SaltShaker

 The “double speak” in tourism material, in a country as new and immature as Argentina is to tourism, is lamentably common, much like the “double price” (for foreigners versus locals) that many practice since the devaluation of the peso, starting with our own Argentine government. That “native cunning”, along with the inefficiency of domestic air [...]

 Caramels are only a fad. Chocolate is a permanent thing.”
- Milton S. Hershey, entrepreneur
Buenos Aires – The 102nd anniversary of the opening of Hersheypark, the amusement park created by Milton S. Hershey, seemed about as good a weekend as any to host our second Casa SaltShaker all-chocolate dinner. From my perspective, a far better result [...]

 Energy is that amazing feeling that comes to life inside of you when you’re happy and believe in yourself.”
- Richard Simmons, fitness guru
Buenos Aires – It’s been quite some time since I did a photo-illustrated step-by-step recipe for y’all. The other night I sent Henry a text while he was in class asking what he [...]

 Most of us believe in the platonic ideal of cooking, of a classic, “correct” way to prepare dishes. (Japanese cuisine takes this notion to an extreme.) As a result, we abdicate our own palates and give permission to someone else to tell us what’s good and what isn’t. This is very bad. There are many [...]

 Aleppo – Town of ancient and of modern Syria, and capital of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, between the Orontes and Euphrates rivers; situated on the banks of a little desert stream, Nahr-el-Haleb, seventy miles east of Alexandretta, its seaport on the Mediterranean. Formerly it derived its importance from being on the route [...]

 Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.”
- George Bernard Shaw, critic, essayist, playwright

Buenos Aires – Just shy of two years since the original edition’s publication, the second edition of my bilingual Spanish and English food and wine dictionary was officially approved today. It will [...]

 The word “avocado” comes from the Nahuatl word āhuacatl (“testicle”, a reference to the shape of the vegetable). Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and were not purchased or consumed by any person wishing to preserve a chaste image. Avocados were known by the Aztecs as “the fertility fruit”. In some [...]

 One of the happiest days of my life is when I made five or six hundred pesos from a crop of watermelons I raise all on my own.”
- Emiliano Zapato, Mexican Independence Fighter/Leader
Buenos Aires – Last weekend marked the 90th anniversary of Emiliano Zapato’s last stand, in his hometown of Morelos, Mexico. It launched a [...]