Thursday, February 28, 2008

Southern Comfort

Who: VN Senior Editor Jennifer Pickens
What: The southernmost vegetarian take-out in the world
Where: El Bambú, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
When: January 4, 2008
Why: On my way to Antarctica—for fun, obviously!

The Scoop: I recently embarked on the journey of a lifetime—a cruise to Antarctica! The departure gateway is Ushuaia—a quaint town nestled at the foot of the Andes at the southern tip of South America—the southernmost town in the world. After 22 hours of traveling we checked in to the Hosteria los Canelos. Since it was dinnertime (and as usual, Aerolineas Argentinas didn’t supply the vegetarian meals I had requested) I decided to head out, explore the town, and grab a bite. After patiently listening to directions to the touristy place down the road with the “best” steaks in Argentina from the hotel's concierge, I explained “soy vegetariana” and his face went blank. A gentleman ran across the lobby to tell me about a place that’s “good for vegetarians.” So with map in hand, directions, and a no idea what might be in store for me, I rounded the corner and saw El Bambú—an all-vegetarian take out counter! At this point I was ravenously hungry, and I enjoyed my re-heated vegetable brown rice bowl with gusto. Maybe not the best food I’ve ever eaten, but even at the end of the world, there's veg dining!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

There is a city farther south. It is in Chile, and called Puerto Williams. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, they both claim the title, so I looked up the latitude online, and Ushuaia is at 54°47', South. Puerto Williams is at 54°56', South.

Do you know if there is a veg restaurant in Puerto Williams?