Argentina Menu up at the Hi-Life

So I’m a bit behind with the post, but on Wednesday this week, the menu featuring food and wine of Argentina began at the Hi-Life. When setting up the menu to feature the delicacies of this South American behemoth, we changed things up a bit. We moved a few of the small plates, which were Argentine themed over to the Argentina side of the menu so that when you are making a meal, you have the opportunity to keep the Argentine flavor running throughout. I was, unfortunately, on vacation when they tasted the menu, so I have only had tried a few of the dishes. The Chimichurri Chicken, however, was one of them, and it was amazing.

I did, however, have the opportunity to taste the breakfast and lunch options, which was really fun, since I have spent a good deal of time in Argentina. One of the neat things about tasting a menu is that because these are not authentic dishes, but rather our chef’s interpretation of traditional themes, is that I got to reminisce about the flavors of Argentina while trying new and exciting dishes.

The Francesa Yerba, or yerba mate french toast, was a big hit, topped with that ever present staple of Argentina, dulce de leche. The most authentic of all the dishes was certainly the empanada, a flaky crust wrapped around all the usual suspects: meat, potatoes, hard boiled eggs. But to me, the most beautiful was definetly the pizza.

Pizza, due to the influence of Italians in Argentina is quite common. In fact, it is probably more common there than even here in the U.S. But this pizza was not the traditional Argentine ham and cheese smothered mess, but an eloquent expression of Argentine flavors–chorizo, manchego, fresno peppers, topping the Hi-Life’s usual thin crust and cooked in the wood fired oven.

This menu is up until December 2nd, so enjoy these fall flavors while they last.