so, i've decided to try this thing they call blogging. not that i don't have a twitter & facebook account, but i thought what's one more social networking site gonna hurt?
i've just returned home to Brooklyn from a recent trip to South America. i played some great shows with Matisyahu and Dub Trio.....Buenos Aires was probably my favorite concert of the whole trip. My travels took me to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Bogota. i also took some time to sample the food & beverages these countries had to offer. in addition, next time i'll bring a few extra air pollution masks on this trip, as much of these countries have a major pollution problem. where are the vehicle emission regulations?
here it is in a nutshell:
Rio & Sao Paulo, Brazil -
fresh coconut juice. awesome buffet at MARUIS in Rio. thanks Jonathan Shaw. finally watched 'Dub Echo' a documentary about dub....my name was in the credits..weird. gulped down an amazing caipirinha after the show. good outdoor running along the water. and cheap kicks in your in the market.
Buenos Aires, Rosario, & Cordoba, Argentina -
i performed live on national tv (actually improvised for the second song). ate some kosher pizza w/Matisyahu. i saw my friends from cleveland, Kristina and Greg, at the show in Buenos Aires. had a healing vegetarian meal with Kristina following afternoon. off to Rosario, where the Flan de dulce de leche at DAVIS was banging. back to BA for a day off and some more pizza, non-kosher w/anchovy, at PIZZA CAFE. Palermo is the spot as far as i'm concerned. i did encounter a "kosher" McDonalds...WOW
Santiago, Chile -
i discovered lucama fruit. def search this out and make ice cream out of it. i had a few lucama smoothies. i discovered Chile and Peru were in serious competition for the best Pisco Sour, so decided to drink a few of them in each country.. verdict is the Pisco i had at Azul Profundo was the winner... and the food was killing here too. the next day i ate carne de jivia (squid meat, but similar in textrue to a scallop) cooked in hot oil, garlic, and hot peppers with an amazing presentation served in a hot bowl sitting on a plate set aflame.
Lima, Peru -
off the plane, to the hotel, and immediately fit a run in just in time for lunch and search out some serious ceviche. a few blocks from the hotel was PUNTO AZUL. amazingly fresh seafood and delicious Pisco sours as well. the mango i had for lunch the next day was on pair with the last one i had in Hawaii. also, took a trip to the market to buy some local art. played outside that night at the Lima Green festival.
Bogota, Colombia -
last stop on the tour. i was on the hunt for the perfect pandebono (as suggested by Joel Hamilton). i had a delicious dinner that evening at Club Colombia and discovered Refajo (a beer and Colombiano soda mixture), quite a refreshing bebida. the corn and doublecream queso arepa ( sweet and fluffy corn crepe with the saltiness from the queso = amazing) was eye-opening. the next day, our friend Javier (from Diva Gash), was down to show us around town. still no pandebonos yet. i tried some guama fruit (a large pod style fruit with a white furry flesh that your eat off the giant seeds inside). i took the rail car to the top of Monseratte and had my first almojabana (similar to a pandebono, but not a pandebono). finally stumbled upon a "on-the-go" chain style bakery and tried my first pandebono with hot cocao, while its was hitting the spot, because i was starving, it wasn't the famed pandebono experience i was expecting. yet another reason to go back.
