A Day In Town (Wed 3/24)

 
Stats:
- 1 run for the gringo
- 1 gym workout for the gringa
- a totally different dining experience
 
The temps in Mendoza are very comfortable.  In the morning, it is mid 60´s and Arn has been enjoying morning runs.  Today was no exception.  He headed out early while I slept in still in a drug stupor from more Benedryl for my cough.  Once I woke up, I finished reading the "Safe Patient, Smart Hospital" book.  I am glad that one is over.  Clenching my jaw while reading is not my idea of a good time.  After Arn returned and showered, we had breakfast, packed up, and caught a cab --- 6 blocks to our new hotel!  Luckily, our room was ready. 
 
We checked out everything in the new hotel --- gym, computers, pool, wine bar, and breakfast area.  We killed some time on the internet before heading to lunch.  Lunch?  McDonald´s.  Again, Arn tried the "local burger" special; however, he substituted fries for the empanadas and a diet coke for the wine.  I stuck with a kids´ hamburger. 
 
After lunch, I spent a couple of hours in the gym.  I am sure to pay for this in the coming days.  It was the first workout with weights since I went to Borrego Springs on Jan 1st. So, this is going to hurt. 
 
We did a lot of chilling today.  We have decided to stay in Mendoza until next Monday.  We don´t know where we are headed come Monday and we may decide to just stay here longer.  Time will tell.  But for now, we are reading, walking, interneting, eating, drinking, running, and using the gym.  Mendoza is a wonderful city for just chilling.  However, we are not good at chilling, so we will see what happens.
 
Now, dinner --- we must talk about dinner.  Arn booked us in the number one rated best place for dinner in Mendoza.  It is called, "Los Chocos".  Let me explain these terms better.  "Booked" in this case refers to an exchange of emails followed up by a message in our hotel and a live phone call.  All of this was necessary to establish the date for dinner and to provide the directions.  "Number one best rated" refers to what Arn learned on Trip Advisor.  And "Place", this is the tricky one.  The place is in two guys´ apartment.  Yes, the two guys are together -- a couple.  We later learned they share the same first name.   "Hello, my name is Martin and this is my partner, Martin.  Yes, we are Martin and Martin".  How often do you think they say that??  Anyway, we were given an address and a time.  We were told to wait downstairs on the street and someone would come downstairs to get us.  So, 10 minutes before 9pm (the appointed time), we were waiting downstairs.  It was basically a narrow outdoor alcove.  On one side, there was a DVD rental and sales store.  At the back of the alcove, there was the entrance to an old time pool hall.  It was full of all these old guys shooting pool.  The other side of the alcove was a locked door into a non-descript apartment building.  At 9:05pm, someone entered the building and told us we wanted the 4th floor, apartment #12.  He clearly was not the guy sent to meet us.  He was a well intended neighbor of Martin & Martin.  Once we entered the building, we could see a list of names on the apartments and the neighbor´s directions seemed to be correct.
 
Luckily, we got on the elevator with another couple because this was an old time elevator where the doors are operated manually.  They knew how to work the elevator.  We all went to the 4th floor.  They went to their apartment.  We knocked on the door for #12.  There was no answer and no sound. We waited.  We knocked again.  Nothing.  Then, the lights in the hallway went out and everything was completely black.  The lights were on a motion sensor.  Once we moved enough to trip the sensor, we had lights again.  This is a pretty common set up with the lights in hallways and bathrooms.  Yes, I have had a public bathroom go black in less time than it takes to pee.  Anyway, we figured it was best to return to the street level and see what happened.

We stepped outside and waited.  It was about 5 minutes past the appointed time.  In a few more minutes, a young guy came downstairs and was clearly looking for two people.  It was Martin #1.  He introduced himself and led us back up to the 4th floor, apartment #12.  Once inside, it was obvious that they never heard our knocking.  The apartment had a huge entry area.  The living room was well beyond the front door and music was playing in the living room.  Okay, here is the deal.  Martin & Martin used to run a catering business.  They got tired of cooking for 200+ people.  So, they decided to open a restaurant in their living and dining room.  They cook for up to 8 people per night.  They have one large table and everyone sits together.  The living room and dining room are one large room.  Tonight, we are the only two guests for dinner.  We sit down in the living room and Martin #1 pours us wine -- a Mablec Rose.  It is not our first choice in wine, but they are actually pretty good and not too sweet.  Martin #1 heads to the kitchen where Martin #2 is fast at work.  We are left alone with the music.  

Martin and Martin have taken great care in their interior decorating and design.  We both like their use of color.  They have painted two of the walls orange.  They have decorated the walls with fabric panels that have been framed.  They have created different corkboard designs with wine and champagne corks.  They have so many throw pillows that we have to reposition them just to sit down.  They have created beaded wiring around the windows and have draped strings of beads around all the light fixtures.  Everything is done in orange, rust, black, cream, and with lots of floral patterns.  They have carefully placed objects on the tables --- stacks of old books, antique keys, giant serving spoons holding rocks, and candles.  

Now that you have the scene, let´s move onto the food.  Martin #2 served each course and described everything in great detail.  He sources everything  local and his goal is to showcase the food of Mendoza.  The first course was a goat pate on crostini with a chickory leaf and some type of jam on top.  The second course was the best carne (beef) empanadas I have ever eaten.  They were made in phyllo dough and served with chimichurri sauce.  The third course was goat cheese and tomato jam on a bread base (something called a sopapilla -- fried dough).  For the next course, we moved to the dining table and changed wines --- a very nice Malbec.  The fourth course was a blood sausage pudding with sweet potatoes and vegtables.  Blood sausage sounds less scary in Spanish, but it is not at the top of our list.  Still, it was interesting to try.  The main dish was baby goat that was slow cooked for 6 hours.  This is pretty traditional in Mendoza.  Again, it was good to try and it actually tasted pretty good.  The dessert was served with sparkling wine.  The dessert is best described as a spice cake.  Martin #2 buys these things that look like beans.  He dries them, roasts them, and then grinds them to create the flour for this cake.  The result is something very earthy and rich.  All in all, it was a great experience and a really good dinner.