In Search of Cuisine de Chile

What foods define Chile? The tour books give unsatisfying answers. Seafood. Empanadas. Dishes borrowed from Peru and Argentina- namely ceviche (raw fish cured in lemon juice) and steak. Potatoes and pisco sours, which are jointly claimed by Chile and Peru. Chile is gaining renown for its wines, which I am sure are quite good but thus far beer and booze seem to be generally favored.

Unfortunately, the unsatisfying answers seem to be generally correct. The United States has a reputation for huge portions and unhealthy eating habits, but the Chileans seem to have taken this concept and run with it. It is like they borrowed some of the most popular (and fattening) options from many different cultures and put them on steroids. The lunch portions served here are enough for an average family of four. Fast food joints are ubiquitous. Plenty of McDonalds, Burger Kings, Kentucky Fried Chickens, pizza places, and then the hot dogs. Known as “completos”, these beasts are covered in chopped tomatoes and guacamole with a squiggle of mayonnaise decorating the top. Which is another thing- mayonnaise is definitely the condiment of choice here. In the supermarket there were 3 choices of mustard, 2 of ketchup and hot sauce, and over a dozen kinds of mayonnaise including a few in bag form (I will take a picture next time we go shopping. I think I was in too much shock and awe last time). Many little shop fronts “specialize” in completos and ice cream.

It is common for the fast food type places to display plastic renditions of the items on their menu. Tina and Morgan and I have gone out of our way to check out as many of these as we can find. There are slices of pizza covered in crazy toppings- what appears to be an entire can of sliced mushrooms, dozens of oysters or mussels, chopped up hot dogs, an inch thick layer of sliced meat. The toppings are odd, but the sheer quantity is mind boggling. Anything called “vegetarian” is bound to include fish, chicken, ham, or a combination (the only thing missing would be the red meat).

All this isn’t to say the eating experience hasn’t been enjoyable. The seafood is really fresh and there are plenty of restaurants to show it off- sushi seems to be really taking off here now, which kind of makes sense. Empanadas (similar to small calzones) are usually a tasty option and both gelato places we have tried have had delicious and inventive flavors. Raspberry with mint, green tea with mango, wild honey, pineapple or orange with ginger, a dozen kinds of chocolate.

And of course, the steak is fresh and delicious. That’s right, I had steak last night- for the first time in 14 years! We all went to an Argentine restaurant, and well, when in Chile. My first thought was “wow, I remember now what steak tastes like”. I didn’t think it was gross, but I didn’t love it. I ate about a quarter of it (and all of my potatoes) but that was about all I could handle. I made a cucumber lettuce sandwich for dinner tonight and was much happier!