Chile - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 372

EATING ON A BUDGET
Prices at some upmarket restaurants in Santiago and Valparaíso could give the impression
that you have to break the bank to enjoy good food in Chile, but there are cheaper options.
In coastal towns, you can pick up superb fish at bargain prices at little marisquerías , rustic
fish eateries usually found at the busiest point of the seafront. In most large cities, look out for
the market area where you'll get excellent deals on fruit and vegetables.
Small kiosks along city streets and country roads will often sell delicious and filling snacks like
empanadas (savoury pasties filled with meat or fish) and humitas (ground corn wrapped in leaves).
American-style diners and home-grown fast-food chains across Chile sell huge completos
(hot dogs), and italianos , hot dogs covered in mayonnaise, ketchup and avocado, as well as
a range of sandwiches, like Barros Jarpa (melted cheese and ham), as alternative cheap eats.

altiplano cuisine in the north of Chile.
Both the island of Chiloé and Easter
Island serve up curanto , an elaborately
prepared dish of meat and seafood.
There is a fantastic range of fish and
seafood , and trendy sushi bars are
springing up everywhere. Fish are
typically served frito (battered and
deep-fried), or a la plancha (grilled) with
different sauces. Alternatively, try the
ceviche - raw fish marinated in lemon
juice with coriander. Excellent seafood
dishes include machas a la parmesana ,
baked razor clams covered with parmesan
cheese, chupe de locos , creamy abalone
casserole topped with breadcrumbs,
and paila marina , seafood soup.
Some excellent vegetarian restaurants
have appeared in recent years, but
vegetarian cuisine may be hard to find
outside major cities and tourist
destinations. Delicious fruit and
vegetables are abundant in most parts of
Chile, barring Patagonia and Tierra del
Fuego. The north of the country grows
exotic delights like scaly green chirimoya
(custard apple), papaya, tuna (cactus
fruit) and melon-like pepino dulce . Easter
Island cuisine incorporates Polynesian
tubers such as the camote (sweet potato).

are abundant, especially in the fertile
region of Middle Chile; beware that most
Chileans like their juice sweetened, so if
you don't want a half-juice, half-sugar
concoction, ask for it sin azúcar (without
sugar). Licuados are fruit smoothies mixed
with water or leche (milk). Mote con
huesillo , a drink made from boiled,
dried apricots, is popular, especially in
Middle Chile.
It can be difficult to find real coffee
( café de grano ) in smaller towns, as
Nescafé seems to be the drink of choice,
but coffee bars are appearing thick and
fast across Santiago and other cities. In
the Lake District and Patagonia, due to
the proximity to Argentine culture, you
are likely to encounter yerba mate , an
antioxidant-rich, energizing herb drunk
from a gourd through a metal straw.
Chile has several generic lager beers
including Escudo, Cristal and Austral;
the best beers come from microbreweries,
with Kunstmann being the pick of the
bunch. Chileans often start meals with
a refreshing pisco sour , the national drink
(see box, p.405).
Chilean wine , renowned worldwide,
features on many restaurant menus. Wine
tourism is also on the rise, with the Rutas
del Vino (Wine Routes) in the Maule and
Colchagua valleys giving visitors easy access
to both the process of wine-making and
the sampling of many different varieties.

4

DRINK
Tap water is generally drinkable all over
Chile, with the exception of the Atacama,
though Santiago tap water may upset
some stomachs unaccustomed to the
high mineral content. Mineral water is
inexpensive and comes sin gas (still) or
con gas (carbonated). Soft drinks ( gaseosas
or bebidas ) are plentiful and very popular,
and freshly squeezed fruit juices ( jugos )

CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
Chilean city lifestyle, superficially at least,
has more similarities with Europe than
with neighbouring Bolivia. When eating
out, a ten-percent tip in restaurants is