-----> supermarket

Argentine food, at points, leaves something to be desired. It isn't very flavorful or tasty - think: watered-down Italian. Obviously there is some great beef and pizza to be had, but...eh. It's very disjointed. Sometimes I am just like...no, really, how can you eat that?

Combine this with the fact that I am living with one of the worst cooks I have ever met in my life. My food at my other house on Figueroa Alcorta was exquisite as Argentine cuisine goes, mostly because there was a full-time maid who slaved away on it every afternoon as her only chore, and because we were eating the best cuts of meat and the freshest, most expensive vegetables. It was a simple but extremely satisfying menu.

Now that I am forced to eat nearly inedible food (minus the nights I eat with Guille, as his food as really good) I've developed some routine grocery store guilty pleasure habits to complement the not very tasty food I eat nightly. Today I was sad to realize that my grocery store purchases can basically be broken down into some key groups:

1. Chocolate (Argentines love sweets, and therefore have their own good chocolate as well as all the great, imported European stuff)
2. Wine
3. Maruchan Cup of Noodles - Spicy chicken flavor (I'm not going to try to defend it)
4. Imported bad Mexican food (refried beans, canned salsa verde)
5. Cornichons (Here I have started to eat like a pregnant woman and have been known to combine the Cornichons and chocolate).

I miss food in the US. As a country, I think we have pretty decent taste buds. Chipotle, Sushi Land on Lancaster Avenue, Typhoon, Don Pancho's, even those $8-$10 white people sandwiches that they get away with selling in Portland. Can't wait to see you all...