Things are looking up. I think!!
We made our way back into town after we finally had a chance to change our clothes, brush our teeth and lay down (for all of 10 minutes). Once again we passed the car dealerships, furniture shops and the few kiosks that were open, and then we found our way to the pedestrian street, Callie Sarmiento, which was filled with shops (some of which had opened as it was now late Saturday afternoon) and restaurants.
We had stopped by the “I” (tourist information) and some of the places mentioned that were worth checking out included the old city near Parque O’Higgins (yup, a good Spanish name 
). We decided that would be our first destination. But unbeknownst to us, everything and I mean EVERYTHING is closed on Saturday afternoons outside of the commercial center.
We walked for what seemed like miles (OK, it was probably only about 1 mile but when you are hungry the time and miles drag on) and passed nothing that had anything to offer. Not only no food, but nothing worth looking at either.
We started to think twice about what Mendoza proper had to offer. But now we were getting hungrier and hungrier and all we wanted was a little snack to tide us over until dinner. But to be honest, we found absolutely nothing, not even a candy bar or a bottled water.
We put our heads together and decided that since it was getting late we would just venture back to the commercial district and have a late lunch. So instead of eating a late heavy dinner, we would just go out for some wine and snacks later on in the evening. We had heard about a restaurant called Estancia la Florencia in Frommers and to be honest, we hadn’t been steered wrong by them yet.
We finally found the restaurant and thankfully saw lots of empty outdoor tables. Remember, it was now way past lunch time and definitely too early for dinner so at least the service would be quick!!
We were both feeling a bit stressed and pissed by this time. Between the nightmare at the hotel and the past 2 hours spent trying to find food, we were itchin for some cocktails and some good Argentinean meat!! We started with a couple of Pisco Sours before we dove into the menu.
Our first course was the jamon crudo with pineapple, as melon was not in season. Really a very tasty starter and something we can do in CR (as the pina there is awesome!!) I went basic and chose the Bife de Lomo (250 grams) ordered rare as usual with a side of spinach with parmesean cheese (a nice change from potatoes). Mike decided that he was going to be a bit adventurous.
We had heard about the Chivito (little goat) as a specialty here in Argentina but hadn’t tried it yet. Apparently it got rave reviews here at Estancia so Mike thought. . .what the hell and ordered the Chivito Campestre (little goat stew with sweet peas, carrots, demi glace sauce with mushrooms, tomato sauce and noisette potatoes).
All this was to be washed down with a bottle of Florencia Niveas Malbec Reserve 2004 (14% alcohol . .just want we needed!!)
While I had one of the best steaks of my life (which is saying a lot after 2 weeks in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as Peter Lugers) Mike was sorely disappointed. I guess after the prior evening and the morning we had, this was not the time to try something new. He was actually very disappointed. To be honest, I tasted it and it was actually pretty good, but just not the amazing piece of steak that he had been craving for hours. Guess he learned his lesson.
We ordered a tiramisu for dessert in the hopes it would improve his impression of the meal. While I thought it was quite good, it really did nothing to lift his spirits.
Basically there was nothing to do other than go back to the hotel and take a nap. In the end, this was exactly what we did.
But there should be no surprise that a few hours later Mike was once again hungry (as he had left over most of his chivito). There was no way I could eat another huge meal so I let him figure out what he wanted. We had heard about a restaurant called Azafran that got amazing reviews (also at Frommer’s but basically everywhere else we researched as well). It took awhile to find it as neither of us wrote down the name nor could remember it, although we did remember the cross streets.
The menu looked amazing, but remember, I wasn’t that hungry. After perusing the menu we decided on the Carne y Queso Tabla (basically a plate of cured meats and cheeses). I figured I would pick and there should be more than enough to hold him over. There was a lot riding on this choice as we were both a little unhappy with Mendoza so far.
There is no wine list at Azafran. Rather they bring you into the wine cellar and you wait for the sommelier while checking out their selections. We spoke with Fernando for quite awhile explaining what we liked and what we didn’t. He then provided us with a few recommendations. We chose the Cavas de Weinert Gran Vino 2002 (a Cabernet/Malbec/Merlot blend). While the wine was decanting we started to think that things were looking up for us in Mendoza. Good wine, great atmosphere and what we hoped would be a great choice for dinner.
And we were not disappointed. The platter consisted of numerous cheeses including mozzarella, brie, emmenthal and gouda, along with smoked salmon, 4 or 5 types of cured meats, olives, raisins and nuts. A HUGE feast for the senses!! I think the favorite for both of us was the brie on homemade bread!! All this was followed by the Molten Chocolate cake dessert for Mike (of which I of course shared).
While not cheap by Argentina standards, we walked away stuffed (with an awesome bottle of wine) for less than $70 for the two of us. We really are starting to like Mendoza!!
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