A la Anthony Bourdain

It's early Friday afternoon and my roommates are still sleeping after a night of pisco and local wine, so I've decided to go on a mission to the Mercado de Providencia to buy some fish to grill on this lovely national holiday. Thanks to some saint, it's a perfect day to venture downtown; the streets are clear of the usual business crowds and the annoyingly slow Chilean pedestrians who meander left and right, stopping to window shop or buy a chocolate bar from the newsstand. Today the streets are empty except for a few Chilean families riding bikes or sipping coffee at a sidewalk cafe. And despite being mid-winter, the sun blazes down so warm that I would be more comfortable in a tee-shirt and sneakers than the wool sweater and boots I put on this morning.

Reineta

When I get to the market the vendors are still setting up. I successfully negotiate the purchase of a whole reineta ("Southern Rays Bream" according to the internet), skinned and de-boned, for about five dollars. A couple of big, juicy lemons cost me 30 cents, and then I head to the

empanada stand where you can get the best turnovers in Santiago filled with cheese, ham, mushroom, seasoned beef, or seafood. On a more frivolous day I would opt for the unexpectedly delicious shrimp and cheese combo, but today I stick with the basic cheese. The soft, buttery crust is filled with the warm, gooey cheese that doesn't seem to have any particular name but it's soooooo good.

As you can see, food occupies a lot of my thoughts and activities in Chile. There are so many local specialties and I feel obligated to try them all while I am here. To begin with, Providencia (my neighborhood) has bakeries on every corner like you have Starbucks at home. I pass probably 10 Castaños on my way to work in the morning, and who could resist stopping in for a muffin, medialuna, empanada, or some delicious pastry filled with manjar (a rich, milky caramel)?

Then there are the famous sopaipillas, little flat discs of fried squash dough that you can top with mustard, ketchup, or aji (spicy pepper sauce), for just 20 cents apiece.

A pastry filled with manjar

Chileans themselves prefer completos, giant hot dogs "Italian style"- topped with tomato, mayo, and smashed avocado (the name comes from the red, white, and green colors). Of course, you can get anything "italiano", hamburgers, sausage, or my favorite, lomito- shaved pork loin served on a toasted buttery roll.

A completo italiano

Another favorite among Chileans is ice cream. A friend told me that Chileans eat more ice cream than anyone else in the world, and though I find that statistic hard to prove, the evidence makes it hard to disbelieve. Every day I see Chileans bundled up in coats, gloves, hats, and scarves licking on ice cream cones as they walk down the street. McDonald's has adapted to the market by opening express windows on the street that sell only soft serve cones, sundaes, and McFlurry's.

Although I don't dine out often, there are also some great fine dining spots in this town. My roommate's friend is visiting from the US right now, so we all went out to a traditional Chilean restaurant known for its grilled meat. You can get a steak three inches thick grilled to perfection- not bloody on the inside or burnt on the outside. And of course, each meal comes with fries and bread to soak up the juices.

All I can say is it's a good thing I am doing 6 hours of capoeira a week or else all this gormandizing might be the death of me...