Great Christmas Celebration

This Christmas Eve we decided to celebrate with friends and some great tourists visiting Cafayate. Cafayate has very limited options during the holidays for places to eat out. Most families and businesses close up and spend it with family. That leaves us and the tourist left with very few options. This year we changed format a bit and decided to put on a big family style, reservation only feast of some of our U.S. home favorites (these always turn out interesting as finding the ingredients or close substitutes is very challenging) plus a sampling of great local meats and veggies and Chef Charlie’s specialties (always a treat - my favorite was the pumpkin/squash soup with a rich nutmeg flavor). Charlie and I cooked all day and everyone arrived around 9:30. We began our champagne toast and big table family style dinner with wine, drinks, and lots and lots of food, plus some great company. We were sold out with visitors from Belgium, several from the U.S., Germany, and Canada. All in all, everyone had a great time. Our staff decided to help us out for a couple of hours even though we gave them the night off - (lucky for us, we could have never done it with out them). Anyway, by the end of the night, I was exhausted and happy as we had made a few tourist traveling alone on a holiday, feel as if they were part of our extended Cafayate family. So to all of you who shared the evening with us, it truly was a pleasure! It was so successful, we hope to somewhat duplicate it for New Year’s Eve! If you are in town, stop on by to make a reservation and bring in the New Year with us! Felices Fiestas!

Vacation

Charlie and I took a much needed break from Restaurant life as we have now been open for one year. We decided to visit friends in Mendoza, Santiago, Chile, drifted down to our land in Southern Chile (Puyehue), and then headed to Bariloche, Argentina for a few days of visiting with great friends and relaxation before heading back home. As always, we drove. Now, round trip that is almost 6,000 kilometers, all in all a long way for only 10 days. Although, tired when we got home, we enjoyed our trip immensely.

We have passed through Mendoza but have never spent time there. This time, we stayed two nights and went to some great restaurants, swam in the hotel, and tasted some great wine. If anyone heads to Mendoza before or after Cafayate, I highly recommend dining at Azafrán (Av. Sarmiento 765 - Mendoza - a few blocks off of the main plaza). The popular and relatively small restaurant was completely booked the first night so we headed back the next day for lunch. Lunch was much more peaceful. After reading the menu, we thought it had some interesting items but nothing completley out of the ordinary (when we travel we always seek something out of the ordinary). I ordered a stuffed chicken and Charlie ordered ceviche and a cesar salad. To our complete delight, it was one of the best meals and pretty extrodinary! This was the first time in a long time (even with our recent trip back to Aspen) where we truly felt that the chef was an artist. Also, if you would like to experience a great wine tasting, go to Vines of Mendoza (www.vinesofmendoza.com).

Traveling to Chile is always a delight, the photo is one of the passes between Argentina and Chile in the high desert with the most pristine looking lake. Chile has one highway from top to bottom so if you really want to get somewhere, hop on Ruta 5 and put it on cruise control. Gas stations every 100k with restaurants attached. The only downside, toll booths, but a small price to pay for easy travel.

Crossing back in to Argentina is another story. I'm not sure how planning was done when building the roads in Argentina. It seems there is never a direct route and there are no signs, well except after you have turned! After hitting dirt roads, getting lost in towns since the road you were traveling on suddenly ends and picks up in some unknown location on another side of town, and enjoying the various police checks on the way, we were wanting to head back to Chile. Although, when it is all said and done, Argentina is a large country with so many landscapes! How else would we see what really is going on then by diving in and driving cross country through the smallest towns and obscure roads. If you have time to enjoy, nothing can be better than meandering through Argentina.