Meals – Part 2

Ok, just a quick note here.  The computer I am using does not seem to have an apostrophe on its keyboard, so this post might sound a little more stilted than usual.

Now, on to the food.

Puerto Varas:  Enjoyed the German influence here.  Ate the most amazing apple strudel.  It was so dense and syrupy, it reminded me of baklava.  I still have dreams about it.

Chiloe:  Seafood.  So much seafood that I actually got tired of it.  I had a few curantos, which are pretty cool.  Traditionally cooked in a pit in the ground filled with coals, but normally just steamed in a big pot, it is a big mess of food.  On a platter you get a bunch of mussels (maybe about 20), some clams (maybe about 10-15), some chicken, ribs, sausage, potatoes, and a couple of “breads” – discs of potato and flour that get steamed with the rest of the stuff.  Pretty tasty and damn filling.

Argentina:  It is all about the beef.  Argentines eat an insane amount of it.  More than any other country, per capita.  150 lbs. per person every year.  I had some of the best steak I have ever eaten.  Completely sublime.  And cheap.  For 10 bucks you get a gorgeous chunk of meat, 4 or 5 inches across and at least 2 inches thick (at least!).

Argentina has received a lot of Italian immigrants over the years, and they brought with them their expertise with  gelato, although now it is referred to in Spanish – helado.  Some of the stuff I tried was a revelation, almost a religious experience with light shining down from the heavens and angels singing.  Banana with dulce de leche.  I always avoid banana flavoured ice cream because it is usually bright yellow and completely artificial.  This was a true banana grey and tasted like sweet, ripe bananas with swirls of gooey dulce de leche.  Merengueche – dulce de cleche flavoured ice cream with chunks of meringue.  Seeing a trend here?  Dulce de leche flavours constitute a whole category unto themselves in Argentina.  I do not like chocolate ice cream – it does not really do chocolate any justice – but I had chocolate helado that was dense and chewy.  Amazing.  And while Chile is nowhere near the Argentine level of helado expertise, I did discover a great pizza/helados place in Santiago that had some great flavours.  One of my favourites was harina tostada – literally toasted flour, semolina in this case.  It was sort of like a slightly nutty cream of wheat.  A nice contrast to the sweeter flavours.

Tags: food