My first Paraguayan restaurant, and a test of GPT-4
That was the menu from Tal Cual!, in Buenos Aires, the first Paraguayan food I have had. I showed GPT-4 that menu and asked why there were no posted prices on it. It responded that the restaurant wanted to economize on the cost of price changes, and afterwards mentioned a fixed price menu as an alternative explanation. I then added that I was in Argentina, and would that help improve the answer any? GPT responded that high inflation was likely the reason why the restaurant might want to economize on the cost of frequent price changes. Not bad.
A fun time was had by all.
Comments
Price discrimination also comes to mind, as to an affluent American who will presumably pay whatever he is told.
What about the carbon footprint of all these frivolous taco trips?
Perhaps we little people are supposed to sacrifice in order to "carbon subsidize" our betters - the cultural elite. IOW, the relatively poor pay for the relatively wealthy.
"If it can't go on forever it will stop" - somebody smart
What about all the hot air emitted from that trigger happy head? Snark aside, sustainable aviation fuel seems to be the most talked about way to decarbonize long distance commercial flight with new electric and/or hybrid technologies covering short to medium distances. YMMV.
I share the pic of the menu and the following prompt with chat: "This is my first time at a paraguayan restaurant. i've shared the menu. please describe to me an optimal order that will expose me to the best and most novel items. I am OK over ordering. thanks"
Response:
From the menu you've shared, it seems you have an exciting selection of traditional Paraguayan dishes as well as some other popular Latin American cuisine. To get a good exposure to Paraguayan food, here's a suggested order that would allow you to sample a range of flavors:
1. **Porción sopa paraguaya**: This is a traditional Paraguayan dish which is a savory cornbread made with cornmeal, cheese, and onion. It's more like a dense, moist cake than a soup despite its name.
2. **Porción chipa guazu**: Similar to sopa paraguaya, chipa guazu is also a corn-based dish but it's often more like a corn soufflé, made with fresh corn, cheese, milk, and eggs.
3. **Tallarín napoli (pollo or CARNE)**: For a pasta option, you can choose between chicken or beef in Napoli style sauce which is typically a tomato-based sauce.
4. **Arroz con pollo**: This is a classic Latin American dish made with rice and chicken, often cooked with vegetables and seasoned with a mix of Latin spices.
5. **Marinera con guarniciones**: This dish usually consists of seafood, possibly with a tomato-based sauce, served with side dishes (guarniciones).
6. **Asado a la olla con guarniciones**: A hearty stew-like dish made with slow-cooked beef, which is very flavorful and comforting.
7. **Vori vori (pollo or carne)**: Vori vori are small, round, cornmeal dumplings served in a flavorful broth with either chicken or beef. It's a very traditional Paraguayan soup.
8. **Kure chyryry con guarniciones**: This is another hearty dish, often a stew made with pork and various vegetables.
9. **Butifarra**: This is a type of sausage that is often served as part of a barbecue or as a snack.
10. **Tabla de Popurrí**: This usually refers to a mixed platter, which could give you an assortment of different items to try.
11. **Chorizo ochsi**: A type of seasoned sausage that's often grilled.
Since you are okay with overordering, this selection should give you a comprehensive taste of Paraguayan cuisine as well as a few other Latin American staples. Enjoy your culinary adventure!
when asked to limit to four items:
For a limited order of four items that provide a broad experience of Paraguayan cuisine, I recommend the following:
1. **Porción sopa paraguaya**: It's a must-try unique to Paraguay; despite its name, it's a savory cornbread, not a soup.
2. **Porción chipa guazu**: This is another Paraguayan specialty, similar to sopa paraguaya but with a lighter, soufflé-like texture.
3. **Vori vori (pollo or carne)**: These cornmeal dumplings in a hearty soup are a traditional dish that will give you a taste of local flavors.
4. **Asado a la olla con guarniciones**: To experience a meat dish, this slow-cooked beef will provide a rich and authentic taste of Paraguayan comfort food.
These items should give you a diverse taste experience ranging from traditional breads to a comforting soup and a hearty meat dish. Enjoy your meal!
Today should be an eventful day in Buenos Aires. Leftist street protests are planned all day, and Milei is making an announcement at noon of his proposal to eliminate 3,500 regulations in one shot. Solve for the equilibrium?
News sources in case anyone wants to follow the fun:
https://www.batimes.com.ar/
https://www.clarin.com/
https://www.lanacion.com.ar/
If anyone knows of any Twitter / X feeds that offer coverage on the above, I'd be interested in seeing them.
The Media and Academia will be out in full force to destroy Milie’s reforms. Whatever his reaction to these protests he will be condemned. Trade sanctions will soon follow.
The Left will not allow this to stand.
McCarthy was correct, but he did not use anywhere near sufficient force.
I think Milei is making a mistake with the crackdown on the protests. It's a bad look for a libertarian. I think he'd be better off fighting them with words. A couple well-crafted soundbites could turn public opinion against the protestors.
BTW these aren't just your typical left-wing protestors. They're organizations which have historically received disbursements from the government for providing social welfare services to citizens. They're pissed because Milei is doing away with those disbursements, bypassing the middleman, and instead paying the benefits directly to individuals.
He should make some public statements pointing out that they are just disappointed that they lost their gravy train.
I'm struggling to figure out what the LLM added to this experience. The speculation seems to be fairly standard ("Don't print prices so you don't have to print new menus constantly" seems pretty obvious given that even I've heard of inflation problems there), and doesn't affect the dining experience at all (if you're flying to South America the cost of a meal isn't going to be significant). I can see it being a "Gee whiz, look at this new toy can do!" moment, but outside of that I simply don't see what value is added by the LLM in this experience.
I hope you had the first two items, as those are dishes that are unique to Paraguay. Most of the other foods, like empanadas, milanesa, and sausage, are so common in Argentina as well. Also, I never had fried yucca or mandioca when I was in Paraguay. It was always boiled. Maybe in the nice restaurants there, they deep fried it. I much prefer the deep fried version, but I’ve only had that at El Salvadorean restaurants in the states. Again, never in Paraguay.
And it looks like you got some chipa, the bagel looking things on the right. It’s similar to Brazilian cheese bread though I think it has corn in it. At Easter time, people would make lots of homemade chipa and it was rarely ever as good as the commercially produced kind, often hard as a rock instead of soft and chewy.
Are some of these less familiar words like "vori vori" in Guarani?
"Meh... I use Wikipedia which is far more useful." - MR forums 2023 re: ChatGPT
I would think using the menu straight out of the printer was already cutting down on cost. :) Maybe the prices change several times throughout the day. Wouldn't be surprised.
Just came back from Argentina and nearly all the menus were on QR codes. Clearly an attempt, driven by high and variable inflation, to cut down on "menu costs."
Tyler, did you have some chipas? A paraguayan speciality. A type of cheese ball made with from cassava flour. Delicious. Would really work here in America with the no-gluten crowd.
We were struck by the food scene in Argentina. It's pretty good, although a bit too beef heavy. The wine district (around Mendoza) is especially a foodie area.
when asked to limit to four items:
For a limited order of four items that provide a broad experience of Paraguayan cuisine, I recommend the following:
1. **Porción sopa paraguaya**: It's a must-try unique to Paraguay; despite its name, it's a savory cornbread, not a soup.
2. **Porción chipa guazu**: This is another Paraguayan specialty, similar to sopa paraguaya but with a lighter, soufflé-like texture.
3. **Vori vori (pollo or carne)**: These cornmeal dumplings in a hearty soup are a traditional dish that will give you a taste of local flavors.
4. **Asado a la olla con guarniciones**: To experience a meat dish, this slow-cooked beef will provide a rich and authentic taste of Paraguayan comfort food.
These items should give you a diverse taste experience ranging from traditional breads to a comforting soup and a hearty meat dish. Enjoy your meal!
GPT-4 strikes me as something invented for aphantasics.
I'd like Cowen's impression of Buenos Aires. And did he visit the University of Buenos Aires and talk to the members of the economics department? Or did he visit the private business college where Milei got his degrees? The food looks good. Is all of that food for one person or is it served homestyle?
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