Peru has the well deserved reputation for producing some of the best food in South America, though Argentina and Brazil are said to be no slouches. We shall see. Meanwhile we’re in Chile land of wine sold around the world.
Meat pies are a big deal even though they call them empanadas and around here they are usually baked.
In Chile you can get oysters, shrimp, cheese or meat though meat or cheese are the most widely available. And meat empanadas are called “pino” apparently based on some indigenous word lost in history. Actually it’s Mapuche for ground meat. I think.
Argentina is argued to be the world’s best griller of meat - as a nation. Picture that. They build a fire, attach the huge chuck of beef or a secure lamb on a vertical grill, add salt and slow roast it. They call it “parrillada” and because we haven’t got there yet this is a photo from the Internet.
The thing is other countries do it too including Brazil (it’s on our travel menu) and Chile. In La Serena we ordered this for four people. The delicious golden plait on top is grilled pork intestine which tastes like crackling as long as you don’t think about it. The black sausages are blood and to me have the texture of sand but Rusty loves them. Bring a to go box, always if you have a small fridge like us that can’t accommodate large restaurant boxes.
And then there are the sandwiches, as big as your head and come with soft spongy bread filled with avocado mayonnaise and grilled meat. To go box!
Rusty gets his share too out of the to go boxes.
This below is a chorrillana, a working man’s lunch and it’s not too sophisticated. A pile of French friends, fried onions, sliced hot dogs and grilled meat. Oh and an egg. To go box!
This big flat bread was for sale by a roadside vendor at a traffic light. It cost 2,000 pesos ($2:50) and it’s not very heavily flavored with salt or spices but it has a nice doughy feel. When I asked him what he was selling he said “A tortilla.” Well, okay then, not like any I’ve seen.
Monday it turned out the museums in Santiago were closed so Layne decreed wine tasting would be our portion. I put my chauffeur’s cap on because I enjoy driving GANNET2.
But first we needed fruit and luckily there was a stand by the side of the road.
Good stuff.
Our destination was a huge winery.
We were hungry so we went to the restaurant and got quite a surprise as it was a pretty fancy operation. Wine tasting would have to wait.
Two hours later we were done. Cooked oysters were the first course but we got little empanadas were a taster in the house. We got a glass of white wine on the house too. Not sure why but it was a nice touch.
I had ox tail and Layne had pork ribs. We went all the way and Layne had a crane brûlée while I had a classic of Latin American cuisine: a tres leches cake.
It was a special and unexpected lunch and we thoroughly enjoyed it but wine tasting went out the window.
Rusty slept through the whole thing in the comfort of his bed.
Some exercises, a nap, a book. Monday was a wrap and we went to bed without dinner.
