Thursday 1 May 2014

cambalache!

One night in Argentina...

Not some sunny knock off version of Paris Hilton's sex tape - oh no. This was Cambalache (Spanish for bazaar), a pop up evening event we attended last night, bringing together Argentina's finest wines, food and entertainment to give a flavour of the country famed for it's gauchos and steaks.

Given a heads up by the Nudge team, we managed to bag tickets for the two date event which sold out like hot empanadas. At £40 each, and encompassing wine tasting of 120 different varieties, a three course Argentian supper plus a cocktail and a beer this seemed pretty darn reasonable. Pop up, one-ticket-covers-all ventures can sometimes be a risky business for the punter - often disorganised, food and drink can be stingily sized and served cold and rushed, as organisers struggle to keep up with demand from the baying mob. However Cambalache was a very slick operation, a lesson in how to run an event, with good quality food and drink and importantly, more than enough staff on hand to advise and guide ticket holders round a little slice of Argy in London.


Held at MC Motors in Dalston, the slightly grotty exterior belies the vast, light and airy atrium which lies inside. I have often walked or bussed past the venue and noticed the cinema style sign on the front, often with some witticism spelled out along the lines of 'Hipsters need love too' or 'Dirty Bertie's Thirty' so i guessed it was available to hire for weddings and parties. However it was clearly also a great location choice for the recreation of a bustling Argentine village, with artfully distressed and relaxed furnishings, exposed brickwork, windows to peer through, mirrors to gaze in and an outside area based on a San Telmo market, complete with chimichurri blending station, graffiti wall, Argentinian BBQ and street band.


On arrival we were welcomed in by real LIVE Argentinians (oh yes), given a map of the event and soon sat round a 'campfire' on animal skin rugs with friendly gauchos - or the mate men as I nicknamed them - and learnt how the traditional yerba mate tea is brewed and drunk from the iconic calabash gourd. Bitter in taste, if you like green tea, mate's your mate.
 

We then made a good stab at tasting the many and varied wines on offer, which is predominantly what the event is about. It's a chance to quiz wine buffs on their knowledge, and act like you got some yourself. From reading my illegible notes, I am pretty sure we were well impressed by tasty tipples from Familia Schroeder, Graffigna, Trivento and Vinalba. There's been a massive spike in Malbec drinking of late, especially in the States, and Argentine wines are in demand. The only thing missing was some kind of delicious meat and cheese platter to accompany our fine wines, but we made do with some palate cleansing, dainty pots of cucumber ceviche instead. It's safe to say that wine tasting is a slippery slope, and we were soon rhythmically tango twirling (or wobbling) our way outside to the asado to cash in our food tokens. Three different perfectly crisp and delicious empanadas to start, followed by tender lamb with roasted veg and chimichurri in a hearty, greasy sandwich, rounded off with some divine dulce de leche icecream courtesy of Ice Cream Union. Stomach lining complete.

 
 

Luckily we had arrived early at the event just after 6pm, and booked ourselves in for some of the in demand experiences which definitely added to our enjoyment (and alcohol content).

Wine and the Senses was a whizz through the mind boggling effect of touch, sound and sight on our tastebuds. Who knew that certain music could make wine taste sweeter, or stroking your finger on a piece of velvet (THE WRONG WAY!) make a drink taste less smooth. Blindfolded sipping and crunching coffee beans whilst supping red wine was a particular taste sensation.


A Fernet-Branca tasting session was also a revelation. I had heard about this Italian spirit before but never sampled it. First off we had to guess all the components that made it up, set out before us in little glass bottles - not easy. Myrrh, camomile, saffron and aloe are all thrown into the mix with this unique, herby, sweet and thick liquor which Wikipedia quotes as 'tasting like black licorice-flavoured Listerine'. Nice. A small shot was enough to get most of us rolling on the floor and gagging.
However the Fernet-Branca guy waxed enthusiastically about the black stuff and got us all on side, leaving us converted by the end with glasses mixed with coke and lots of ice. Turns out in this format, it's a bloody amazing drink!


The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur, filled with tango lessons, super strong cocktails drunk to nice beats, learning (and failing) to play Argentine card game truco and meeting some absolute characters. Cambalache will no doubt return again next year, and I urge you to jump on those tickets quick smart as it's certainly worth the 40 bucks. You might even learn a thing or two in the process - if only, that the next holiday you'll want to book will defo be Argentina. And that in the absence of paintstripper Fernet-Branca is a less than sloppy second. Olé!

 
 

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