At the beginning of this trip I made a list of must-try Chilean foods (using the internet and recommendations from friends who have visited Chile (thank you Sarah Spector!)) While I was not able to check off all of them, here is the complete list with pictures of the dishes that I did sample.
Note: not all of these dishes are strictly Chilean, quite a few can be found across South America with different regional variations.
Savory:
Empanadas: we tried MANY of these. I will follow up with an exclusive empanada post, highlighting all the delicious empanadas that have gotten us through this trip.
Humitas: Chilean version of tamales (a corn-based dough steamed wrapped in corn husks). I had this one at el Clapper; it did not have a filling although I believe they sometimes do.
Pastel de Choclo: Sweet and savory corn pudding with ground beef, olives, onion, hard boiled eggs, and raisins at the bottom. This was suggested to me by many Chileans as a must-try.
Completos: A loaded hot dog. This one is from La Vega.
Ceviche: From BocanarÃz in Barrio Lastarria
Chorillana: French fries with meat and fried eggs on top.
Caldillo de Congrio: Soup with conger eel and vegetables. Unfortunately I was not able to find it, but apparently Pablo Neruda wrote a poem about it. https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/pablo-neruda-oda-al-caldillo-de-congrio.htm
Lomo saltado: This is actually a Peruvian dish - marinated strips of sirloin with grilled onions, tomatoes and french fries.
Milanesa: A fried breaded meat. Can be eaten in a sandwich or plain with various toppings or sides. These are milanesas de pollo.
Pollo a la Plancha: Like some of the dishes above, this is not uniquely Chilean; however, it was offered at almost every restaurant we went to. It included very nicely cooked chicken breasts with sides of rice, potato, and a salad. The picture below is from a restaurant in San Pedro de Atacama.
Ave con palta: Same story as Pollo a la Plancha. This was a common sandwich (or Sangüche) option - pulled chicken with avocado (here avocados are called paltas rather than aguacates). This was one of Kate's favorite lunch/dinner items.
Sweet things:
CuchuflÃ: rolled brittle crepe-like things filled with dulce de leche
Sopaillas: A fried pastry/dough made with flour and pumpkin. They are eaten as desserts/street food when drizzled with hot sugar, cinnamon, and orange sauce. I was not able to try them this way; however, I did eat them as the buns on an interesting sandwich.
Berlinés Chilenos: filled donut things. This one is from Castaño, a prevalent bakery chain in Santiago.
Mote con Huesillo: Sugary drink with wheat kernels and dried peaches. They are sold everywhere by street vendors and considered a refreshing summer drink/dessert. My students told me the best place in the city to try them was from Copihue (named after the...).
Passion fruit (Maracuyá) everywhere! This fruit was featured in many desserts and drinks. Here is a delicious maracuyá icecream I had in ValparaÃso.
Alfajor: Two cookies (kind of shortbread texture) filled with jam, chocolate or manjar (kind of like dulce de leche) filling. This one is from ValparaÃso; however, when we went to Argentina it seemed that alfajores are an even bigger thing there (at least down south where we were). Walking around Calafate, we passed alfajor bakeries/sweet shops on every corner.
