El Submarino

Dear readers,

I am back in the southern hemisphere experiencing pleasant autumnal sunshine, similar to that of a good day in the British summer.

Submarino is a popular beverage that appears on the menu of every café that sits on every corner of Buenos Aires. Submarino simply translates to English as "submarine". The simple name is perfect for such a beverage as it consists purely of hot milk and a piece of dark chocolate, which is sometimes shaped into a submarine. One submerges the chocolate into the hot milk and stirs as the chocolate melts and mixes with the milk to form an Argentine version of hot chocolate.

During my trip last December, I never sampled the Submarino due to the extreme heat and humidity. However, as the season has entered early autumn, the weather is becoming cooler. South of the capital, at a beach town called Pinamar, the windy coastline provides the perfect setting to sample this beverage.

Despite my love for dark chocolate, I was disappointed with this drink. I think that the name and the idea of creating the hot chocolate at the table are more interesting than the drink itself. Perhaps the milk wasn't hot enough to create a smooth consistency, or maybe there was too much milk for the small piece of chocolate. It was lost. The chocolate merely provided a grainy mouth-feel to the milk. I am surprised that such a simple drink, without the addition of sugar, is so abundant on the menus of a country with such a sweet tooth!

However much my palate prefers less-sweet desserts, I can't help but imagine that this drink would be better with the addition of a little something sweet, such as honey, sugar or even dulce de leche, or, maybe, all it needs is a little more chocolate...