The small, whitewashed dining room has an elevated open
kitchen, its black accents brightly lit by the sunlight that
pours in through the windows wrapping around three
sides of the room. Albisu sets about showing Rodriguez
how he dry-sears avocado at Del Campo for use in her
smoked Chilean mussels dish, our first course. Ribbons of
shaved cuttlefish with half moons of red onion in a punchy
lemon oil is the second offering, a standout combination so
memorable that Albisu will put a version of the dish on his
menu when he returns home. “I loved the balance of flavors:
salt, sweet, and acid,” he later tells me.
A leisurely meal unfolds over the next couple of hours,
with Rodriguez, the consummate host, switching between
English and Spanish as she discusses the slow, steady
ascendence of her country’s culinary culture. It’s a sentiment
echoed the next day by chef Rodrigo Jofré of La Mensajería
back in Santiago. “The scene has grown a lot,” he says. “It
has been great for chefs. People are finally paying attention.”
He’s giving us a tour of the city’s La Vega Central Market.
Stalls are packed with everything from the Holy Trinity
of Chilean cooking—cumin, paprika, and oregano—and a
rainbow of hot sauces to pickles galore and fresh vegetables
attractively stacked. From one of the vendors in the fish
market, we pick up some tide-pool creatures called piures,
which Jofré claims “make you fuerte [strong].”
Back at his restaurant, after the chefs share tricks and
techniques in the kitchen, we try the vividly red slips of
slimy flesh, which first need to be pried out of the living
rock that encases them. Between their appearance and
their nickname—“sea squirts”—neither Albisu nor I are very
excited to eat them. To temper the strong taste of iodine,
Jofré mixes them with cilantro, onion, and lemon juice,
which dispel most—but not all—of their offending flavor.
This treatment makes them no less slippery and slithery
as they slide down our throats, though. Thankfully, this
Bizarre Foods–worthy starter is followed by an onslaught
of strong sangria, excellent tacos, and sweet empanadas to
wipe our palates and our memories clean.
30
FLOOD