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Food and Drink

Montevideo Restaurant Review: Rocco Resto

December 9, 2009 by Brian



This restaurant review for Rocco Resto is long overdue. We discovered Rocco Resto our first week in Montevideo (since it’s just a few blocks from Punta Trouville, the apart hotel we stayed at when we first arrived in Uruguay) and we quickly became “regulars.”

Rocco Resto is a great place to eat at or enjoy a bottle of wine, whether you’re just visiting or living in Uruguay. The owners Ali and Gerado and the entire staff are extremely friendly (and most of them speak English).

The prices at Rocco Resto are reasonable, similar to other restaurants in the Pocitos area of Montevideo. The atmosphere is casual and they also have a bar in the restaurant where you can watch the futbol match and have a liter of beer.

They have a little bit of everything on their menu and everything is good. Brian’s favorite is the beef stroganoff and Chrystal’s is the chicken curry (sorry, we don’t have pictures of either of these, but they are great!).

The lomo (similar to filet mignon) dishes are also wonderful:
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They typically have a fish of the day, and every time we’ve had it, it has been good:
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For you vegetarians and vegetable lovers, their vegetables al wok, which is one of the house specialties, are also delicious:
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If you’re looking for a good appetizer, try the mini pollo (chicken) brochettes. You can also order them with lomo (beef) if you prefer:
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We were just in Rocco Resto over the weekend and found out that they’re having a deck built this week, just in time for summer. So if you’re in the area, stop by Rocco Resto and enjoy a meal or drink.

Rocco Resto is located on 21 de Setiembre and Francisco Vidal, one block from the Rambla.



Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: montevideo restaurante review, restaurant review, rocco resto, uruguay

Thanksgiving for Expats in Uruguay

November 19, 2009 by Brian



Turkey
If you’re currently an expat living in Uruguay, or will be visiting for the holidays, you may be thinking about where to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

The 4th Annual Thanksgiving Feast, hosted by Southron, will be held on November 26 at Club 27 de Diciembre de 1911. Turkey, meat and beverages will be provided. You’ll need to bring a side dish with you (coordinate that with Clara, who can be found on either of the pages below).

Visit the event page on Facebook for more information. Or you can read more on the Southron Forum. You must confirm your attendance this weekend.

Hope to see you there.



Filed Under: Entertainment, Food and Drink Tagged With: expats in uruguay, thanksgiving

Uruguay Restaurant Review: Las Papitas

October 21, 2009 by Brian



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A few months back a new restaurant, Las Papitas, opened downstairs so we decided to check it out. And, we’ve been going there ever since. The staff is extremely friendly (most of them speak English), and the food is great.

Las Papitas has a concept unique in Montevideo… they just serve French fries. French fries with every type of dip imaginable. In fact, they have more than 20 dips to choose from. They recently added a picante dip to the menu for us (it’s not posted on the menu, so you’ll have to ask for it especially if you want to try it). Thanks guys!

But, we recently discovered our favorite item at Las Papitas, Revuelto Gramajo (UY$129). Revuelto Gramajo consists of skinny fries, egg, cheese, panceta (bacon), green onions and red bell peppers fried together. If you ask for picante, they’ll throw in some diced chile pepper or Tabasco for you. It’s delicious, and the closest thing to Carne Asada Fries I think we’re going to find in Montevideo.

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They also serve sweet potato fries (boniatos), which are good. We haven’t tried their Canadian Poutine yet, but it’s a dish that originated in Quebec and is supposed to be good. They also serve smoothies, which we haven’t tried yet (once the weather warms up we’ll definitely be sampling the smoothies).

Prices start at UY$49 for a small cone of fries (no dips), and go up to UY$139 for a large cone of fries with 3 dips.

Las Papitas is located at 21 de Setiembre 2853 esquina Ellauri. Telephone: 712-4033.

Become a fan of Las Papitas on facebook.

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Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: canadian poutine, french fries, las papitas, review, Revuelto Gramajo, uruguay restaurant

Casa Singer: The World of Spices

October 16, 2009 by Brian


 
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As avid cooks, we’re always looking for new specialty foods stores in Montevideo where we can procure our favorite ingredients. We came across a store in Centro, Casa Singer. Thank you Clara.

Casa Singer carries a wide range of spices, flours, grains, dried fruits, extracts, condiments and ethnic foods. The prices are a bit high, but you’ll find foods and spices here you won’t find elsewhere in Montevideo.

We picked up some dried chilies (52 grams), ground cayenne pepper (62 grams), ground cumin seed (52 grams) and a big jar of mixed peppercorns (225 grams) for UY $680 (U$S 32.77).

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For the Spanish translations, click here.

Casa Singer is located at Av. 18 de Julio 1612. Phone: 409-7846.

Pictures of Casa Singer's interior:

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Filed Under: Food and Drink, Shopping Tagged With: Casa Singer, centro, montevideo, singer, specialty foods stores, spices

Bambu Asian Market in Montevideo

October 13, 2009 by Brian


We’ve been to Bambu a few times now and realized we haven’t written about it yet. Bambu is a small Asian market located in Montevideo where you can pick up a variety of Asian foods, spices and more.

It’s a small store, but you’ll find the staples to make an Asian meal, such as rice noodles, chili sauce, sesame oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, wasabi powder, etc. They also have prepared Asian meals available for take out. And, as unusual as it may sound for an Asian market, one of the things we frequently visit Bambu for is their rice “Cheerios.”

We’ve mentioned before that you can’t get Cheerios in Montevideo (at least not that we’ve seen). There are a couple of imitations at the supermarket, but we don’t even find them edible.

Bambu has private-labeled their own version of Cheerios, but they’re made with rice (instead of wheat) and sweetened with honey. I’d actually say they’re better than the “real thing.” This trip we picked up 4 of the big bags (250 grams each) so that we won’t run out for a while. The large bag runs UY $37 (U$S 1.78).

We also purchased a bag of rice noodles (340 grams) for UY $74 (U$S 3.57), and chili sauce for UY $115 (U$S 5.54)… both for yesterday’s Recipe of the Week.

Bambu is located at San Jose 1290. Phone: 902-7720.

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Filed Under: Food and Drink, Shopping Tagged With: asian market, bambu, montevideo

The Exploring Uruguay Forum is Now Live!

October 2, 2009 by Brian

Thank you to all of our blog readers for asking so many great questions about Uruguay. The number of questions we’ve been getting has increased significantly, so we decided it was time to create the Exploring Uruguay Forum.

We’ve been working hard on getting the forum ready over the past several days and we’re excited to announce that it’s finally live.

So, come by the Exploring Uruguay Forum today and post a question about Uruguay. Or, share your experiences with living in Uruguay, or visiting Uruguay.

Thanks in advance for contributing to the community!

Filed Under: Baby, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Family, Financial, Food and Drink, Health Care, Household, Language, News, Packing, Politics, Real Estate, Services, Travel, Uruguay Blogs, Web/Tech Tagged With: exploring uruguay forum, forum, uruguay, uruguay forum

The Expat Cookbook – That’s What We’ve Been Up To

September 16, 2009 by Brian

It has been a couple weeks since we’ve posted a blog. We apologize for leaving you hanging (because we know you live for our blogs ☺), but we’ve got good reason!

We’ve been hard at work putting the finishing touches on our latest project, The Expat Cookbook.

The what? The Expat Cookbook… There are a lot of foods here that you just can’t get or are pretty expensive to buy. We never realized how much we took for granted Ranch Dressing and Hot Sauce. Since, we’re both very good cooks, creating The Expat Cookbook just made sense.

You can check it out through www.ExpatCookbook.com. It’s an eBook, so you can download it and use it right from your computer or print it out if that’s what your heart desires.

Try the recipes… Let us know what you think…

Have a great day and great eating to you!!!

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Recipe of the Week Tagged With: blog, expat cookbook

The Search for Organic Produce in Uruguay

August 31, 2009 by Brian

When we lived in San Diego, we were part of a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. Each week, we would pick up a huge box of organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables. It was great and the produce was so much more delicious than buying it at the supermarket.

If you aren’t familiar with purchasing organic produce, here is a list that will give you an idea of what is most important to buy organic, and what is least important to buy organic.

12 Most Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables (always buy organic if possible)
•    Apples
•    Celery
•    Cherries
•    Grapes
•    Lettuce
•    Nectarines
•    Peaches
•    Pears
•    Potatoes
•    Spinach
•    Strawberries
•    Sweet Bell Peppers

12 Least Contaminated (least important to buy organic)
•    Asparagus
•    Avocado
•    Bananas
•    Broccoli
•    Cabbage
•    Kiwi Fruit
•    Mango
•    Onions
•    Papaya
•    Pineapples
•    Sweet Corn (Frozen)
•    Sweet Peas (Frozen)

When we moved to Uruguay, I was very interested in learning about the availability of organic produce. After some research, I’ve discovered you can find it, but it’s not as readily available or abundant as it was in San Diego, and the selection is limited.

There are three places where I have found organic produce (and other organic items) in Montevideo, Uruguay to date.

1. The Grocery Store. We typically do some of our shopping at the Disco Natural at Punta Carretas Shopping. Overall, they have a good selection of pretty much anything you might need (including house wares and toys).

However, their selection of organic produce is very slim. They have one cart (it’s literally a wooden cart; see below) of organic produce, and you’re never quite sure what they’ll have. They typically always have onions and carrots, but other than that, it’s a coin toss as to what they’ll have in stock.

2. The Organic Feria (Feria de Productores Organicos de la Chacra a su mesa) at Parque Rodo. It’s held every Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm. They have a small selection of fruit, vegetables, cheese, marmalades and skin care products.

3. Ecotiendas. Ecotiendas by far has the best selection of organic produce and other items that I have found so far in Uruguay. They have fruits, vegetables, oils, pasta, pasta sauce, cheese, marmalades, flour, bread, skin care products, cleaning products, prepared foods and more.

They even have a restaurant upstairs. You vegetarians and vegans out there will be happy to hear that they were serving seitan (a food made from the gluten of wheat; also called wheat meat) on the lunch menu when we were there. Seitan isn’t my thing since I have a bit of a gluten intolerance, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

We had just gone to the feria, so we didn’t need any produce when we went to Ecotiendas. However, we picked up a bag of organic granola and it is great!

Ecotiendas has a great website that lists their inventory and prices so you can get an idea of what they carry before you visit. Ecotiendas is located at Maldonado 1390, in Montevideo, Uruguay. Their phone number is (02) 900 65 60 and email address is [email protected].

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Shopping Tagged With: ecotiendas, feria, montevideo, organic, organic produce in Uruguay, produce, uruguay

McDonalds is McDonalds is McDonalds… Yes, Even in Uruguay

August 13, 2009 by Brian

I haven’t eaten McDonalds, or fast food for that matter, much in the last several years. And, ever since Brian saw Super Size Me (great movie), he’s also had an aversion to the Golden Arches.

Well, it seems that there is a McDonalds on every block in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguayos eat it up even though it’s not considered a “cheap” meal here. It’s really quite difficult to walk anywhere in Montevideo without passing one (we actually live across the street from one and there’s another one about 5 blocks away).

Having experienced Uruguay’s wonderful grass-fed beef, we were curious if the hamburgers at McDonalds would be any different from in the States. Well, the curiosity finally caught up to us because we gave in and had lunch at McDonalds outside of Punta Carretas Shopping.

Picture of Brian sitting in the huge chairs outside of McDonalds at Punta Carretas Shopping

We ordered the Quarter Pounder combos and were served the Big Mac combos (we decided not to say anything). Let me say, we both felt the same way about those burgers that we did about McDonalds hamburgers in the US. Yuck.

If there’s one thing I can say for McDonalds, it’s that they’re consistent. I knew there was a reason we didn’t eat there! Oh well; another lesson learned.

But, there are some positive differences between McDonalds in Uruguay and McDonalds in the US. The McDonalds in Uruguay are clean, they’re nice (we’re talking café-style pleather couch seating) and they have good coffee.

McCafe is huge here. Several locals have told us that the coffee at McCafe is the best you’ll find in Montevideo. Starbucks hasn’t reached Uruguay yet, so there isn’t much competition, but we tried McCafe one night and were pleasantly surprised. They have good desserts and serve Hot Chocolate in a fun way. They bring out a glass of hot milk and a chocolate bar. You dissolve the chocolate in the hot milk and you get a tasty hot chocolate treat.

So, if you’re planning to visit Uruguay, we recommend staying away from the food at McDonalds, but think it’s worth checking out McCafe if you enjoy coffee and dessert.

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: McCafe, McDonalds, montevideo, uruguay

Food Additives in Uruguay: Read the Labels

August 12, 2009 by Brian

Some would call me a fanatic when it comes to reading food labels. So, when we started living in Uruguay, one of the first things I did was read the labels of everything at the grocery store that we would normally buy. I was in for quite a surprise (some good; some bad)!

Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose, fluoride, partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fat) and more… I try to be conscious of what our family puts into our bodies, and these are things we try to avoid whenever possible (well, except for the sugar; we try to minimize it but sometimes you just need dessert!).

If you don’t know a lot about food additives, I’ll give you a brief overview of some of the key ones, but I highly suggest doing a little research on your own.

High fructose corn syrup… it’s made from corn, so it must be healthy, right? Well, that’s what the ads the Corn Refiners Association in the US has put out are saying, but if you do a little research, you’ll find quite the opposite. High fructose corn syrup is made by changing the glucose molecules in corn starch to fructose. It’s a very cheap, man-made sweetener that has replaced sugar in most processed foods and beverages in the US. It has almost an indefinite shelf life and serves as a great food preservative, which has also made it appealing to food manufacturers. Unfortunately, the health concerns aren’t widely publicized thanks to the US corn industry.

Our bodies don’t know how to handle this man made compound, so it’s stored as fat rather than broken down as energy. And, because our bodies don’t know how to process it, our brains don’t get the signal that we’re full. So we just keep eating and eating, or drinking and drinking those cokes. That’s why you see people in the US drinking multiple Super Big Gulps full of Coke each day. Their bodies just don’t understand how many calories they’re consuming. Add to that concerns over genetically modified corn and recent studies that have shown mercury contamination in high fructose corn syrup, and it’s enough to make me run for the hills.

Artificial sweeteners… A lot of people have turned to diet foods and drinks containing artifice sweeteners because of the reduced calorie content. Recent studies have shown that people who consume artificial sweeteners actually gain more weight than those consuming sugar. This could be because these artificial sweeteners mess with your body’s ability to monitor your calorie intake, so you end up overeating. Why risk consuming these carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds when they aren’t even helping you lose weight? I’m only scratching the surface here, but do a little research and you’ll probably want to put down that Diet Coke.

Hydrogenated/ partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats)…
Trans fats are made when you heat oil and pass hydrogen through it. The fatty acids in the oil acquire some of the hydrogen, making it denser. If you fully hydrogenate the oil, you get a solid. But if you stop part way through the process, you get a semi-solid “partially hydrogenated oil” with a consistency similar to butter… only it’s much cheaper to produce and extends the storage life of the foods it’s used in.

Due to its low cost and “buttery” consistency, food companies often use it as a substitute for oil or butter. If you read nutrition labels, you’ll find it in many foods like doughnuts, cookies, pastries, crackers and more. Some restaurants fry food in it as well. What makes it bad? Trans fat is known to increase blood levels of “bad” cholesterol, while lowering levels of “good” cholesterol. It can cause major clogging of arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems, and was found to increase the risk of heart disease. Again, this is just scratching the surface of an in-depth subject.

Fluoride… This is one topic where there is always serious debate. We’ve been taught that fluoride is necessary for dental health, so we should use fluoride toothpaste, drink the fluoridated water in our communities, etc. I’m still studying fluoride, but I have concluded based on my research that it is toxic and I don’t want it in my family’s food or water supply.

A great website I’ve found on the topic of fluoride is http://www.fluoridedebate.com. Just this one passage alone from the site should make you want to do more research before consuming fluoride: “The chemicals used to fluoridate 90% of water fluoridated in the US are not pharmaceutical grade. Instead, they come from the wet scrubbing systems of the superphosphate fertilizer industry. These chemicals are either hexafluorosilicic acid or its sodium salt. They are contaminated with toxic metals and trace amounts of radioactive isotopes. In other words, the public water supply is being used as a vehicle for hazardous waste management! By law, this waste cannot be dumped into the sea but the EPA allows it to be diluted down with our public drinking water.”

So, now that I’ve given you a little bit of background on some of the key food additives to be aware of (no matter which country you live in), I’ll share a few of the discoveries we made when reading the food labels in Uruguay:

Fruit Juice
In the US, it’s quite easy to find 100%, not from concentrate fruit juice with no additives, even at a normal supermarket. In Uruguay, we have to make our own (which is fine since produce here is so good and inexpensive). Whether it’s sugar, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like aspartame, you’re guaranteed to find at least one of these additives in almost every carton of juice you buy (juice is sold in cartons here).

I have only found one brand of apple juice (and only their apple juice), Conaprole, that doesn’t have any of these additives. But, it is from concentrate and when you pour it out of the carton, it just doesn’t feel “natural.” The color is off (I think it must be colored even though the package doesn’t say it) and it doesn’t taste the same as the apple juice we used to buy in the US.

So, one idea we got from a restaurant we ate at one time was to put some shredded apple in a blender with some water. Put it in a cup with a straw and Zoë loves it. We also cook down pears when they start to get over ripe into a pear sauce. Add a little cinnamon and it’s the perfect treat. We also like to buy a few kilos of oranges each week at the feria to make fresh squeezed orange juice.

Soda
Living in San Diego, we always enjoyed the fact that we had access to “Mexican Coke” at several of the taco shops. If you’re not aware, the US is one of the few countries in the world that use high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in soda (rather than sugar; although you can get “all natural” sodas sweetened with sugar or cane juice).

Whenever we’d go pick up a burrito down the street at Rudy’s Taco Shop in San Diego, we’d also get a couple of “Mexican Cokes.” So, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the sodas in Uruguay are also sweetened with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. It tastes better and it’s one of the few times you’ll hear me say that sugar is the healthy alternative ☺

Another thing to note with soda is that there isn’t the variety of choices in Uruguay that there are in the US. You have the basics: Coca-Cola (people don’t call it Coke here), Coca-Cola Light (Diet Coke in the US), Coca-Cola Zero, 7-Up, Sprite, Orange Fanta and occa
sionally you’ll find a restaurant that serves Pepsi. There’s not much to choose from, and I’d say out of these choices, the majority of the time, I see people with Coca-Cola Light (and yes, it has artificial sweeteners in it so I haven’t tried it).

Salt
Another one that surprised me was table salt. First, we can’t find sea salt in Uruguay, which is what we used in the States (although we did hear that one couple found it at some obscure shop, but it did have additives so it’s not what we’re used to using). We like sea salt because it’s natural and you can buy it unprocessed with no food additives. Plus, it just makes food taste better.

Second, the table salt you do find  in Uruguay has iodine in it (same as the US) as well as fluoride in it. I don’t mind the iodine so much, but I wasn’t happy about the fluoride. I did finally find one brand of salt without fluoride at the Disco Natural (supermarket) at Punta Carretas Shopping… Urusal. It’s a small plastic bag with a picture of a whale on it. So, that’s what we’ll be using until Brian picks some sea salt up in the States this weekend.

Gatorade
After realizing that soda is sweetened with sugar, I was eager to read the label on Gatorade hoping I’d find that it is also sweetened with sugar. Unfortunately, the ingredients of Gatorade are the same as in the US… it’s still made with high fructose corn syrup ☹

Ketchup
Ketchup in Uruguay is also made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Except Heinz, which is imported from the US and is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that until I had already bought it. I’ll have to pick up another brand next time.

Cookies and Crackers
Read the packages carefully. You’ll find not only sugar, but also high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated/ partially hydrogenated oils in many products. This isn’t much different than in the US, but it’s something to be aware of nonetheless.

Basically, the moral of the story is: make everything you can from scratch. Fresh ingredients are so inexpensive in Uruguay compared to the US; there’s really no excuse to buy packaged, processed foods filled with harmful additives.

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Shopping Tagged With: artificial sweeteners, fluoride, food additives, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, uruguay

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