BLOCHO'S TACOS

What I'm about to say is not a huge revelation and many before me have said the same. Learning a language is hard. I technically  speak Spanish.  I took classes throughout high school (and my HS had an immersive, no English allowed, approach to teaching languages).  I spent a summer in Spain.  I've visited Argentina (and spent the majority of time with Spanish-speakers) 3 times.  I can get by with my limited knowledge of the subjunctive and the few vocabulary words that I know. Post-Buenos Aires, I wanted to brush up on my Spanish so I felt confident speaking the language.  I downloaded Duolingo , changed my phone to Spanish, and began texting with my Argentine friends in Spanish only.  I also dedicated a notebook to new Spanish words and phrases that I am learning (or forgot and am relearning).  Sometimes I even listen to Spanish talk radio.  This is all great. Here's the catch: learning a language is hard when you do not practice sp...

I have lots of isms.  Well, really they are my life theories that I try and phrase succinctly.  Yes, my tell-tale sayings or phrases that describe a situation.  That is an ism. When George Bush was President and said some silly things they were coined Bushisms. I want to coin MayDayisms.  I have lots of philosophies on life that I believe others deserve to hear.   I have been thinking about devoting an entirely new blog to my MayDayisms and musings.  I muse a lot. Thanks to Google for these 2 very helpful factoids about isms: Pretty interesting that the use of "ism" has increased in the past 60 or so years.  Can everyone have their own type of ism?

When my sister first visited and then lived in Buenos Aires in 2010 she spoke (and blogged) about yerba mate .  This tea-style drink was an Argentine staple, and actually fairly common throughout South America.  I had heard of "mate" from my visits to Argo Tea  when I enjoyed the Roasted Mate or Mate Latte.  The flavor, I recalled, was slightly bitter, but very robust and "chewy" and Argo did a great job of making this drink accessible to the masses. When I walked out of Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires in August 2010, my sister greeted me with an enormous hug and thrust a wooden cup/chalice with a metal spoon/straw in my face.  This was mate. Well, actually the cup was the mate and the green stuff inside was the yerba .  The metal straw was a bombilla and I was not allowed to touch it.  The tea was delicious and when I handed the "empty" (water-less) mate back to my sister and said "Gracias, Julia" she quickly noted that saying "Grac...

On my list of NY Taco/Mexican Restaurants to Try is La Esquina.  It has been on the list since 2011. It is difficult to get a reservation at La Esquina and although I've managed to make 3 (!!!!) on OpenTable, I have had to cancel all of them.  There is an element of secrecy that surrounds La Esquina.  The door to the downstairs restaurant is disguised by two things -- 1.  A walk-in taqueria and 2. An "Employees Only" sign.  To make your way downstairs you must get past the one or two "door keepers"...these are not bouncers...that guard the entrance. Side note: As I read more about La Esquina in preparation for this post, I realized I did not understand the experience in full.  According to web sources the entrance to the restaurant is actually around the corner.  So are there 3 locations that are part of this taco tequila conglomerate?   Yes.  Taqueria and Brasserie and Cafe.  Oh my! Logistics aside, on Saturday night at 12:35 (so...

You know when you're slightly hungry but really not sure what you want to eat and would love a little variety plate to nibble on? Enter La Picada . I'm relying a lot on Google and Wikipedia to help me explain these new dishes to the masses (by masses I mean my handful of readers.  Thank you, readers), so according to Wikipedia a picada is a Colombian dish with various meats that are usually fried  and accompanied by yucca and plantain and maybe potato. I know a picada to be essentially a meat and cheese platter in Argentina with olives and maybe some other antipasti type accouterments that are not fried.  The name picada  comes from the verb picar  which means to sting, to bite, to nibble on . During my week in Buenos Aires, I dined on many picadas and always loved how satisfying it was to have many different options in front of me. My favorite picada was at El Nono Amigo   Almacén .  This small neighborhood restaurant has ample outdoor...

My dad and I were hangin' in my hood on this chilly Saturday morning when we decided a cup of coffee and a place to sit and chat (and maybe grab a bite to eat) was in order. I've been walking by Oro Bakery and Bar  on Broome Street since I moved down to SoLiChi (SoHo/ Little Italy/Chinatown a.k.a. No Man's Land) and today decided it would be the perfect venue to fit the bill. The little bakery/bar/cafe has 4 tables in the front (potentially more in the back, I didn't venture past the cashier) and upon walking in I immediately felt a homey warmth to the place.  Sitting at one of the two-tops, my dad and I ordered cappuccinos and a croissant and blueberry yogurt with almonds and honey, respectively. I was very torn between the yogurt and the homemade granola with almond milk, but knowing that I will definitely go back to Oro, I opted for the yogurt.  The menu also features egg dishes, tartines, and salads that all sounded very appetizing and seemed reasonably pri...

Brace yourselves! The post you have all been waiting for! CHIPÁ! What is chipá?  I call it cheesy bread.   According to Wikipedia via Google: " Cheese buns ,   cheese breads,   pão de queijo  or   chipá  are a variety of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls ”. I have a few problems with this definition: 1.       These are not cheese flavored. There is real cheese (and lots of it) in these bad boys. 2.      Cheese bun sounds like a version of a Danish and, again, these are not “flavored” or Danish-like In other South American countries there have variations on chipá so I give kudos to Wikipedia for associating them with Brazil’s popular pão de queijo. I discovered these bundles of joyful deliciousness while dining at Cabaña Las Lilas.  I asked if they had any gluten-free bread and they pointed to the chipá.  I was initially very hesitant because the consistency was li...