On food (and beer)

Anytime you travel to another country, visit another culture, your explorations should include more than museums, waterfalls, and beautiful natural places. You should also explore the food culture as well. This can be fun, if you have inclination, some money, and sometimes, a pretty tough stomach. I love trying different foods, and will eat almost anything, or at least try almost anything, at least once. You can get in trouble if you are not careful, many tourists get sick, even violently so, after eating some foods. But, in places like Peru, and especially in Chile, it seems to be very safe to eat almost anything, though do have to watch street food in some areas.

It has not been my primary focus to explore all the different types of food and dishes during my travels, whether still imprisoned in Peru, both Miraflores and La Punta, and later in Chile. I did not get a chance to try all the different foods you can find, especially in Peru, and especially in Lima, where they are very proud of their food. But, I did explore a bit, and there is definitely some very good food to be found in both countries, though you will find more diversity in Peru. Heck, there are like 100 different kinds of potatoes in Peru, lots of choices there for sure. Well first off, if you do not like seafood, you will really be missing out, in both countries. Just look at a map, between the two countries, Peru and Chile, there must be close to 8,000 miles of coastline (really have no clue, just know there is a LOT of coastline). Seafood is everywhere in both counties, it is very good and fresh, and my favorite, especially in Peru, was ceviche, ate it often, never got sick, and loved every bite. And in places like La Punta, the seafood is as fresh as it can get. I remember watching a fisherman still in his boot deliver just-caught fish to a restaurant close to the seawall in La Punta, and I swear, 10 minutes later it was being served to me in ceviche. Also, my favorite restaurant in Miraflores was La Mar Cebicheria, owned/run by a famous chef in Lima, ate there every Sunday afternoon I was there. And it was always great, amazing ceviche. If you do like seafood, you just cannot go wrong, from a ton of different kinds of fish, to shrimp, shellfish, even octopus, it is all great. And of course, you cannot visit Peru without trying coy, or guinea pig, at least once. I had it twice, always a bit overprice, and once, a bit overdone, but it was good. Am I going to race out and start raising guinea pig to eat when I get back to the United States, probably not. Do give it try though when if you get to Peru, you kind of have to. I also had alpaca a few times, once as a burger, and it was great. There are few other dishes in Peru which you need to try, including anticuchos (meat, usually beef heart or liver, marinated, skewered and grilled, very good), lomo saltado (strips of beef, marinated, sauteed with chilies, onions, tomatoes, other stuff), tiradito (goes by other names, and like ceviche, is marinated raw seafood, but here, fish, thinly sliced before lime juice, onions, peppers which make up ceviche added), cupe de camarones (shrimp chowder), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), quinoa and potatoes of course, and tacu tacu, Peruvian form of rice and beans (often with seafood mixed in). Generally, is tough to go wrong in Peru, order almost anything and you will likely enjoy, including street food, and food sold at the open markets found in every city and village. I did not always know exactly what I was eating, but it was almost always good.

Things in Chile are bit different, as there is less ethnic dishes and variety, definitely fewer potatoes, quinoa and no coy, but still all good. Some areas have a significant German influence, especially down south, and their ceviche is as good as any I ate in Peru. So again, long coastline, lots of great seafood, and all that I have tried, excellent. Plus, when you get further south, lots of salmon as there is lots of aquaculture around Chiloe and surrounding islands. I am not a fan of farmed salmon, but the couple of time I did eat it, was great. And they definitely eat more meat in Chile, and sausage is everywhere. Chicken is always present, but Chileans love their asado, or parrillada, grilled meat, usually beef. Think for many Chileans, Sunday afternoons are all about sitting around a wood-burning grill, grilling up all different kinds of beef and sausage, drinking wind and beer, and apparently, women are rarely present. And with the asado, they often serve pebre, sliced tomatoes with onions, chilies, spices, bit of oil, all served at room temperature. In addition to parrillada, Chileans also love their empanadas, stuffed pastries, stuffed with all kind of stuff, including cheese, meat, all kinds of seafood, beans, whatever. In larger towns, you will also find lots of street vendors selling sopaipilla, fried bread made of pumpkin and flour, filling stuff, and almost anything grilled on a small wooden skewer. I enjoyed a meat soup, carbonada, more than once, every little restaurant has their own recipe, includes potatoes, carrots, broccoli, green peppers, lots of vegetables. And up north, you often find humitas, boiled corn leaves filled with seasoned, ground corn, also common in Peru. And while not common, llama is on the menu at some places, and the llama tacos I had in San Pedro de Atacama were wondeful. I know there are many regional specialities, lots of many different kinds of food to enjoy in both countries. But I tried not to eat out that much, I am all about hiking, biking and camping. Though if you do get down here, be sure to explore, there is a lot of good food to be enjoyed in South America.

And finally, you cannot have a discussion about food without talking about beer, beer is food you know. As most of you know, I like beer, enjoy beer, drink it probably too often. I do wish I enjoyed wine more, knew more about wine, as there are many, many wonderful wines available here, especially in Chile. I tried a glass here, or there, and drank a bit at times while with friends in La Punta, but I just do not enjoy a glass of wine as much as I enjoy a bottle of beer. Unfortunately though, the selection of beer here in South America is nothing like what we enjoy in the United States. While some told me there is a growing beer culture, a number of new microbreweries, in both Peru and Chile, you simply will not find the variety that you do up north. Now this does not mean that I have not been drinking beer, it simply means that you often drink what is available. And that is what I have been doing, find something that is ok, stick with it, and explore what little variety exists when I get a chance.

So far, my favorite definitely is Cusquena, brewed in Cusco, Peru. I definitely had more than a few Cusquenas while I was in Peru, and I have even found it for sale down in Chile a couple of times. They make three kinds, but their Golden Lager is my favorite. After that, there is not much exciting to the beer culture in Peru. Pilsen is brewed in Callao, so is popular in La Punta, and Cristal, which I think might be the same as the Cristal widely available in Chile, is ok. I tried a Arequpena a couple of times, but outside of Arequipa, this beer was not readily available. And of course, there is always Corona and Heineken, they seem to be everywhere in South America.

In Chile, there is definitely more selection, guess that German influence again, though once you get out of the larger towns and cities, even this variety goes away. I have been drinking mostly Cerveza Cristal, ok, another pale lager, and Escudo is not that bad. I tried Royal Guard, and Becker, no thanks. But as I have traveled further south, there is definitely lots more to choose from. Kunstmann out of Valdivia is well-known, and they have a few different kinds though I have not tried them all. And the other day, I had a pale ale from Finisterra in Puerto Cisnes in Patagonia, great stuff. Another beer from down in Patagonia, Austral, brewed in Punta Arenas, was not my favorite at this point, but only had one time. And finally, I tried to visit a brewery in Coyhaique where I stayed a few nights, D'Olbek Beer, but they were never open. Guess I should not have been surprised as I was in Coyhaique over the weekend of New Years. I have only tried one of the different types of beer brewed by D'Olbek, very good, but much of this new variety of beer is just not readily available. I need to get to a supermercado when I can, as that is where you are more likely to find some variety. So in conclusion, do not go to South America, Peru and Chile, expecting a great variety of beers, just is not here. Things are getting better, but they have a long way to go. Beer drinkers in the USA are pretty spoiled, the selection of beers is almost overwelling. I love many different IPAs, and now, the big beer specialty stores can have 30 or 40 different types of IPAs alone. Here, have not seen a single local IPA, though know somebody must brew one. Beer is food, but here, more like a grilled cheese sandwich, than lobster or king crab legs. I am fine with that, as long as it is cold, and after I just finished a 6.6 km round-trip hike up to a hanging glacier and back, still tastes great.

---