Dinner at Montevideo

It’s 12:43 in the morning here in the Ciudad Vieja (the touristy part of the center of the city).  I have just returned from eating dinner with a new Uruguayan friend.  This doesn’t sound strange, does it?  Dinners always can run late with a few drinks and good times had right?

Except by the time we finished walking around and decided on a place, it was already 11PM. 

“Do you usually eat this late?” 

‘Yes, I like staying up late.’ 

“So how often do you eat in a day?” 

‘Breakfast, Lunch, an afternoon cafe with milk and a piece of bread, then Dinner.’

And that dinner is usually after 10PM for my friend.  I am amazed that more of these people here aren’t seriously LARGE.  Eating late at night usually packs the lbs on from what I have, uh-hmm, read.  But then again, comparing what Americans eat (in their giant portions as well) to the Uruguayans it’s not too hard to understand the differences.

Although just last night I was speaking with an interesting artisan on the main walkway - he was from Buenos Aires.  Always one to get the opinion of the difference between the Argentines and Uruguayans, I threw out the question.  To that he replied, “Uruguyans are fat.  They have a lot of really good food here.  Just look at that family [it was a larger mother, a father, and a skinny 10 year old daughter] - the daughter will turn out just like her bigger mother.  That’s Uruguay.”

Not sure that I am in agreement with his take on the people here, but I feel full, fat, and definitely satiated.  Time for bed and the oncoming street market tomorrow morning…

Written by Dominic DeGrazier

Last 3 posts by Dominic DeGrazier

• Mercado del Puerto and Feliz Año - January 8th, 2009
• And the Ringing Continues - January 6th, 2009
• My Ears Are Still Ringing - Montevideo, Uruguay - January 2nd, 2009

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