Exploring Food and Wine in Chile

I can't believe that so much time has passed since I last posted. We have had so many adventures! From taking the metro (subway) to renting a car and exploring beyond Santiago, we're really starting to get to know our new home.

Concerning food, we have been able to find some gems, both in terms of restaurants and in terms of ingredients. Produce here is really fresh, and it tastes like you've just picked it from a garden.

Paltas (avocados) are divine. Truly. They have all sorts of avocados, big huge ones, the black-skinned ones that we bought in the States, green ones, slick-skinned ones... all sorts, and they are all lovely and yummy and amazing.

Vega Mercado, downtown Santiago

Additionally, Chileans take ice cream very seriously. I remember being here in the winter and thinking it strange that people were eating ice cream outside in very chilly weather. I know now that they have a special meal called onces (11s) that they eat directly after work to tide them over until their really late dinner. Many times this onces meal is ice cream or a postre and coffee.

Fortunately, we get to reap the rewards of their ice cream (helado) infatuation. It is amazing! Gelato-esque, creamy, home-made tasting... and the flavors are incredible. Their interpretation of cookies and cream is wonderful, and dulce de leche is amazing. I've seen  and tasted rose, which is light and creamy and actually tastes like rose, which is unexpectedly wonderful. Also, dark chocolate with orange, and of course mango and strawberry and raspberry.

The dulce de leche flavor is very similar to what we would think of as caramel, but better. They call is manjar when it's not in ice cream, and it's their go-to for sweet flavoring. Trip (and I) had a really special crepe with strawberries and manjar the other day, and it was certainly memorable.

Although not a food, I would be completely remiss if I did not mention the amazing wines here. Vino tinto, or red wine, is spectacular -- and cheap! We can get wine for less than we can usually get bottled water, and we've been enjoying immensely trying all sorts of new wines and wineries. (If you're interested in more information, we're started a section of this blog called "wine notes" where we are including photos and bits we learn and love about the wine here.)

Also, the fish is super fresh, and the ceviche is amazing. They have all types of versions of ceviche, but the typical is Peruvian, which includes diced sweet potato and large kernals of corn, which they call choclo here. It's different, but really lovely and lime-y and light.

A hot pepper Patrick found at the produce market, and she said it
was the hottest around. (It was hot.) The name, we'll have to find.

On the other hand, Chileans aren't much for strong flavors, like peppers or anything picante; so hot peppers are hard to find. They do have some common peppers, but they are very similar looking to banana peppers, but they are not hot immediately and the heat builds and doesn't subside. A pepper he has been enjoying is the Peruvian aji amarillo (although they are red fresh and turn yellow when they are cooked).

Aji amarillo, courtesy Wikipedia.

(On a side note, I met a couple of Mexicans recently, and they had all sorts of solutions for hot peppers here. It sounded like they traveled all over the city to get jalapenos and poblanos, but never found cerranos. Tomatillos and decent tortillas are in hot demand, as well, but I did hear a juicy bit of news that a Mexican was moving here and opening up a tortilla factory.)

Additionally, sauces aren't popular here either. (It's probably the reason -- combined with all the walking -- I haven't gained 20 pounds with all the avocados, ice cream and wine I've been consuming.) Nonetheless, they eat their meats grilled and their veggies fresh or sauteed, but with no sauces. Actually, the only sauce readily available is marinara, which they serve with pasta, but in general... sauces aren't to be found.

And surprisingly to me, coffee is pretty miserable here. They are big fans of instant coffee, or Nescafe, and it's just kind of coffee pellets that they mix in water... like powder lemonade, and the taste is, well, terrible. Finding real coffee proved difficult at the beginning, but we've resorted to buying coffee beans at Starbucks, and then having them ground them for us.

Fuente Alemana, a German sandwich shop (where everyone
eats the sandwiches with forks and knives...)

Concerning consuming food, Chileans don't eat with their hands. They eat pizza with a fork and knife, as well as sandwiches. Finger foods are nonexistent here, but what we would think of as finger foods, French fries or appetizers, are eaten a fork or a toothpick.

Patrick has taken to following the Chilean way, cultured as he is, but Trip and I tend to use our hands anyway. Maybe we just need a little more time to assimilate.

Now, you'll just have to visit us here in Chile to try all the lovely foods and experience the flavors of South America. Salud!

Getting to Know the City

We're been here for a little more than two weeks now, and we're getting to know the city. We've walked and walked around our little neighborhood, and I'm sure we'll walk some more.

Very near our apartment in SanHattan (Santiago's Manhattan).

One cool morning, we visited Parque Bicentenial, which is a pretty close walk to another neighborhood called Vitacura. (We live in Los Condes.) This park is new -- so the trees don't offer much shade -- but it's really wonderful. It's filled with walking and biking trails, has a wonderful restaurant called Mestizo, and ducks and flamingos to feed.

Much of the play parks have these Spider Man-type climbing  things.

Jumping like a pro.

Trip, of course, loved the play park, except that the equipment is for children a bit older than he is. Nonetheless, we enjoyed it, and we are excited to return to feed the ducks.

Phaedy and a sleepy Trip walking in Parque Forestal.

We also visited Parque Forestal, which runs along the Rio Mapucho (river), and leads to the Marketa Central, where we got to see some fish mongers at work.

The interior of Mercado Central.

A sleepy Trip awakened by fishy smells.

While certainly a touristy experience, the heat and massive crowds (think Bourbon Street at Mardi Gras) got to us, and I don't know that that's our fav.

But we did go to Cerro San Cristobal (Saint Christopher Hill) today, which includes a number of churches and reflection points, as well as a zoo and other fun stuff. (According to Wikipedia, San Cristobal was named by Spanish conquistadors and has always served as a landmark for the city.) A giant statue of the Virgin Mary is on the top of the "hill" (I'd call it a mountain), given to the city in the 1920s from France.

Mary, Phaedy and Trip at the top of San Cristobal.

There were a ton of mountain bikers there, as well as devoted Catholics seeking Him. I think it would be a wonderful experience to go to one of their outdoor services... maybe once we get a little better at our Spanish.

A glorious church on the way to the top of the hill.

Amazing stone artwork on the walls of the church.

The haze clouds how beautiful the view is from a pew at the outdoor chapel.

A view of the city.

Nonetheless, Trip loved climbing all the steps, as well as the "train" ride up there and down. (They call it a funicular, but it seemed like a train to us.) I was a bit frightened of the train ride, myself, but I enjoyed it once I was off.

Pure joy on the train ride.

Happy family.

At the base of Cerro San Cristobal is a lovely bohemian neighborhood called Arte Vista. Speckled with tons of outdoor cafes, jewelry and boutique stores, as well as a lion's share of discoteques, the neighborhood reminded me a ton of the Quarter in New Orleans.

We met some very nice Canadian girls who are teaching English here (which has been identified as the typical "gringo" thing to do), and we had a fantastic pitcher of sangria (but the food at the little cafe we chose left something to be desired...).

Quick Catch Up -- We've Landed in Chile!

October 28

We’ve arrived! Our flight was smooth, and the baby slept nearly the whole time. We awoke over the Andes Mountains and arrived to short lines through customs, which landed us in the airport without a ride. The driver quickly materialized, although not before a cop warned us from taking a ride from another taxi driver.

Our apartment is nice – a bit small, but it is literally across the street from my office. Since the job will be challenging, I’m glad I won’t be spending any time commuting. (Nonetheless, we’re still waiting on Wi-Fi, which makes us a little cut-off from the rest of the world…)

The mountains surrounding the city are breathtaking, and certainly a nice treat for Patrick and me, who are both used to the plains of Texas.

Our first meal in Chile, we walked to Isidora and stopped at the first place that caught our fancy: Bariloche. We ordered a Chilean Pinor Noir (which they served cold and said that they always serve Pinor Noir chilled). We got amazing ceviche, fried calamari and nice fresh salads with amazing veggies and melt-in-your-mouth fish. (Once Trip woke up, he ate hot dogs and tomatoes.)

Our first day was tiring, but we’re excited to be here, and we’re eager to explore. Patrick and I both are enjoying the weather – cool and sunny and dry.

October 29

We awoke way before Trip this morning (poor little guy, I think he’s really worn out from all this change…), and the family headed to the OK Market for coffee, wi-fi and breakfast. While we were there, Christy Theis FaceTimed us, which was a really nice treat.

We headed out to explore, finding my favorite play-park, Plaza Peru. Lots of kids were playing, and they were having an organic market with fresh veggies, fruits, eggs and even some organic kids’ clothes for sale. Trip had a great time playing, and all the kids were excited that were from the US, asking us if we knew Justin Bieber. (Ha!) I told them that I thought Justin was from Canada, but they were still excited to include Trip.

We made our first trip to the grocery store, which is about five or six blocks from the apartment. UniMart was nice enough, but Trip was tired and whiny, which made shopping in Spanish even more difficult.

We were happy to find that wine (nice wine, at that!) costs less than soap. I guess they have their priorities straight in Chile.

(Oh, and we’ve gotten a hang of the currency thing. Mas o menos, it’s 5,000 Chilean pesos to $10; and they pretty much ignore zeros, so we just double the prices and we have a good idea of what we’re spending in US dollars.)

Next, we have to learn metric measurements. We had a hard time picking out Trip’s diapers because we didn’t know how many kilograms he weighed. (He weighs about 12 kilograms, by the way, which is size XG.)

On Saturday night, we were invited to a barbeque at my boss’ house about 20 miles out of Santiago in the suburbs. His home is beautiful, and the drive offered an amazing view of both Santiago and the snow fields, which are about an hour outside of the city and the main skiing destination.

Trip had a great time playing with my boss’ little girls, and we enjoyed spending time with Chileans – even if we didn’t understand much of what they talked about. Most everyone we’ve met has been so nice – very friendly and accommodating.

October 30

Trip slept the whole night in his big boy bed! (which probably tells you something about how tired he is, but we were proud anyway…)

We headed out early for coffee and breakfast across the street from Plaza Peru, and then Trip had a great time playing, while we met some really nice expatriate families. One told us about an English-speaking mommy group on Facebook, which we’re excited to join.

We headed to the grocery again, but this time Trip was sleeping; so it was a little more fun. We loaded up on fun treats and reloaded our wine supply. Lots of stores and restaurants are closed on Sundays, but the grocery is open, and we were glad for it.

After a little break, we headed to the mall – and a mega-mall it is. Parque Aracau is the biggest shopping mall in South America, and we had a great time running around trying to find what we needed. After a botched attempt, we bought a new umbrella stroller, hangers and electricity converters (for our plugged-in stuff).

The mall includes a massive hardware store called Expo, which Patrick thinks is a spin-off brand of Home Depot. There is also an Ikea knock-off furniture store called Homy, where we found some new pillows.

Whoever told us that there aren’t any clothes choices in Chile hasn’t gone to Parque Aracau. There were all sorts of brands and toys and gear. We went to the Mac (computer) store, Falabella (which is something like a Macy’s), and others. I wasn’t shopping for clothes, but the things that I did look at seemed reasonable.

Oh, and get ready: The fashion fad here is Hammer Pants! I don’t know what they are called, but all the girls are wearing blousy pants with big hips and wild prints that are elastic at the waist and ankle. Can’t touch this!

Now, we’re getting ready to enjoy some wine, goat cheese, the sunset and ourselves. Thanks so much for tagging along, and we miss you!

Update:

We got pizza to go from Tiramazzu, this really sweet Italian restaurant next to, you guessed it, Plaza Peru. Trip loves pizza, and I think it made him a little less homesick.

Side Note: Trip’s New Accomplishments

Little Trip turned two years old just before we left for our adventure in Chile, and he’s already learning so much. We know he is homesick and misses his friends and family, but he’s a trooper, and he’s having a nice time.

In our first three days, Trip has already learned three words in Spanish. He’s saying “gracias,” which means “thank you.” His favorite word to say (over and over again amid overflowing giggles) is “chica,” which means “girl.” And he overheard Patrick ask me how to say “sweet;” so he likes to say “dulce” a lot, too.

The Troy Family is Moving to Santiago, Chile

Well, we are two weeks away from boarding a plane to move our little family to Santiago, Chile, and the anticipation for our new adventure is palpable in our household (as is the stress of trying to get everything done before we leave).

The whole family is very excited about our new adventure and looking forward to embracing a new culture, language and hemisphere. We see this as an amazing blessing, and we are just trying to be open-minded, peaceful and patient.

Nonetheless, I've already cried and I'm sure will shed some more tears as we say our good-byes to friends and family. We have so many wonderful people in our lives here in the States, and we will miss you all.

That being said, I don't really have anything profound to say, but I do hope family and friends visit to see updates and catch up with our journeys.