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.
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| 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.
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| 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).
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| 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.
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| 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!
