Starnberg: German Food in Santiago, Chile

Upon a visit to Santiago, fans of Bavarian food will be happy to see an abundance of bars and restaurants that mimic the appearance of some of the traditional restaurants in Bavaria itself. The numbers seem even larger when you factor in all the bars using what one assumes is a traditional German-Gothic font in their signage.

But for the most part, these other restaurants fall short in the quality of food and ambiance offering some German influenced sandwiches.

But at Starnberg, you get the real deal.

Located just north of Las Condes, Stargberg, like many Santiago restaurants sits with a backdrop of the snow capped Andes mountains. If one didn't know they were in Chile, they could be easily fooled to think they were in Starnberg, Germany with an view of the Alps.

What makes Starnberg so appealing is the variety in the menu but done so in an easy way as to not be overwhelming. For example, entree options are broken down by type of meat. But you're not locked into a recommended accompaniment or even sauce. Just turn the page to the side dishes and make your selection, then on to the sauces to find the perfect match. The helpful staff will gladly recommend a pairing for you, but only when asked: they don't force anything down your throat!

Like with Aqui Esta Coco, which I wrote about last week, Starberg was worth a second trip.

For the first visit, our meal selections were the Pernil dorado (roasted pork shoulder), with spazle and a creamy muchroom gravy,"Starnberg". We also had the Lomito Starnberg, pork loin with mashed potatoes in the same Starnberg sauce.

Lomito Starnberg

Pernil dorado (roasted pork shoulder), with spazle and a creamy muchroom gravy named "Starnberg"

For my second visit, I got the Muncher bratwurst with chopped pernil dorado, spatzle and the Starnberg sauce.  

Muncher bratwurst with chopped pernil dorado, spatzle and the Starnberg sauce.

Kostritzer at Starnberg, Santiago, Chile

Starnberg, streetview

Starnberg, front room

Needless to say, if you are in Santiago, with all it's great food options, you should certainly give Starnberg a try.

To learn more about this restaurant, check out their great online menu at Starnberg.cl. This might be my favorite online menu. Easy navigation and an image of each food item without having to click 3-4 deep to see a specific plate. Here's a sample from a screenshot:

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Le Bistrot: Excellent French Dining in Santiago, Chile

When traveling internationally, I often have to put aside my regular food tools that are US or Europe based like Yelp, MenuPages, etc. So when in need of a helpful food tool, it sometimes requires using the TripAdvisor iPhone app.

So when TripAdvisor had over 600 reviews for Le Bistrot and ranked it the #1 restaurant in all of Santiago, Chile, I figured we had to give it a shot. Growing up eating French food as a child, the cuisine is close to my heart. So I usually make sure I'm eating only the best French fare as to not be disappointed.

At Le Bistrot, I was not disappointed.

The meal consisted of one of my favorites, Beef Burgundy, with a fantastic escargot to start. Was actually surprised at the number of escargot included. Each little segment of the plate included 3-4 rather than the typical single snail serving...say that 5 times fast. We also a filet mignon in a roquefort sauce.

Classic escargot and garlic from Le Bistrot, in Santiago, Chile, currently ranked #1 overall restaurant in Santiago on Tripadvisor. [Escargots à l’alsacienne
Caracoles al alsaciana (lleva ajo)]

Filet de boeuf (sauce roquefort ou poivre noir)
Filet mignon with rice and a roquefort sheese sauce from Le Bistrot in Providencia, Santiago, Chile. The French restaurant is currently ranked #1 in all of Santiago on the Tripadvisor reviews. (Filete de vacuno, salsa roquefort /
Filete de vacuno, salsa roquefort)

Beef burgundy with rice from Le Bistrot in Providencia, Santiago, Chile. The French restaurant is currently ranked #1 in all of Santiago on the Tripadvisor reviews. (Boeuf bourguignon
Estofado de vacuno en vino tinto)

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Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Empanadas, Shepard's Pie Empanadas, Pizza Burger Empanadas & more

Southern BBQ Pulled Pork empanadas

Shepard's Pie empanadas

BBQ Pulled Chicken empanadas

Pizza Burger empanadas

BBQ Tri meat: pulled pork, chicken, beef

Gourmet Empanadas (cooked)

One of the luxuries of staying at an apartment for a vacation, is the option for home cooking while in a new city. After 5 nights of great restaurants in Santiago, Chile, last night was prime time for some homemade gourmet empanadas.

I've never quite understood how in the empanada eating culture, the options are always so limited. Perhaps it's due to the prevalence of the tasty filled treat in Argentina, where culinary variety is not something the natives find to be of importance. But in the culture of cooking empanadas at home, the empanada could be the greatest invention to "left overs".

Of course, in Argentina, one can scour the refrigerator section of their local supermercado and find rows and rows of "ready made" empanada crusts. In the US, etc, one can save some time with a "ready made" pie crust. Oddly, in Santiago, where the empanadas are a bit larger and just as popular, the only option last night was to make our own empanadas shells...which was well worth it. No need for short-cuts.

Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada:

It's pretty basic: take the USA BBQ favorite of slow roasted or smoked pork shoulder, hand separate the meat, and combine with a tasty BBQ sauce. We topped the meat off with some sauteed and delicate onions.

BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada (before)

BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada (cooked)

Shepard's Pie Empanada:

The "carne" empanada is one of the more popular options around the world. Whether it's "sauve" or "picante", the real hit-or-miss factor can often be in the texture of the meat used. When the meat is in a paste form, it's usually a strikeout. If you're fortunate enough to get one with large hand cut chunks of beef, it can be good...depending on how long the meat has been sitting out. The most tasty beef empanadas I've had are usually the most simple: a light sautee of ground beef with some onion, hard boiled, egg, etc.

But as a child growing up eating Hachis Parmentier, a French Shepard’s Pie, and being a fan of both carne and various potato empnadas, it's certainly time for an empanada form of the classic pie that combines them both.

Shepard's Pie empanada (before)

This is one of those empanada types that allows for all sorts of flexibility. We opted for the simple approach: garlic mashed potatoes, with peppered sauteed beef & grilled diced onions, topped with a few sauteed onion strips. It's also a great way to work in vegetables like corn, carrots, peas, etc as another layer.

Shepard's Pie empanada (cooked)

Pizza Burger Empanada:

Like the late-night diner food, but in empanada form. Parents used to buying snacks for their kids, or high school and college kids with limited cooking skills would think of this as a gourmet "hot pocket".

We tried two versions. One was more of a burger form, with a mini beef patty, topped with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. The other version we mixed together sauteed beef, diced mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

BBQ Pulled Chicken Empanada:

Very similar to the pork version above. Pulled chicken meat, mixed with BBQ sauce and wrapped up. This is more similar to the classic "pollo" empanada, but with BBQ sauce as the sauce base.

Tri-Meat BBQ Empanada:

This one was made like a Neapolitan ice cream in presentation, but with meat: BBQ pork, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, each one mixed in BBQ sauce and placed in a column, and topped with sauteed onions.

Since you can rarely find new and fun options for empanadas at restaurants, there's always the option to try something new at home on your own.

Feel free to share your empanada concoctions here, any photos, links, etc too, and I'll add them here!

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Seafood from Aqui Esta Coco in Santiago, Chile

Despite being only the second night in Santiago, there's an  excellent chance this will be the best meal had.

I had heard good things about Aqui Esta Coco and it's convenient location in Providencia, just a few blocks from my apartment, made it a "must visit". 

The menu is quite impressive. A comfortable 3 pages with seafood all but 4 of the options. Regardless of what type of seafood you like, you'll find it on the menu. And upon being served, everything seemed excellent in both quality and presentation. 

As for the meal itself. A tasty appetizer, two entrees, two desserts, a good bottle of cabernet, 2 glasses of a sauvignon blanc I paired with the entrees. Total cost with tip was 76.000, about $166US.

Patagonian scallops in a coconut saffron sauce with sautéed spinach at Aqui de Coco in Samtiago, Chile

Corvina (sea bass) with pulpo (octopus), squid and mussels with potatoes from Aqui de Coco in Santiago, Chile

One of the tastiest dishes I've had to date: grilled swordfish with the skin removed, served on top of butter Patagonian potato mash mixed with corn, peas, carrots, in a black butter sauce.

Corvina with capers in a butter sauce with quinoa roma

Chestnut Crème brûlée

Heaven: creamy coconut flan with whipped cream, candied Chilean hazelnuts and a sugary candied glass of pleasure from Aqui Esta Coco in Santiago, Chile.

Chocolatey bomb: rich chocolate cake with liquor icing, with chocolate helado and toasted candied macadamia nuts.

Update: August 6, 2011

With only two nights left for me in Santiago, and 1 for the person accompanying me on this Santiago trip, we opted to pass on exploring another seafood restaurant in favor of something we knew an liked. So it was back to Aqui Esta Coco for a final meal.

This time I had the Corvina in a butter and caper sauce with quinoa roma (photo below) and she had the seafood risotto. Afterwards, we shared a chestnut Crème brûlée.

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Hot Pastrami & Potato Knish from Carnegie Deli

Hot Pastrami with Potato Knish from Carnegie Deli

"It's a tourist trap", "It's too touristy". This is what I heard for years from New Yorkers, even when I had to walk past Carnegie Deli on my way to work every day. But just months after moving away, the hot pastrami and the potato knish from Carnegie were something I missed the most.

Upon moving to Los Angeles, I had some solace knowing that it wouldn't be like trying to find a Jewish deli in the middle of Idaho. It was LA, with plenty of traditional deli options.

So I've goto Kanter's. The pastrami wasn't flavorful enough for me and the knish seemed more like a microwaved potato hot pocket. I'd go to Langers, another legend, and it was a similar result. Eventually, I found it easiest to just drive to Las Vegas, and go the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage.

If you're in New York, you'll have a ton of options. Just in the midtown area near 53rd and 7th Ave, you'll find a number of delis. And their is also Katz's which is a homerun. And you can goto a small unknown deli and have an excellent meal.

But for the most basic of basics, a hot pastrami sandwich and a potato knish with gravy, Carnegie is hard to beat.






Being outside of the US for the past 6 months, and turkey being a hard thing to regularly come by in Buenos Aires, I had a craving for a turkey sandwich as well.

So one of my first food stops this trip was to the Stage Deli, which has one of the better hot open face turkey sandwiches around. When I told the Brazilian waiter I was visiting from Buenos Aires and hadn't had turkey in some time, he even brought me a side of cranberry.

Hot Open Faced Turkey with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce

You'd think that would be enough to appease my turkey fixin'. But no. A week later in San Francisco, I has almost the same meal...

 

Pastrami Photo credit to Ken Dern

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