Santiago, Chile

Hi all,

I'm heading to Santiago for 5 days in a few weeks. Any recommendations or thoughts would be much appreciated.

the people in Santiago take food, and espectially sea food very seriously. the one thing that I would specifically suggest - go to the central market for lunch. go hungry. go at maybe 9 am, have coffee and a piece of pastry, and then walk around the market. there are dozens of places that you can pick your sea food, and they will cook it for you. there are a lot of things that you may never have seen before, like barnicles. as well as a type of pink razor clam that they cook with cheese.

also, you can buy very cheap copper pots in santiago.

I concur that you should hit the Central Market for the experience, and cheap, fresh seafood, at lunch. It closes about 4 or 5 in the afternoon I think. The best concentration of restaurants and nightspots is the Bellavista neighborhood, and others, not open so late, in the Golf metro stop area in the Las Condes neighborhood. There's a collection of restaurants up in the rich northeast end of town, Vitacura, along the river, but you will need a cab to get there ... what's the name of that place ... (off to google... back now)

Google these and see if any appeal to you: Anakena, Aquí Está Coco, Azul Profundo, El Cid, Les Assassins, La Pizza Nostra. I've been to all of those and would be happy to have a chance to go back.

And if the weather's nice, the Phone Box Pub is my favorite place to sit outside under a grape arbor and eat lunch or dinner.

I was in Santiago last spring visiting my brother, so I can give you a few tips. Be forewarned, though; Chilean food does not hold a candle to more popular South American cuisine i.e. Colombian, Argentinean, Venezuelan, Brazilian, etc. In fact, Chile doesn’t really have a typical dish. I would try a Chilean empanada, just to compare it to other countries’ empanadas. The pino kind is the most popular, and contains ground beef, spices, onions, raisins, hard boiled egg, and a whole unpitted olive or two.

Another dish to at least try is the Chilean hot dog. Called a completo and the equivalent of the Chicago style hot dog in Chile, it is topped with tomatoes, palta (smashed avocado), mayonnaise, and aji (a hot sauce condiment). You can get them at the local chain Domino- just ask a local or go to http://domino.cl for locations, or you’ll probably find completos in many sandwich shops and cafés.

As far as restaurants are concerned, we went to two memorable ones. Le Peluqueria Francesa is a functioning French barbershop…with a restaurant in the back. Can’t tell you if the haircuts are any good, but the food is pretty good (for Chilean standards). I remember having a very nice cream puff dessert, but there is nothing really characteristically Chilean about the food. Modest to upscale cuisine, and a pretty cool neighborhood to walk around, too- Barrio Brasil.

Also notable was Liguria, an enormous kitschy restaurant with three locations in Providencia. The cazuela there was very good, complete with half of a corn cob, but everything that we ordered ended up being pretty solid.

So I wouldn’t exactly get your hopes up about the food while you’re there. As far as drinks are concerned, you’ll probably miss out on “mote con huesillo,” which is a peach and barley drink you can find in the summer. There is, of course, the pisco sour, which is the disputed national cocktail of Chile (disputed with Peru, who claims it as their own). And the wine, which goes without saying. On a somewhat unculinary note, you might want to check out el Persa Bio Bio, a sort of seedy flea market with some pretty interesting finds.

Domino- numerous locations throughout Santiago

Peluqueria Francesa- Compañia de Jesus 2789, Santiago Chile

Liguria’s main location- Ave. Providencia 1373 at Manuel Montt Metro.

I did not find any particular food worth raving about when I was there a few years ago.

I did find a great bar, Don Rodrigo within the Hotel Foresta.

From my travelogue (posted on my web site):
"This place was very, very cool! If it was in America, every retro-hipster within 50 miles would flock to this swanky lounge, which looked as though it had last been redecorated in the early 1960s. Don Rodrigo is very, very dark; a neon sign above the bar and a few candles on tables provide the only real light. The bartender was a suave Chilean named Juan. This guy taught Ricardo Montalban everything he pretends to know about being chic. But none of it was an act, and none of it was learned bahavior - Juan was just a genuinely suave mo' fo'. With Juan was a cashier, a younger girl who sat with him behind the bar the whole time and rang up his drinks while doing some sort of paperwork.
The place was quiet, with two very small rooms off to the side of the main room, and a variety of paintings on the walls, mainly copies of works by the old masters. Juan did his best to make us feel welcome..."

Oh please don't eat a "completo" (Chilean idea of a hot dog) if you can help it. And don't eat a Chilean grocery store's idea of a pizza if you can help it either. Believe it or not Domino's and Pizza Hut really are far and away the best pizza options if you're desperate for a pizza and not in a position to make one for yourself.

But a Chilean empanada is worth eating.

Anyone been lately and have any updates? Headed down for a work trip soon and will have some spare time on a weekend to explore. Market sounds good and will be one of my first stops.

when are you going down? let me get back to you - I actually have a lot of recomendations, I just have to get my stuff together and write it up.

here are a couple -



resteraunt Miguel Torress on las condes. actually, that street has about a dozen nice resteraunts

Mestizo - in vitacura. a little out of town, great neighbood, great view, great food

Globetrotter -

Thanks for your feedback!

I leave today and will be there through Sunday. I have a bunch of free time and would love to hear any suggestions you may have for food or entertainment or any suggested day trips or sites to see.

Also headed to Sao Paulo on Monday, any thoughts for there?

Best,
JRP

jpeac2 wrote:Globetrotter -

Thanks for your feedback!

I leave today and will be there through Sunday. I have a bunch of free time and would love to hear any suggestions you may have for food or entertainment or any suggested day trips or sites to see.

Also headed to Sao Paulo on Monday, any thoughts for there?

Best,
JRP

you won't believe this, but I am in the Santiago airport myself, and I will be the weekend and next week in Sao Paulo.

I haven't really had any day trips out of town - I went to easter island once, and the seacoast once, and that is about it. and, I am ashamed to admit it not too much entertainment, either. I did go up the hill to the statue of the virgin last year, you can hike or ride up a ski lift, then walk down, that is fun, and takes just a couple of hours.

as to food, I put in some of my favorite places on this thread already. you really have to get to the market.


as to Sao paulo - also you should get to the municipal market, have a mortadella sandwitch and a cod crocket. but it is cool to see, lots of great fruit.

the fig tree is my favorite resteraunt, one of my favorite in the world. get their for lunch on saturday or wed for fejuada, the best 80 buck plate of beans you will ever have. they have a sister resteraunt called baby beef which is very good, too.

there are dozens of really good brazilian steak hosues in town, better to ask your hotel rather than have me give you a recomendation an hour waar from you hotel.

I know a great italiian place, but let me look up the name and get back to you

you have to try tohe pizza, it is a suspecies of pizza that is fantastic. again, I can get you a recomendation, but you'd do better aksing in your hotel for a place close to your hotel.

have fun

shoot me a pm if you want, I'll be at a trade show in sp for a week, but we might be able to have a meal together if you want.

Also, even though it's starting to get a little cool there, I suggest keeping an eye out for a chance to try two flavors of ice cream you won't find in the US: cherimoya (can't think how to describe it, but it's a great flavor, mild, almost a sherbet), and lúcuma (made from a fruit, but a flavor much like butterscotch).

-- at least, I've never seen lúcuma ice cream here in the US, but lúcuma ships better than cherimoya does, so maybe it is findable. Anyway, great tastes. Another one, not necessarily characteristic of the Chile/Peru coast, but not common here, is coconut ice cream.

Ice cream shops are more common in shopping areas in Santiago than they are here in the US, and all the flavors mentioned can be bought in grocery stores too.

Katie wrote:at least, I've never seen lúcuma ice cream here in the US, but lúcuma ships better than cherimoya does, so maybe it is findable.

Lúcuma ice cream is definitely findable in the US- I had a scoop last year at a Peruvian restaurant/grocery in Columbus, Ohio. The taste reminded me of a mapley butter pecan, which makes me really curious how surreal a bite of the actual fruit must be. I witnessed plenty of gelato places when I was in Santiago- nothing to write home about, but pretty good nonetheless. But alas, I didn't get a chance to try lúcuma (the fruit) when I was there.

That's good to hear, T Kent. I'll keep my eye open for lúcuma ice cream in the Chicago area. I miss that flavor.

Try to find a sandwich chacarero for a quick lunch - just street food, but really delicious. I guess the "authentic" kind has aji verde (which a Google search reveals to me is a spicy Peruvian green chili sauce) but it is very tasty even without spiciness. You can get one just about anywhere, but some of the restaurants that were mentioned to me for grabbing one of these are Tip y Tap and El Parrón Providencia.

Ah, that's a great suggestion! I personally am not a big green bean fan, but my former business partner never passed up an opportunity to order a chacarero at lunch.

Other good sandwich options are the barros luca and barros jarpa, about which I think I've posted before - basically meat and cheese sandwiches, one with beef, one with pork, both, I vaguely recall, named after famous Chileans. Frankly, though, plain meat and cheese, not so interesting a sandwich as a chacarero. If it just weren't for the green beans ...

But you can get mashed avocado and mayonnaise added to any sandwich easily, so a barros luca con mayo, y/o palta, is more palatable, at least to me. I sometimes think that Hellman's South American advertising slogan - "Mayo con Todo" - could in Chile just as easily be "Palta con Todo." Personally, I have to love a country that gives you as much mayonnaise and avocado on your sandwich as you want.

Surprised no mention of pastel de choclo, which was a food-love at first sight eating experience for me.

I’ll be headed to Chile in August. Way open to suggestions, particularly in Santiago.

David Hammond wrote:Surprised no mention of pastel de choclo, which was a food-love at first sight eating experience for me.

I’ll be headed to Chile in August. Way open to suggestions, particularly in Santiago.

did you read above? any specific questions? how long will you be in Santigo?

globetrotter wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Surprised no mention of pastel de choclo, which was a food-love at first sight eating experience for me.

I’ll be headed to Chile in August. Way open to suggestions, particularly in Santiago.

did you read above? any specific questions? how long will you be in Santigo?

Yes, of course. No, not really. 2-3 nights.

Current focus: varieties of maize. Less interested in restaurants, more interested in markets and home cooking.

David Hammond wrote:

globetrotter wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Surprised no mention of pastel de choclo, which was a food-love at first sight eating experience for me.

I’ll be headed to Chile in August. Way open to suggestions, particularly in Santiago.

did you read above? any specific questions? how long will you be in Santigo?

Yes, of course. No, not really. 2-3 nights.

Current focus: varieties of maize. Less interested in restaurants, more interested in markets and home cooking.

sorry, the only market I've been to in the municipal market, but that one is very cool. if you go, go maybe 10-11 or so, pick your seafood and get it cooked in one of the resteraunts in the market for lunch. on los condes is a wine store that is fantastic, mundo del vino. its a chain, but the mothership is there.

David, you're not likely to find pastel de choclo on a restaurant menu in Santiago - it's definitely a home-cooked casserole. There is one restaurant I remember (though at the moment I can't remember the name) that specializes in classic traditional Chilean cuisine and does an excellent pastel de choclo. It's not in the Bellavista nor Vitacura nor Las Condes restaurant areas ... I'm thinking it's in Ñuñoa. If you want to know I can email a friend and get the name.

Funny, I was thinking last night about making some pastel de choclo and hunting up some recipes. I'd say it's my favorite Chilean dish - along with empanadas, of course! But this isn't the kind of weather for an oven-baked casserole. Pastel de choclo's more a winter thing.

Of course, when you get there, it will be winter there ...

I'm hoping to spend more time in households and markets than in restaurants, though it's likely I'll spend a good amount of time in all those places.

Katie wrote:David, you're not likely to find pastel de choclo on a restaurant menu in Santiago - it's definitely a home-cooked casserole. There is one restaurant I remember (though at the moment I can't remember the name) that specializes in classic traditional Chilean cuisine and does an excellent pastel de choclo. It's not in the Bellavista nor Vitacura nor Las Condes restaurant areas ... I'm thinking it's in Ñuñoa. If you want to know I can email a friend and get the name.

Funny, I was thinking last night about making some pastel de choclo and hunting up some recipes. I'd say it's my favorite Chilean dish - along with empanadas, of course! But this isn't the kind of weather for an oven-baked casserole. Pastel de choclo's more a winter thing.

Of course, when you get there, it will be winter there ...

yeah, I had a choclo in a resteraunt last time I was down, but it wasn't very good.

I was staying at the Marriott, which is on ave Kennedy. right next to the marriott is a mall with a large and pretty good food court. it had some interesting things, including a chiliean "homestyle" resteraunt. honestly, I didn't really like the food I ate - but I can't tell you it wasn't a good representation of home style chilian food. the Choclo I've had in Peru was much, much better, but that could be a regional thing.


there were other places there that were interesting, and if you were going to be in Santiato for 10 or more days, I 'd recomend trying some of the other things, but not for jsut 3-4 days. enjoy

globetrotter wrote:I was staying at the Marriott, which is on ave Kennedy. right next to the marriott is a mall with a large and pretty good food court. it had some interesting things, including a chiliean "homestyle" resteraunt. honestly, I didn't really like the food I ate - but I can't tell you it wasn't a good representation of home style chilian food. the Choclo I've had in Peru was much, much better, but that could be a regional thing.

Many Chileans I met deferred to Peru as being a better place for food. Peru is a richer country (since Incan times, they've had gold), which was given to me as one reason for this gastronomic superiority.

Katie wrote:David, you're not likely to find pastel de choclo on a restaurant menu in Santiago - it's definitely a home-cooked casserole.

There are a lot of restaurants all across the country boasting "authentic" Chilean or Peruvian cuisine, and pastel de choclo is frequently listed, though I am sure you're right that this dish has its origins in home cooking. It is beloved.

That's a good-looking pastel de choclo. If the weather weren't so darned hot I'd be making one for dinner tonight.

Peru is most definitely not a richer country. Per capita GNP and GDP are about half that in Chile. Peruvians migrate to Chile looking for work, not the other way around.

Peru and Argentina have traditionally been more sophisticated culturally (including culinarily) than their neighbor Chile because their capital cities where chosen as seats of the colonial Spanish government while Chile's was not.

No argument that Peruvian cuisine is better than Chilean cuisine.

I'm not very familiar with Chile, but do the immigration patterns have anything to do with it? I'm always astounded by the variety and number of ethnic populations in Peru, and how strongly they've influenced the cuisine. Or is it similar in Chile?

I'd say that is significant factor as well. Both have access to abundant seafood, but Chile has traditionally been a far more isolated country due to the physical barrier of the Andes to the east. I don't know the numbers but my impression is that Peru has had more immigration from Japan, China, and other parts of Asia. But it could also be thought of as going back to the colonial structure, as the viceroy being seated in Lima instead of Santiago led to Lima's earlier economic development, which attracted greater immigration.

David, I thought you might find this article on what Chileans eat interesting. It's not all bread, carbonated beverages, french fries, and mayonnaise, but those sure are a big part of it.

"Mayonnaise is very popular; Chileans are said to be the greatest mayonnaise consumers per capita in Latin America and third in the world." Very true - Hellman's marketing slogan, "Mayo con todo," could be the national motto of Chile.

Myself, coming from the land of hamburgers and french fries, I ate more avocados and artichokes and asparagus and all kinds of fresh fish and shellfish, all bought much more cheaply than possible here, than I'd ever had in my life when I lived in Chile. But everyone wants what is new and different. My business partner never ordered the salmon special at lunch because he'd had to eat salmon so often for lunch at school when he was a kid.

Almost forgot: same blog author has an article on pastel de choclo, which Chileans rate as their favorite home-cooked food, ahead of cazuela, empanadas, porotos, steak a lo pobre, charquicán, humitas, plateada, and carbonada. The article discusses the history of pastel de choclo and includes a recipe.

I am heading to Santiago at the beginning of June for a wedding, and wanted to see if there were any updated recommendations for Santiago! Thank you!