Mr. Fish - 300 Millionth Baby

via truthdig.com

Parrilla

I don't know how "escondida" this is...and it tips the scale a bit on price under our criteria (depending on what you order, of course, but the cheapest bottle of wine is $40ARG) but it's a good one. My first time there was really a good meal!

You can find it in San Telmo a door or two from the corner of Bolívar and Estados Unidos. There were few hispanoparlantes either upstairs or on the main floor when we visited on Wednesday so that and the fact that the joint encourages reservations obviously puts it into the "touristy" catagory.

Now, it's always been popular with well-known athletes but I always thought it was rather hidden. In fact, I remember back around the year 2000 or so it became a favorite hideaway for politicos that dared not show their faces in their favorite parrillas for fear of being aflicted by the less comfortable. I guess it's caught on.

I swear to you, going by price, I didn't think that I had ordered a much bigger steak than any of my 6 dining companions (all helping celebrate Mamá's 84th birthday) but that's not the way it worked out. It just so happened that I couldn't decide between lomo and bife de chorizo and I noticed a T-Bone on the carta (not a common cut on yer regalur Porteño menu.) Since my Aunt Susie and Uncle Dick were fresh in from the EEUU, I also thought that it would help them compare the local carne with what we have back in the old country.


¡'ta que lo parió! What a mammoth! It was scary. First the size scared me and then the fact that monsters like that (back in the states) are often unimpressive in matters of taste. No problems with this bad boy, tho. Both sides of the bone were screamin' with the real beef flavor that we transplants have come to demand as much or more than do the locals and it was as tender as a cut of this kind can be coming from an animal that has to walk around looking for it's next mouthful of tender pasto.


Not only that...the mollejas were maybe the best I ever ate, the chorizo top-notch, the morcilla bon-bon sized and scrumptious, the grilled provolone drew raves from every Argentine and thrilled the rest of the table, and the chimichurry was strangly spicy and the closest to what I have always imagined that peculiar steak sauce oughta be.

Varios salads and arugula all around...

Two bravehearts gave the high sign to dessert with their coffee...and I embarrased myself by not being able to stop stealing spoonfuls of sambayon from my auntie (though she was happy for the assist.)

One bottle of medium priced malbec satisfied the few drinkers at the table and several bottles of water did the trick for the rest.

You tell me: $445ARG was the bill for seven.

October US Senate update

Let's get this one in now...and I'll be back with the last one in November to make some real predictions.

(In the meantime, I'll have visitors from Yanquilandia, my dear Aunt and Uncle for about 5 weeks! There'll be much re-looking at Buenos Aires thru their eyes and that should make for some good BsAs posts.)

Like I said in my last update, there are 13 states in which neither party has a lock on the outcome. Dems need 11 of those 13 to form a majority...the US House of Represetatives will go very Democrat this november so we're concentrating on the Senate here.

The good news is that Dems have locked-up 7 of my original 13!

The bad news is that they still need 4 of the above 6.

Of the above 6:

MT is in the bag for the Democrats.
RI will dump the incumbent Republican.
TN will have its first Black Senator (at least since Reconstruction), the Dem Harold Ford

That leaves the Dems with 10 of the necessary 11.

AZ has been a good strong campaign but it's looking mighty red at this point.
MO will probably stay Republican if for nothing more their money advantage.
VA could fall to the Democrats in light of the recent scandal...but don't count on it.

That leaves the Dems looking for at least one more to take back control. If not, the Senate will be tied 50-50 and all the leadership positions will remain stocked with Republicans.

The national mood up north, however, has been trending very Dem this year. It would not be terribly surprising if some previously thought Republican stronghold falls.

See you in November with some firm predictions. Most likely we'll be looking at the weakest of strongly Republican states: Probably VA...and something unforseeable today.

Paraguay changes its mind on US immunity

Tremendous good news from a neighbor to the north...in case you hadn't heard, 400 US military personnel are in Paraguay right now for military exercises at the Estigarribia base (above) which can handle up to 500,000 troops and the largest of all military aircraft.

These exercises, conducted out of the base that Strossner built for the US in the '80s, were contingent on Paraguay granting diplomatic immunity for every single Yanqui from the Ambassador to the lowliest Buck Private.

Paraguay's disappointing decision of several months ago to allow this controversial immunity made it the lone Mercosur nation to shield US troops from any possible prosecution in the International Criminal Court under a virtually perpetual, automatically renewing defense cooperation agreement. The US had threatened every Mercosur nation with billions of losses in aid if this immunity was not granted.

Yesterday's decision by the Duarte government, however, said that under international treaty law, exceptions to immunity can only be made in cases of foreign diplomats and administrative personnel.

U.S. military exercises will continue through 1 December when the agreement was next scheduled to renew.