Grilled meat. This is what the Uruguayans eat. They drink mate (mah tay). That deserves it's own separate post, which will follow shortly. Anyway, back to the meat- there are these places called parillas, where all different cuts and kinds of beef are cooked and served. They also typically offer chivitos (sandwiches with steak, eggs, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, etc.) and pizza, which for some reason is a ubiquitous menu item in these parts.
Today, I went to my first parilla and ate all by myself. I even kept the conversation in Spanish, although we didn't say much beyond "carne, futbol and Montevideo." I'd been a little scared to go out to eat without my friends (who left for Punta del Este today) as a crutch. But by 7pm, I realized I couldn't survive on postres con dulche de leche alone, so I went down to the Mercado del Puerto, where all the parillas are concentrated. Needless to say, I was starving and had two huge ribs, fries, a beer, desert and cafe. (Not that my order would have been any different if I had been eating all day.) In this particular parilla, the mostly toothless chef cooked the meat on open flames behind the bar. It was absolutely delicious, especially the fries all soaked in steak blood. Desert was this postre typica de Uruguay and it was this wonderful mess of meringue and honey and cream.
Total bill - $200 pesos, equalling about $10, mas o menos. I think I found my place.
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