2nd Annual BA Chili Cook Off!

Domingo 14 horas

Costo de entrada : Gratis

Maxim's - Borges 1750

Many people are asking about how much it costs to go to our 2nd Annual Chili Cookoff.

Mucha gente esta preguntando cuanto cuesta ir a nuestro segundo Chili Cookoff.

The answer is that it's free to go.

Le respuesta es que no cuesta nada entrar.

However, we are selling tasting tickets. Each ticket costs $10 pesos. For each ticket you can get a tasting bowl of chili, or a specialty cookie, or brownie, or cornbread, etc.

Pero sí estamos vendiendo cupones de $10 pesos. Con cada cupón uno puede comprar un bowl de prueba de chili, o unas cookies exclusivas, o brownies o cornbread.

We are going to have specialty baked goodies from Sugar & Spice and some of the cooks are also going to have some baked treats that they will donate to the cause.

Vamos a tener delicias de Sugar & Spice y algunos de los cocineros van a donar cosas dulces también.

We are also going to have some goodies from Pancho Villa Tortillas!

También vamos a tener algunas delicias de parte de Pancho Villa Tortillas!

And if that wasn't enough, we are going to have the Euro Cup final projected on a large screen via DirecTV

Y si eso no era poco, también vamos a poder mirar el partido de la final de la Eurocopa en una pantalla grande vía DirecTV.

But, why are we doing this? I mean besides wanting to eat great home made chili? We want to raise funds for charity. In this case we are raising money for SACS / NALE.

Pero porque hacer esto? Es decir, ademas de probar rico chili casero? Queremos ayudar a la comunidad y en este caso vamos a ayudar a SACS / NALE.

Send a Child to School – SACS helps an increasing number of children each year by providing the school supplies essential for a successful education. Each child receives a backpack containing notebooks, paper, pencils, erasers (as required by grade level), as well as shoes, socks and the regulation lab coat.

Niño’s a la Escuela – Cada año, NALE ayuda a número mayor de chicos, dándoles los útiles escolares esenciales a una experiencia educativa. Cada alumno recibe una mochila que contiene los artículos necesarios para su nivel escolar, por ejemplo: cuadernos, papel, lápices, gomas – además de zapatos, medias y un guardapolvo.

Food Tours in Buenos Aires and Beyond!

"Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators." -- Olin Miller

I have been offered several writing opportunities in the past and normally I would have loved to attempt a shot at making money with writing. However, I have not been able to take advantage of those opportunities. I am way too busy with Sugar & Spice.

En el pasado me han ofrecido trabajo escribiendo y siempre me hubiera gustado poder aprovechar esas oportunidades, pero nunca pude porque estoy muy ocupado con Sugar & Spice.

One opportunity I just couldn't pass up was writing about food.

Una oportunidad que no pude dejar pasar era escribiendo sobre comida.

This job required that I travel to food spots; interview business owners; try new foods; take pictures of food... it sounded like great fun!

Este trabajo requería que viajara a locales de comida; entrevistar a dueños de emprendimientos; tomar fotos; probar comida... sonaba muy divertido!

Now the fruits of my labor are once again out in the real world. The first time it was with Sugar & Spice.

De nuevo, uno de mis creaciones esta en el mundo real. La primera vez fue con Sugar & Spice.

I am now one of the writers in an iPhone app called Rama Tours. Originally the app was created as a travel history tour app.

Ahora soy uno de los escritores que escribe para una applicación de iPhone llamado Rama Tours. Originalmente el app era sobre turismo histórico.

"Ever wanted to walk through Chicago after the great fire? Watch the Brooklyn Bridge emerge from the depths of the East River? Experience the wild abandon of Mardi Gras during the Depression?"

Alguna vez te hubiera gustado caminar las calles de Chicago después del gran fuego? Mirar el Brooklyn Bridge nacer sobre el East River? Festejar un Mardi Gras durante la gran depresión?

In 2010 BBC Travel picked Rama Tours as one of the best new travel apps!

En 2010 la BBC Travel eligió a Rama Tours como uno de los top 10 apps de turismo!

Now this fantastic app has branched out to food. They looked for writers that were local food bloggers in their target cities and that had something to add to make the experience as rich as possible.

Ahora este app fantástico se expandió a la comida con Rama Food. Buscaron a food bloggers que especializaban en escribir sobre comida en las ciudades que ellos buscaban.

For Buenos Aires you have Dan Perlman, Maria Carra and yours truly.

Para Buenos Aires eligieron a Dan Perlman, Maria Carra y a mi.

For my first attempt I chose to look for the best medialunas. Argentines are very proud of this morning and afternoon staple of local culture. They are the most ubiquitous food items that you will find.

Para mi primer tour elegí buscar las mas ricas medialunas. Los Argentinos tienen mucho orgullo por esta delicia que consumen a cualquier hora del día.

Not only where the places that I was looking for had to have a great medialuna, they also had to produce them by hand. I was going for the homemade, just out of the oven variety.

Los lugares que buscaba no solamente tendrían que tener las mas ricas, también las tenían que hacer a mano. Yo buscaba recetas caseras y medialunas frescas recién salidas del horno.

So what would you learn about the local medialuna scene by taking my tour? You would learn how to order them, how to best time your visit so you can score one fresh out of the oven, how to order the coffee that goes with them, how to tip the waiter, and the most important thing of all.... how to score some of the yummiest varieties in the city.

Que se aprende de las medialunas tomando mi tour? Como pedir, a que hora visitar para conseguir las mismas recién horneadas, cuanto dejar de propina y lo mas importante de todo... como conseguir unas de las mas ricas de la ciudad.

My tour is only $0.99 cents and once you are out walking around Buenos Aires wouldn't it be great to have this little tour in your pocket? You wouldn't even need to have access to wifi once you have downloaded it either.

El tour de las medialunas cuesta US$0,99. Con este tour tendrás en tu bolsillo, sin necesidad de tener wifi, acceso a las medialunas mas ricas y frescas de Buenos Aires.

This tour is iOS for now, but soon it will be available for Android.

Por ahora este app es solamente para iOS, pero pronto tendrán una versión para Android.

To stay up to date with Rama you can follow their Twitter account and Facebook page.

Para seguir las noticias de este app podes seguirlos por Twitter y por Facebook.

1000!

Today our Facebook Page got over 1,000 fans!

Hoy superamos los 1.000 fans en Facebook!

To celebrate I think we are going to come up with a promotion at our store next week.

Para celebrar creo que les vamos a ofrecer una promoción la semana que viene.

So pay attention to all of our social networks to find out what we will come up with.

Les sugiero que pongan atención a todas nuestras redes sociales para recibir novedades.

Thank You!

Gracias!

A Simple Bagel and Honey?

"the first printed mention of bagels...is to be found in the Community Regulations of Kracow, Poland, for the year 1610 which stated that bagels would be given as a gift to any woman in childbirth."
'The Joys of Yiddish' by Leo Rosten

I never knew Bagels were given to pregnant women as gifts before, but the very first mention of bagels in print form basically says that is what should be done with bagels.

Nunca supe que los bagels fueron regalados a mujeres embarazadas, pero la primer mención escrita en el mundo dice que eso es exactamente lo que se debe hacer con los bagels (ademas de comerlos).

I will have to keep that in mind for any future pregnant gift baskets from Sugar & Spice!

Voy a tener que tener eso en mente para algún futuro regalo a embarazadas de Sugar & Spice!

This morning though, I wanted to share another bagel inspiration. This one is simple (sort of). I drizzled a little Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey on our toasted cinnamon raisin bagel.

Hoy quise compartir otra inspiración culinaria sobre los bagels. Esta es simple, mas o menos. Le puse un poco de miel de Tasmania sobre un bagel tostado de canela y pasas.

I just love this honey and to be honest I don't even remember where I got it. It is a very unique tasting honey. It is not overly sweet and I can get a vivid picture of what the leatherwood flower might be like from the aroma and taste of this honey.

Esta miel es una de mis favoritas en todo el mundo. Ni me acuerdo donde la compramos. Es muy particular el sabor de esta miel. No es super dulce y cuando la pruebo me puedo imaginar como seria la flor del arbol Leatherwood.

Here is a blog post that waxes poetic on this particular honey and why it is so unique.

Encontré un blog donde escriben específicamente sobre esta miel y describen porque es única.

Finally now I have something noble and worthy to go with one of my favorite honeys in the world. Now I have my own freshly baked bagels.

Finalmente tengo algo noble y digno para acompañar unas de mis mieles favoritas, los bagels de Sugar & Spice.

Peanut Butter Brownies at Sugar & Spice!

"What has two thumbs and likes brownies?"

Points to himself and says: "This guy!"

Kelso to Hyde (Garage Sale episode of That 70's Show)

Hyde's brownies had a special ingredient. Our special ingredient happens to be Peanut Butter!

Los Brownies de Hyde tenian un ingrediente especial. Nuestro ingrediente especial es manteca de mani!

Now we are making Peanut Butter Brownies in small batches exclusively at our Sugar & Spice store in Palermo Hollywood.

Ahora estamos horneando brownies con manteca de mani in tandas chicas exclusivamente en nuestro local de Sugar & Spice en Palermo Hollywood.

So now you have specialty cookies, bagels and peanut butter brownies to tempt you into visiting our store.

Ahora tienen cookies especiales, bagels y brownies con manteca de mani para tentarlos a visitarnos.

Sugar and Spice Bagel Promotion!

Yep, Sugar & Spice is running a special bagel promotion. The price just doesn't get much better than this.


Sí, Sugar & Spice tienen una promoción con los nuevos bagels!

The Sugar & Spice Bagels and Specialty Cookies!

Yep, you are seeing this right. We decided to go more bakery on you!

Every Tuesday we will be baking small batches of bagels. We will have sesame seed bagels (dark and white sesame's and sometimes both seeds together), plain and cinnamon raisin.

Todos los martes vamos a hornear bagels. Vamos a tener bagels con semillas de sesamo (blancas y negras), con pasas y canela y también simples.

Truth be told, we have been working on these for a while. We even have some feedback from some local food bloggers.

Hemos estado trabajando sobre los bagels ya hace un tiempo. Es más, tenemos unos comentarios de un par de bloggers como...

Allie from Pick Up The Fork said of our bagel trials: "Once toasted with queso crema, I fell in love with the bagel and wanted more."

Dan from Saltshaker wrote of our bagel trials: "Nice aroma, smell of freshly baked bread, a touch of malt, very appealing...Color, beautifully browned on top and sides...with Amarantha gone, they're certainly the best I've tried in BA"


Now, more than ever, check out our tweeter feed @SugarandSpiceAr (it's side linked here on this blog as well for your convenience) and I will let everyone know when the bagels come out of the oven.

Ahora, más que nunca, visita nuestro Twitter @SugarandSpiceAr para saber cuando salen del horno nuestras nuevas delicias!

We will also have specialty cookies available that you can buy individually. These are not wrapped, they are baked in small batches and taken downstairs to our store.

También vamos a tener cookies especiales que se pueden comprar individualmente. Las horneamos en lotes pequeños y van directamente a nuestro local.

Pictured are orange biscotti and chocolate chip walnut biscotti for example. We also currently have some dark chocolate beauties like the ones pictured below:

Las que figuran en la foto son unas biscotti con trozos de naranja y unos biscotti con trozos de chocolate con nueces. También tenemos unas cookies de chocolate negro con avellanas como figuran en la foto abajo.

Those are hazelnuts poking out of a dark chocolate dough. We also couldn't help ourselves and made some dark chocolate cookies with large orange chunks!

Sí, esas son avellanas las que salen de la masa de chocolate negro! También horneamos unas cookies de chocolate negro con trozos de naranja!

So, if you are in the neighborhood now you have a really good reason to stop by our store. I won't take it personally if you come for the cookies instead of to see me. I think I can live with that ;-)

Por lo tanto, si están por el barrio ya tienen una excelente razón para pasar por nuestro local. No lo tomare en forma personal si a lo que vienen es por las cookies y no para verme a mi.

Cookie Quiz! Win free Cookies!

The first one to answer gets a pack of Passion for Chocolate Cookies!

El que contesta primero recibe un paquete de Cookies Pasión por Chocolate!

Do you think you can tell from what show the following dialogue is from?

Saben de que show de televisión viene esto?

Her: Ummm, I love the smell of bakeries.

Him: Oh look (her), the black and white cookie. I love the black and white. Two races of flavor living side by side [mumble?] It's a wonderful thing isn't it?

Her: You know I often wonder what you'll be like when you're senile.

Him: I'm looking forward to it.

Her: Yeah. I think it will be a very smooth transition for you.

The first ones that answer through this blog, Facebook, and Twitter win! (that's right three different ways to win).

Only one win per person (the same person can't go to all the other sites to win again but you can try all three).

La primer persona que responde por este blog, Facebook y Twitter gana! (Asi es, tres formas de ganar).


Solamente un premio por persona (la misma persona no puede ir a los otros sitios para ganar, pero puede probar en los tres para tratar de ganar).

The prize must be picked up at the store in Palermo Hollywood.
El premio se tiene que buscar en el local de Palermo Hollywood.

Biscotti Alle Mandorle with Vin Santo

There are many classic food combinations or pairings like BLT; bangers and mash; PB&J; hazelnut and chocolate; milk and cookies; chips and salsa; tomatoes and basil; and well, you can go on and on.

One of those combinations is one that I had not known could be gotten here in Buenos Aires. I take responsibility for bringing one half of this combo and now, at our store, you can get the other half as well.

Hay muchas combinaciones de alimentos clásicos o maridajes como churros con chocolate; avellanas y chocolate; tomate y albahaca; jamon y queso; dulce de leche con... todo, y bueno, uno puede seguir y seguir.

Una de esas combinaciones es la que yo no sabía que se podía obtener aquí en Buenos Aires. Asumo la responsabilidad de traer la mitad de este combo y ahora, en nuestro local, se puede obtener la otra mitad también.

I am talking about the classic Italian after dinner aperitif of Biscotti with Vin Santo.

Estoy hablando del clásico aperitivo italiano de un Biscotti con Vin Santo.

The biscotti should be dipped into the wine glass; permeated by the wine it should give your mouth the sensation of almonds floating on a soft bed while enjoying bacchanalian daydreams.

El biscotti se sumerge en la copa de vino; permeada por el vino debe dar a la boca la sensación de almendras flotando en una cama blanda mientras que goza de sueños bacanales.

If you don't believe me then you can always come by and the girls at our store will gladly offer you a tasting of this wonderful combination starting tomorrow Wednesday the 15th of June.

Si no me creen, entonces vengan por nuestro local. Con mucho gusto le ofreceremos una degustación de esta maravillosa combinación a partir de mañana miércoles 15 de junio.

Yes, I dare you to prove me wrong.

Sí, los desafio a que compreben lo que acabo de expresar.

This combination is priced at $75 pesos and it would be a perfect gift to take to a dinner party. So far, this is only available at our store.

Esta combinación tiene un precio de $ 75 pesos y sería un regalo perfecto para llevar a una cena. Hasta ahora, esto sólo está disponible en nuestra tienda.

If you would like to expand your horizons a bit past the biscotti, here is a post on some unconventional pairings for Vin Santo. The Vin Santo poached pears actually sound pretty good!

Si desea ampliar sus horizontes un poco más allá del biscotti, aquí hay un articulo sobre algunas combinaciones o maridajes no convencionales para Vin Santo. Las peras poché al Vin Santo suenan muy ricas!

New Client Feature: Neme Sandwicheria

My sales person was giving me a list of his new clients when I looked on his map and there was a solitary pin in Villa Pueyrredon.

Mi vendedor me estaba dando una lista de sus nuevos clientes cuando miré en su mapa un aislado alfiler en Villa Pueyrredón.

He insisted that I should go check it out. It´s a little kiosko that expanded and now they have a sidewalk sandwich and cafe business with tables and chairs.

Insistió en que debía ir a visitar. Se trata de un pequeño kiosco que se expandió y ahora tienen una sándwicheria con mesas y sillas sobre la vereda.

He even serves pasta and premium ice cream.

Incluso sirve pasta y helado de primera calidad.

Well, that caught my attention. It´s mostly residential and it seems like a quiet neighborhood. Besides, we have no other clients near them. So what did I find?

Me llamó la atención. La zona es principalmente residencial y parece un barrio tranquilo. Además, no tenemos otros clientes cerca de ellos. Entonces, ¿con qué me encuentro?

The kiosco business started back in 1949.

El kiosco nació en 1949.

They still have a picture of the previous owner dated 1972 on the wall.

Ellos todavía tienen la imagen del dueño original.

It is still a family run operation and the current owner Eduardo, decided to expand his horizons a bit.

Sigue siendo una operación de gestión familiar y el actual propietario Eduardo, decidió ampliar sus horizontes un poco.

He told me that he left the picture of the previous owner because he wanted to honor him and the neighbors really liked to see their old kioskero behind the counter, even if he wasn´t around anymore.

Me dijo que él dejó la imagen del anterior propietario para honrarlo y los vecinos  realmente les gustaba ver a su kioskero antiguo, detrás del mostrador como en los viejos tiempos.

It´s the memories that tugs at their heart.

Son las memorias que tiran al corazón.

And that is how this "Sandwicheria" neighbors this old kiosco.

Y así es como este "Sandwicheria" sale del kiosco antiguo.

and his point of difference was going to be quality!

y su punto de diferencia iba a ser de calidad!

He serves Chungo premium ice cream from his stand; Cachafaz dulce de leche; pastas from La Juvenil; sandwiches and desserts from Deli Light, and now cookies and biscotti from Sugar & Spice.

Él sirve helados Chungo; Cachafaz dulce de leche, las pastas de La Juvenil, sándwiches y postres de Deli Light, y ahora cookies y biscotti de Sugar & Spice.

Rumor has it that in the summer he will be making ice cream sandwich cookies! and from both locations!

Se rumorea que en el verano tendra Ice Cream Sandwiches! y de ambos lugares! Sí, se está expandiendo y agregando otra tienda en Villa Devoto.

Yeah, he is expanding and adding another store in Villa Devoto.

Neme Sandwicheria
Avda. Albarellos 2918
Villa Pueyrredon
Facebook Page

Fierro Hotel Boutique

One of the great perks of my job is getting to meet other people who are building businesses in the community. Because of that, I get to hear about things that are fairly new and sometimes even hear about things that are in the making.

Of course, I respect ideas so I never say anything about up and coming things unless I am given permission to talk about it.

In this case, I actually learned about, and closed a deal, because of Twitter.

Yep, I was introduced to the Fierro Hotel Boutique through Twitter by a mutual friend:

Another great perk is that when a hotel is interested in our products, they themselves tend to be fantastic hotels. The Fierro Hotel is no exception. In fact, its tag line is "The Hotel for the Gourmand".

How do they follow that up?

Here is a quote taken from their site:

"But the outstanding element was the food. As someone who works with many of the finest restaurants in the UK, I can only say it's a shame that Michelin does not award in Argentina. " Andrew, London, UK

Their cheff Hernán Gipponi happens to have worked at the "Guggenheim Bilbao and Quique Dacosta's El Poblet in Denia, Valencia, both recipients of two Michelin Stars."

If you google the cheff you will get a whole list of ratings and sites about him and the restaurant both in English and in Spanish.

Yes, it's on my list of places to visit and dine at.

And now, if you happen to be staying at the Fierro, you don't even have to go far to enjoy some fantastic micro brewed beer from Otro Mundo with Argentina's yummiest savory cookies.

These are serious savory cookies also. They are made with real grated Parmesan cheese for example. No artificial flavoring added.

The beer isn't shabby either. You can read about it here and you can see a review of it from BeerAdvocate. If you are also interested in the Beer Scene in Argentina in general you can see a previous post of mine by clicking here.

If you are planning on visiting Argentina then you should seriously consider this hotel. At the very least, your tummy will thank you and you can score some cool mini soaps.

Narda Lepes Still Likes Sugar & Spice Cookies

Narda Lepes just sent me her "cling"!

She had put Sugar & Spice in her book "Qué, Cómo, Dónde", which is a culinary guide for those who would like to know where to buy great and sometimes very rare foods.

Obviously, she knows where to get the best chocolate chip cookies.

She wasn't just doing lip service either. We actually ate some cookies together. Some people break bread, we break cookies.

Thanks again Narda!

************** Castellano **********

Narda Lepes nos acaba de enviar su "cling"! Ella había puesto a Sugar & Spice en su libro "Qué, Cómo, Dónde".

Obviamente ella sabe donde conseguir las mas ricas Chocolate Chip Cookies!

No es puro verso tampoco. Yo la vi, es más, compartimos unas cookies.

Gracias de nuevo Narda!

Newsletter & Promociones de Sugar & Spice

Estamos por lanzar una "Newsletter" para compartir noticias relacionadas con Sugar & Spice y también para notificar sobre promociones exclusivas para nuestros fans.

Si te interesa recibir estas noticias en el futuro simplemente llená el formulario.

También queremos saber tu fecha de cumpleaños para poder hacerte un regalito en tu día! (para los que puedan pasar por nuestro local).


********************

We are going to launch a newsletter so we can keep our fans updated to the latest Sugar & Spice happenings as well as letting you know of exclusive promotions.

If you would like to recieve our newsletter and promotions just fill in the form.

We also want to know your birthday so we can give you a little gift on your special day (for those that can come by the store that is).

*****UPDATE*****

I was not happy with how the Google Doc was working. This option goes right to our own Sugar & Spice database.

No estaba contento como funcionaba el formulario de Google Docs. Esta nueva opción va directamente a nuestra base de datos de Sugar & Spice.

http://www.sugarandspice.com.ar/esp_registro.php

Sugar and Spice Grupon Offer!

Yep, Sugar & Spice took the Grupon plunge. This is a great 60% discount! To take advantage of this promotion click here!

Your options are:

• Our 4 pound cakes! (Banana Walnut, Lemon Poppyseed, Super Chocolate, Ingles)
• Our 3 cookies! (Chocolate Chip, Passion for Chocolate, Oatmeal Raisin)
• Our 3 cantucci! (Almond Raisin, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate Walnut)
• Our 4 savory Parmesan cheese cookies (Pizza, Pesto, Fugazza, Parmesan Walnut)

Hoy lanzamos la promoción de Grupon. Es un descuento de 60%! Para obtener tu cupon tenés que ir a Grupon.

Las opciones para elegir son:

• Nuestros 4 budines! (Inglés, Súper Chocolate, Banana y Nuez, Limón y Amapola)
• Nuestras 3 cookies! (Choco Chip, Pasión por Chocolate, Avena y Pasas)
• Nuestras 3 cantucci! (Mandorle - Almendras y pasas; Cioccolato - chocolate y nuez; Nocciola - chocolate y avellanas)
• Nuestros 4 copetines! (Parmesano Nuez, Pan de Pizza, Pesto, Fugazza)

The Happy Threesome

Last night I went out to the new Antares in Las Cañitas.Yeah, it was part business visit part socializing which made it an incredibly fun way to work.

Weather or not Antares decides to give Sugar & Spice or El Tejano a try we at least had fun pitching ideas to them over some ice cold beer.

Our copetines (cheese based cookies) just go hand in hand with El Tejano´s home made, and now very spicy Nº4 salsa.

Our cookies have a lot of taste to them and if you pair them with something you better bring something that can stand up to them. In this case, the salsa was fantastic and we had the added benefit of washing it all down with very good artisan beer from Antares.

Amanda Robert Jones wrote about our last trip to Antares and you can read her write up here , and watch the birth of a new expat Blogger writing from Argentina. I highly recommend her blog.

My new favorite beers at Antares are the new Pilsner, Cream Stout, Honey Beer and the Kolsh.

I will eventually make it to the other beers they have. I want to go back and try something different each time.

And if they add either the copetines or El Tejano´s salsa they might as well reserve a permanent spot for me and start calling me Norm.

"What's the story, Norm?"
"Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer."

Antares Las Cañitas
Arevalo 2876
Happy Hour from 7pm to 9pm
They have a very cool upstairs deck and a fashionable main room (with A/C) downstairs.

The pictures are courtesy of El Tejano and Antares.

Narda Lepes Likes Sugar & Spice (and we like her right back)

I have always had a weakness for beautiful, strong, independent, proactive, intelligent women and when they can cook, well that is just the icing on the cake.

These are all traits that Narda and my wife share (they also both studied in Paris).

Yes, I am a very lucky guy.

The other one they share is that they both like Sugar and Spice products. Sure, one of them makes them and the other recognizes the quality, dedication and love that goes into making them.

Narda is a celebrated chef in Argentina. She began her TV career around the same time that Sugar & Spice started.

However, she seems to have just catapulted into the limelight, dropped from the sky to teach us about food, wine, and how to enjoy them.

And she just came out with a book titled "Qué, Cómo, Dónde".

After responding to so many people's questions every time she would go out to do her shopping, she realized that she could put together a guide that would help us find all those little gems that a seasoned pro like herself would get to know.

I started leafing through it and I was so excited to see that she actually made a couple of references to Sugar & Spice.

She also included us in her top 8 Pan Dulces.

This is not a collection of detailed reviews of different stores, bakeries, deli's, wine shops, café's, fairs, book stores, music stores, organic shops, fresh pasta shops, etc.

No, this is set up as a no nonsense guide. She briefly states what makes the place stand out and gives you the address, web site, phone number and hours.

It even comes with a little notebook so you can take notes and take it with you without having to take the whole book along.

I have already found out where I can score some authentic maple syrup from a Canadian expat. For that alone, this book has already paid for itself.

Just in time for the holidays, this would be a great present for those foodies on your gift list.

And from Sugar and Spice we are flattered that she has included us in her book.

Narda, if you see this... Te mando un beso grande y de parte de todos nosotros en Sugar, agradezco tu generosidad y buena onda que has tenido con nosotros.

In Search of the Other America

This Time It´s a Top Five List of the Best Teas in Buenos Aires

The Landing Pad has come out with an article on the Top 5 Teas in Buenos Aires and Sugar & Spice was fortunate enough to make the cut.

I have also heard that we were mentioned in a new book by a local celebrity chef.

I have to go out and buy it and will let you all know shortly what that is about.

After so many years of people not knowing who we are it´s nice to get some public recognition.

By the way, check out the new diggs of The Landing Pad. Great new layout guys!

Cookies, Tea and More

“If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited, it will calm you.”

--William E. Gladstone 

We opened up our very first franchise store a little over a month ago at the Dot Shopping Mall. We did not want to be another little shop that served coffee.

Everyone serves coffee!

We noticed that very few places served tea. Tea has started to grow in Argentina, but it´s still a novelty. Under the same spirit that drove me to start a gourmet cookie business (because it just did not exist here) we decided to give tea a try.

We picked out the blends we liked most and it came down to 7 blends and 2 rooibos blends.

• Ceylon and Earl Grey - These are the two classic black tea blends that we chose for those that know what they want and nothing else matters. If you are set in your ways, we have your classic black teas.
• Festivo - This is a green and black tea blend that also has flower petals. This pairs nicely with our Budín Ingles.
• Very Berry - Another black tea blend that incorporates patagonia berries and blueberries. The aroma from this one will lead you to agree with its name. This one goes great with our almond biscotti.
• Dulce de Leche - Yep, we mixed dulce de leche into this tea blend and it actually has little cubes of dulce de leche. It´s an instant classic paired with our very moist banana pound cake!
• Imperial Berry  (Pu-Erh)- In China this tea is actually known or called as a red tea. It is a special type of tea that begs to have its own classification. It is a postfermented tea and ours comes from the Yunnan province in China and it includes strawberries, orange and vanilla.
• Chai - Our last black tea on the list. This is a classic black tea from India with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. This one you can make directly in milk! This one can be paired with any of our chocolate cookies, chocolate pound cake, and banana pound cake.

• Lemon Flower - This rooibos is one of our most popular and it pairs naturally with our lemon poppyseed pound cake. Both actually complement and bring out the citrus quality in each.
• Madagascar - Another favorite rooibos blend that mixes coconut, cocoa and vanilla. Anything with chocolate goes well with this.

Apart from the tea we wanted to create something unique at the store. We obviously have all of our gourmet cookies, cakes, biscotti and savory cookies, but we also have gifts that are unique to our stores as well as many tea accessories.

Each day we feature two teas that you could buy as take out at the mall. So come on by and say hello and I promise that you will always be greeted with a sampling of our delicacies as well as some tea to go.

Tea and Cookie Event for Bloggers/Press

After our very first Cookie Day, I never did another one, but that is about to change.

This time it´s Tea and Cookies and it´s at the Dot Shopping Mall. Yes, Argentina now has a Sugar & Spice store at a shopping mall.

I have only 3 simple rules. 

Only the first 15 responses can make it. If I get many more responses, then I would be open to a second event at a later date. In any case, you will get a response from me.

You can bring a guest (and no they don´t count towards the 15 response limit. That´s why I called it a response limit and not a person limit).

1. write to cookiesandtea@sugarandspice.com.ar
2. please include your name, your blog/magazine/newspaper/etc you represent, and if you are bringing a guest, please let me know.
3. you will get a response with an invite.

Please don´t worry. I will not spam you. I am not a large faceless corporation with the resources to fill up your e-mail in-box on a consistent basis.

I can´t even consistently write on my own blog much less have time to spam anybody.

Anyway, I want to make sure that the people who do show up get my undivided attention and I get the chance to present our line of teas and cookies at the shopping mall.

These days it would be the only chance I get to eat and drink anything during the day!

The last time (and only time really) I did this it was a lot of fun.

The only thing I ask of you is if you have it in your heart to write about the event and about the store and the great time, or even not so great time if that´s the case.

That´s it!

So please consider coming out for Tea and Cookies!

Tuesday 23rd of November

5pm or 17:00 hours

We are located on the first floor right in front of Zara

@The DOT