Pastel de Choclo

"Our typical cuisine is simple because earth and sea are generous; there is no fruit or seafood more delicious than ours - that I can assure you. The more difficult it is to put food on the table, the more elaborate and spicy it becomes, witness the examples of India and Mexico, where there are three hundred ways to cook rice. We have one, and that seems more than sufficient to us." (From "My Invented Country" by Isabel Allende)

Chile is not known for its culinary triumphs. Thirty cents will buy you a freshly fried corn patty called a sopaipilla that you can top with your share of spicy mustard and even spicier salsa. For a little more, you might run into an empanada shop that delivers what you think it will, but tastes only half as good as you are expecting. And for about a dollar, you can hit the late night bar crowd's jackpot called a completo - which is just a glorified hot dog dressed in enough mayonnaise to cause a coronary. And although the fruit and vegetable markets are divine and it seems like there are all the makings for deliciousness to abound, something simply misses the mark. I am not alone in this opinion - my most sophisticated foodie friend to date who lives in Santiago remains totally discouraged by Chilean cuisine.

And so, expectations low and criticism quelled, I ventured into the nearest lonely planet option once my cold and walking threshold reached its breaking point. Un Cristal por supesto, y... ummm uhhh... un momento porfa. Chilean food, Carrie, keep going for traditional chilean food. My eyes scanned over everything until I caught something I recognized - Pastel de Choclo! Yes, I'll try the pastel de choclo. Less than five minutes later, this is what was placed in front of me:

It was so hot, the steam could not stop pouring out of it. But once I coaxed it down to a manageable temperature, it was sweet corn and onions and succulent pieces of chicken and... an olive! what? how could an olive be so harmonious with these flavors?... and a hard boiled egg?? so unexpected. It was soulful and crusty and soft and balanced. This is a terrible analogy, but do you remember those candles you bought as a tween that promised to melt down and reveal little treasures? It was like that in a way. Just layer after layer of flavor and warmth and perfection. I felt like Rachael Ray on $40 a day (another bad example but you catch my drift) discovering the best kept cheap secret in the land. In one well ordered serendipitous meal, Chile proved it is not a total international culinary loss. Call me a glutton if you must, but I can think of worse things than death by pastel de choclo.