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Archive for the ‘Ramblings & Rants’ Category

Sky High at Portillo

Posted in Places, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , on September 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Here I am. Standing at the top of a p-r-e-t-t-y pitched slope. By my calculations, it is, at least, a good 45-degree gradient. It will require some pretty fast turns to get out of the “hairy” zone before the run becomes more tranquila. I stop to take a deep breath of the clean, thin Andean [...]

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At Your Service

Posted in Places, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , on September 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »

You probably have been in this situation. There’s a new restaurant of a well-known chef. It was hard to get a table but you managed to score one. You arrive with your date and the architecture is dazzling. There are beautiful people everywhere and the vibe is super cool. Everything is in order to have [...]

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Faith, Hope, and Chilean Pride

Posted in Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , , , on August 23, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Yesterday afternoon around 3:20pm we were polishing off the final drops of an exquisite bottle of El Principal 2006 and the last bite of our pasta-less roasted vegetable lasagna. Out of nowhere, horns began honking like crazy outside. Since this is a normal ritual after any major soccer game, we wondered who’d won. I didn’t [...]

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Yerba Mate: South America’s Herbal Obsession

Posted in Foods, Liz's Picks, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , on August 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Mate. Or Yerba Mate to be technically correct. This herbal infusion is obsessively sipped in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil. In fact, the beverage is one of the few native traditions that survived the Spanish conquest in South America. Argentines and Uruguayans particularly, ranging from sophisticated urbanites to gauchos, consider the drink a fundamental part [...]

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Chilly Chile

Posted in Foods, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Ok, I have to admit. After ten years here, this is the first winter where I am NOT cold. And it’s the coldest winter on record yet. Let me explain. The Central Valley of Chile, where Santiago is located, is part of a lovely Mediterranean climate. Most of the year, we enjoy freakishly great weather [...]

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Pop! South American Sodas

Posted in Foods, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , , on July 5, 2010 | 5 Comments »

It cracks me up how different cultures crave different flavors and how those turn up in very pedestrian items like say soda pop. I am not a very big soda fan for obvious health reasons. I gave it up years ago and only succumb to the occasional diet coke when in no ditch situations where [...]

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Lights, Camera, Aspen

Posted in Liz's Picks, Places, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , , on June 22, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Well, it’s over. The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen that is. What an intense weekend. Literally about four days of work and schmoozing in my case. For those of you not familiar with the event, let me enlighten you. It all started 28 years ago when Food & Wine magazine in the US devised [...]

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A Whole New World

Posted in Liz's Picks, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , on June 14, 2010 | 7 Comments »

Friday I had a tecnological meltdown. I had been on the fence for months about whether or not to trade in old faithful, the crackberry-blackberry, for an iPhone. I was already sold on the concept, the Mac, but something had been holding me back—and no, it wasn’t the brand new pimped out 4G debuting in [...]

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Five Tips to Taste Wine Like a Pro

Posted in Liz's Picks, Ramblings & Rants, Wines, tagged , , , on June 8, 2010 | 5 Comments »

1. To Spit or Swallow This is the epic question that no doubt most wine lovers struggle with when it comes to tastings. While wine is pleasureable to drink, when it comes to evaluating wine in a formal tasting, my opinion is that you need to spit and yes, there’s a technique to avoid it [...]

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My Two Americas

Posted in Places, Ramblings & Rants, tagged , , , , , on June 2, 2010 | 3 Comments »

This year I celebrate a decade living in Chile. Ten years. It has flown by. I have noticed by my expat, and Chilean friends, who have arrived and left. And I stay. If you were to ask me why, I would respond quite simply, “For love”. Love for Chile, the life I have made with [...]

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