Eating in Bolson: discovering a new world of typical flavours

El Bolson is a small town full of life and ways that came from of a complex mix of aborigine culture and the arrival of an ecology conscious people to the area. Several local fruits, herbs and vegetables that mark the history of El Bolson dishes. So, let me tell you about the kind of products that you will be able to taste in El Bolson and about the best places where they are served. 

The first thing you should try is the berries, typical in this part of Patagonia, and extraordinarily sweet. In El Bolson you can find raspberries, strawberries, cherries and maqui (a purple and a little bit acid but delicious wild fruit). It’s very probable that you have already tasted them, delicious jam, dried fruits, comfitures, fruit pies and juices. You can buy them at several shops around El Bolson center, like “Musticias”, “Verde Menta” and shops in the central park. But if you are looking for something more rustic and homemade, you have to visit the incredible Regional Market in “Plaza Pagano”, there you will find all kinds of food made of berries, homemade chocolate and much more. Also in “Cabañas Mico” you have a wide variety of berries and jams; there you can visit the premises where these products are made or enjoy of the view in a quiet restaurant located close to the farm and the center but very peaceful.

There are a lot of ways of making the jams and different quality’s depending on the fruit harvested and the process behind the final product. That’s why I advised you to look in natural farms, known fabrics or recognized persons; that will ensure you that health measures had been follow and that you are acquiring a product that follows the health measures.

But perhaps you are interested in something a little bit different, what about beer? In Bolson we have different beer types like chocolate beer, black beer, blond beer, red beer and basperry beer. The most popular places for drinking beer and wine are “Cervecería El bolson”, “Ottotip” and “Mitsky”. But there is something that really characterized Bolson: hops (humulus hipulus) or how we called it in Argentina “Lúpulo”. Lúpulo is used to aromatize beer and every beer has it.

What about chocolate? Everyone believes that is something you can get everywhere, but getting a good quality of chocolate is not so easy. The most popular place is “Jauja”; some people even say that it’s the best place for having ice-cream and chocolate in the country. But don’t forget about the fair, in which you will also find homemade chocolate and “Alfajores” of “dulce de leche” (a very sweet jamb characteristic of Argentina), also called caramel. Anyway, here you have some other places for buying chocolate: “Mitsky”, “Verde Menta”, but if you are going to the mountain, you should go to a shop and ask for “Carbury”, “Milka”, “Shot”, etc. Anyway, if you go to Bariloche when you come to El Bolson (something very likely), taste the chocolate from there (Rapa Nui, Fenoglio, abuela goya) because it worth it. However, the ice – cream of Jauja is one of the best of all country.

Talking about meat, there are a lot of restaurants and barbeques all around El Bolson. You should taste the lamb, lamb chop, pork, pork chop and even boar. The “locro” is a hot dish made of different vegetables and meat, very common in Argentina and in Bolson restaurants and traditional celebrations. Some restaurant for tasting Bolson mat and having a good time are: “A Punto”, “Pasiones argentinas”, “Boulevard”, “El Lúpulo”, etc. Also we have a wide variety of fish like salmon and trout. You can get them in farms near El Bolson.

Finally, you should taste walnuts. In autumn they fall from trees on the sidewalks for people to pick or you can get them in “Verde Menta”, “Jauja”, “Las musticias”, etc. You can also get pine tree and cipres mushrooms there.

Abril Combetto