Hi C-H's, Scott Peterson wrote: >Chilean cooking is split right down the middle. >The lower class is very native, >corn based food. >Middle/upper class is very European. While this may be true of Santiago and it's rural surroundings, one has to remember the extraordinary diversity of the country. If peeled off the globe, turned 90deg, and laid across the US, it would stick out into the oceans both sides. The huge Western coastline and relative narrowness of the country provides fresh seafood almost everywhere. The fish we ate in Punta Arenas is the equal of any I have eaten anywhere, and the mussels were absolutely the best. (I'm from Scotland remember!) One of my favorites from down South was a mixed chowder - a "fruits de la mer" kind of thing - with a whole aji (about 5" long) served in each bowl. The "hot sauce", such as it is, was readily available in plastic envelopes and referred to as "Aji Chileno". Similar stuff is made there by many different manufacturers but it just is not very hot or flavorful. I tried about a dozen different sorts before I went back to the stash I had taken with me. That's right - chiles to Chile. The middle of the country is a puzzle. It is amazingly cosmopolitan with people from all parts of N. and S. America and Europe. However the food is universally bland. Ask for some meat ("lomo") and you'll likely get a chunk of Argentinian beef of some unknown cut heated to about "medium". The salads and vegetables are unimaginative, which is odd for a country that can grow just about anything. The produce sections of the supermarkets were well stocked with fresh food, but there is a better selection of peppers at my local "Big Bear"! If in doubt, eat seafood and bread. They are excellent bakers of bread. The Northern tropical Atacama desert is a place where nothing will grow except in the mostly dried up river valleys. They simply don't get enough rain. Efforts are being made to open up this area to tourists; so most of the food must be flown and trucked in. A neat little town up there is San Pedro de Atacama. Almost a hippy atmosphere. Plenty of restaurants supplying the usual trendy fare. You can have your linguine "a la" whatever you like there. All in all Chileans enjoy a pretty high standard of living. Across the border in Bolivia however, things are very different. Regards, Cameron.