina for a fine primer on buying La Carne that I think is essential to ordering in restaurants.

Neglecting EVERYTHING!

...you ever feel like that?

Well...by way of excuses, it's that time of year. But before you get too terribly tough on me you really SHOULD try castrating a bunch* of baby cows*...let's not even talk about what the bulls needed.

So here I sit, quaffing a fine Argentine quaffable, and trying to find a comfortable postion in which to catch up on da blag. There's lot's of good new stuff!
(*technical cow language)

New Feature!

http://parrillasyanquimike.blogspot.com

Let's do it. It deserves to be done and nobody is going to do it other than us.

We need a directory of real parrillas where real people from real neighborhoods go to do the real Argentine thing...eat good beef at real Buenos Aires prices.

Don't get me wrong, I like to put on the dog as much if not more than the next guy. What a shame it would be if there weren't places like the Alvear Palace and Las Lilas and the score of other world-class places to complement this world-class city. But there wouldn't be exemplary places like that if there wasn't a beef eating culture exemplified the shear number of neighborhood joints where terrific carne y vino y un poquito más wasn't available to the people that have lived in the barrio for generations.

Laura knows of places in the suburbs that should be included and I see no reason to get all geographical about it...there good meat in Avellaneda, por ejemplo! Miss Tango leans a bit toward keeping the "good stuff" to ourselves but I think she could come around.

I'm not sure how to do it...and I'm glad for that. Gimme a hand and let's figure it out together. We can put together something that will serve to enrich our Porteño thang and maybe even leave a record to the city that is changing so quickly.

Please share with your personal gurús de bife!

I just heard...

...that there are 100,000 people in Gualeguaychú.

¡Es Feriado!

Man! Even the Disco is closed. A little culture clash...the trip to the Easy just got cancelled, too. Well good on La Reina de la Plata. It's good to make everybody stop and think how important is every worker great and small. (My antenna's up been up for what might happen in California anyway!) Thank God for my little supermercado chino or my sudden oatmeal jones would still be with me. Sounds like a great day for Barrio Chino! Maybe I'll take my camera. Feliz día del trabajador, Mike