International Brands Alive and Well
TGI Friday’s. Yes, there is a Friday’s here. Yes, I am ashamed to say that we have eaten there. (We happened upon it after a lot of walking, the kids were starving and began lobbying…well, you get the picture). It was packed with locals. And, for those of you wondering, the Friday’s food here is as bad as it is in the US, the waitstaff does wear crazy hats and buttons, and the music is too loud!
Cheerios. They have a 5 grain Cheerio here that I’m really digging because they are firmer and crunchier than our Cheerios–they don’t dissolve in the milk on the walk from your refrigerator to the table as they seem to in the United States.
Authorized Mac Dealer. Funny, the staff at the Mac dealer we visited here in Baires was about as helpful as the folks at The Mac Store in Portland (you know, the one in the Lloyd district)–in other words, not remotely helpful. The staff here announced that “nowhere in Argentina” could you find the cord we were looking for. Tom traipsed to another Mac dealer and bought it without difficulty. (I’ve never understood why the Apple Stores are so great and the staff so helpful but the authorized Mac/Apple dealers are always so damn snooty and difficult to deal with–hmmmm?)
Starbucks. They recently opened in Argentina and the store is apparently the cool hip place to be for young, upwardly mobile people. (I am happy to say that we haven’t been there!) At least their brand is doing well here; in the US they’ve become the dumpy coffee place in Safeway!
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