It is a bit tricky to get to Eolo. First you have to catch a flight from Buenos Aires which will arrive at El Calafate after three hours flight way south of Argentina’s capital. It will take you an additional 30 minutes or so of driving straight out into the wilderness of the majestic Patagonia before you arrive at Eolo.
People do not come to the luxury lodge Eolo for its restaurant, no, they stay there because of its amazing location on the Argentine Patagonian steppe. The impressive Perito Moreno Glacier is not too far away either so the location of the lodge is a dream come true for everyone with the slightest interest in trekking and wildlife.
Eolo is an all inclusive lodge so you prepay for the days you stay and you leave most of the culinary choices to the kitchen team led by young Head Chef Patricio Farias Viale. The humble Chef has many years of working experience from Patagonia, but he has also worked in Buenos Aires as well as in Miami. He spent his time in the United States working in Loews Hotels and Talulas kitchens and he has also worked for a short period in Uruguay. The Chef certainly faces a lot of challenges due to the fact that he can only get his supplies from the only nearby town of El Calafate. Luckily there is a wide variety of organic produce offered and you can even have seafood which is flown in from Chile, located not far away.
All regions around the world have their own local and unique produce and something you will have major difficulties in having anywhere else in the world is the Darwin’s Rhea or Choique as the locals call it. The Darwin’s Rhea is a large flightless bird similar to a smaller ostrich and the Chef cooks it light for the best taste. Honestly, the taste is not that amazing so most of the world’s population will not miss too much while they are having their chickens.
The cuisine is a combination of international and Patagonian, with dishes like the grilled skirt steak, chimichurri, criolla sauce and sautéed Andean potatoes or the Patagonian toothfish, braised endives, carrots, orange and ginger purée.
People come to Eolo for its breathtaking surroundings, but luckily the cuisine offered is okay as well, so you will not have to worry about getting to bed hungry after a day of trekking.
Written by Andy
