El 10

Today was the day of our class trip to lunch during the "conversation" period in school. Besides me, my Russian/Israeli friend Artem, our Swiss classmate Arne & our teacher Héctor, a woman from another class named Sara joined us as well. Somehow we chose to go to an Argentine restaurant named "El 10" after soccer star Diego Maradona's jersey number (a sign near the door proclaims that while Brazilian star Pelé was the king of soccer, the god is from Argentina). I had heard of El 10 before as my friends here are quite fond of it so I was pretty happy with the selection despite the many excellent Mexican options nearby.

It was a bit of a walk & we chatted in Spanish as best we could on our way. We arrived shortly before they were open, but they let us sit at our table to wait for the staff to prepare for the rush (within an hour of opening there was a wait for tables, and this was lunch on a weekday). I was surprised to see the menu proudly proclaim that their beef was 100% US Angus instead of the legendary Argentine pampas-raised version, but I suppose Texas is a lot closer.

We had some terrific Argentine sausage to start (Héctor is a huge fan) & we ordered a large platter of "Arrachera" or flank steak for the main attraction. It was definitely some of the best Argentine food I've had this far north & surprisingly inexpensive. Sara is from Texas & despite being tiny & slender, she literally drank the juices from her empty plate when the steak was done. Very impressive. As we still had a little room left, we ordered a round of "Provoleta" which is grilled provolone cheese topped here with grilled tomato slices. We washed it down with Argentina's own Quilmes beer & a glass of good Malbec for yours truly as I felt compelled to eat my steak with this classic pairing.

Then the talk of mezcal came up & we decided it was a good idea to continue our education over this indigenous alcohol. For those of you who don't know, mezcal is any alcohol distilled from cactus. Technically tequila is "mezcal de tequila" but as it has a much grander reputation than it's siblings, tequila producers don't advertise this fact. There is a huge range of mezcals as the flavor changes depending on the region, cactus, distilling technique & possible infusion with herbs or other agents. I have a fondness for some of the earthier & more challenging mezcals & they've leap-frogged tequila on my list of preferred spirits (one distilled through lamb & infused with prunes has a hint of Moroccan tagine to my palate). Sadly, the excellent mezcal bar nearby was closed for 2 more hours & we decided to go our separate ways. Don't fret- I've already stopped into "La Botica", the mezcal bar in question, and it won't be my last visit of my trip. I'm still working on a good bottle or 2 to bring home with me, but it's not as easy here as it was in Oaxaca which is more or less the center of the non-tequila mezcal world. ¡Besos!