It is amazing how I haven’t written
about this topic yet as it is a favorite part of my life: food. There are some great local dishes, and
some of the best seafood in the world, but from what I have seen, the food in
general, in Chile is just…ok. It is not bad by any means; there is a
reason however, that you don’t see many Chilean restaurants in the United
States. Chile’s baby back ribs
don’t count by the way. I am no
critic, but things are done a little bit differently down here. To each his own.
I have been real fortunate to be fed a variety of tasty dishes during my time. Other friends have not been so lucky. Variety is the spice of life, yet unfortunately that saying has not caught on here. The major food groups here are pan (bread), condiments especially mayonesa, juice with sugar, anything with salt, and the hot dog. If you throw in a bit of palta (avocado) some pollo, mashed potatoes, rice, a tomato, a bit of ham and cheese, and some instant coffee, you have the general idea of meals.
Even the idea of meals is completely different, Breakfast or desayuno is small usually just a cup of coffee or tea and a little bread. Lunch is the main meal of the day and often includes some rice, or potatoes, meat, a “salad” and a desert with a coke. Like in Spain, lunch takes a long time as people talk and enjoy being in the company of others. Dinner, or Once as they call it, is similar to a British tea-time. People often just have some tea, bread with palta and ham and maybe another small item. Like at lunch the meal is long and it often occurs around eight or nine. I have been blessed my entire life to always have enough food on the table, and to eat whenever I want. This is definitely a change.
My friend Elena eating a homemade Completo
A few more of the signature items are empanadas, cazuela (a soup with potato, a chunk of meat, and corn, all in one) porotos (another name for frijoles/beans), and last but definitely not least… the completo. The completo is the best and worst thing in the world. It is a tasty hotdog with various toppings including tomato, avocado, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise… so much mayonnaise. Why the idea hasn’t caught on in America I don’t know- we have all those on burgers. Lets just say the avocado and tomato are a great…alone… I now remember why I practically stopped eating hotdogs and mayonnaise. One day I ordered a completo sin mayonesa (without mayonnaise) and received the hotdog with a healthy dose of mayonnaise on top and no meat… (sin vienesa). Apparently it is more plausible to be a vegetarian than to not want a mountain of mayonnaise… that or my Spanish has room for improvement.
Look forward to food part 2 pronto…
Thanks for reading and happy feasting… Hope you enjoy the
memorial day BBQs…
I’m not jealous…yet!
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