After having a good Yorkshire winter, and I hear it got a little colder after we left, we have little time for the plaintive whinings of the porteños. 'Hace frio' they say, wrapping scarves tightly and wearing quilted coats... it's 20 degrees at 3pm for goodness' sake. Okay, so it's a brisk 7 or 8C at 7am but that's just a good wake up call. They have begun (shoot me now...) making the dogs wear clothes. T shirts with the sleeves rolled up (on an Alsatian), camouflage gear (on a poodle) and, dogs in hats (fashionable beanie hat on an Airdale).

So, with the depths of winter fast approaching, we took the opportunity to try one of the classic BA winter treats (imported from Barcelona I think). Chocolate con churros. The oleo guide to BA's restaurants says La Giralda vies for the top spot when it comes to true BA ambience, by which they go on to say the white tiles (think public loo), the worn out pipes and the decrepid waiters were unparalleled in the city.

Sus azulejos blancos (tiles), los tubos gastados (worn pipes) y los mozos milenarios (ancient waiters) nos preparan para el mejor chocolate (the best chocolate) habido y por haber

They also do really good chocolate (apparently: I don't do hot chocolate, Liz said hers was pretty sweet, in both senses of the word). To go along with the chocolate we had churros rellenos. Imagine: take some doughnut dough, put it in an icing bag with a star shaped nozzle. Pipe a 6 inch length straight into hot fat, using some bizarre culinary magic to fill them with fudgy dulce de leche.

Once out of the oil, sprinkle with sugar and serve. They are eaten dipped in the hot chocolate: Liz is now contemplating a rigorous exercise regime because they are, well, not health food. I need to do the same... even though I had my churros with a healthy coffee ;-)  ¶ 11:03 PM