Avocado, Tomato, and Mayo, Oh My!

I think it's time for a post dedicated to the delectable entity that is Chilean meat. There's an abundance of it, and from the choicest cut of beef to the most humble steak sandwich, it's all good. But let's forget the classy stuff for now, and focus on the dangerously good and slightly more mayo covered options.

In Concepcion, I went by myself to a small cafe for dinner, and feeling adventurous I asked the waitress to recommend something good to me. She suggested I try the Pichanga Mediana. This is what arrived at the table:



In case you can't see exactly what's going on here, the fundament of this dish is a bed of french fries smothered with cheese (a solid foundation), this is piled high with delicious melt-in-your-mouth hunks of steak, two different kinds of sausage, the most fresh and delicious tomatoes and avocados you've ever had, olives, and not to be forgotten-a hard boiled egg. When the nacho cried out, the pichanga answered the call!

Another cornerstone of Chilean dining is the Completo, as ubiquitous as the Döner is to Germany. This follows the same principles as a hot dog, but is oh so much better. We begin with a well toasted bun, slit down the middle, but not all the way to the ends (sort of a canoe formation). Inside this bun is a hot dog, on the dog we have tomatoes, crushed avocados, and so much mayo. Look, it's so delicious:



To complete this unholy trinity of food-stuffs, we have the Churrasco (sorry, no picture). This is a sandwich made of thinly sliced grilled beef, which is flavorful and tender that it would be delicious enough to eat alone. That meat it put on a roll and toped with, you guessed it, tomatoes, avocado and mayo. So. Good. In fact, I just had one for dinner!

I'm in Talca now, staying with a Chilean friend of mine who is home for the holidays. He took me to his favorite Churrasco spot for dinner tonight, which did not disappoint. After dinner we took a stroll around the city, and happened upon the local university chorale performing Christmas Carols. It was great to hear, and it reminded me that Christmas is indeed coming, in fact it's only three days away! As the Chileans say, "Viene Santa Clause!"



See, I'm not the tallest person in Chile :)

<3