EAT WINE

Yes, this year we have decided to brave the crowds and traffic and go west for New Year's. The fireworks both in Valparaiso, Viña, Reñaca, and Concon promise to be fantastic. Millions of people are projected to descend on these sister coastal cities. Although I will be ringing the New Year's in with my family, Chilean and American in a private apartment with a great view (and some great Miguel Torres Pinot Noir Brut bubbly in hand), I thought I would share my personal archive of restaurant recs in "Valpo" (as the locals call it) and Viña. These are good year round. Make sure to book now for New Year's as many restaurants actually close due to the crowds, the food prices (which triple), and hey, everyone wants a holiday too!

Note to this post: I did not include the very touristy restaurants in Valparaiso such as Cafe Turri (food overpriced and not overly impressive in my opinion), Café Brighton (diddo), Gato Tuerto (diddo). La Columbina is acceptable but there are so many new, cool restaurants with personality and "onda" (coolness) or the traditional ones that ooze history and character, that I figured you all won't probably want to dine elbow-to-elbow with fellow expats. My personal favorite is Pasta e Vino--it is sublime. Cheers and Happy New Year's!

          RESTAURANT AND NEW YEAR’S RECOMMENDATIONS: VIÑA DEL MAR & VALPARAISO

Valparaiso

Alegretto, Pilcomayo 529, Cerro Concepción, (32) 968 836
Fun and unusual pizzas, to eat in or take away. Some have chicken curry, roasted vegetables, and all a great tomato base sauce. The place itself is small but very cute for a bit to eat while exploring—it looks like an old time emporium, typical of the city.

Pasta e Vino, Templeman 352, Cerro Concepción, (32) 496 187 / 09-229-1251 , pastaevino@hotmail.com
Impossible to get a table without a reservation weeks in advance. Excellent and innovative modern Italian cuisine with local fresh ingredients. The minimalist décor, precise wine list, and homey service and of course, delicious food will make you swoon. It was love at first site for me with the fava bean stuffed ravioli in an orange-tarragon reduction and plump sauteed shrimp. Somebody (and Italian!) in the kitchen knows about technique and flavor combinatinos. (Note: closed December 31 and January 1).

Apollo 77, Pasaje Apolo 77, Cerro Alegre, (32) 734 862, www.apolo77.cl
Refined gastronomy in a remodeled home. Inventive dishes like sea urchins in a nori roll with sweet potato purée, avocado and cilantro. Their desserts are particularly outstanding—molten dark chocolate brownie with homemade orange-vanilla-honey ice cream anyone?

Caruso, Avenida Cumming 201, Cerro Cárcel, (32) 594 039, caruso@vtr.net
Very fun, funky place with excellent seafood on one of Valparaiso’s newly gentrifying hills, Cerro Cárcel. Very relaxed environment with good wine menu and outstanding selection of local rockfish, harpooned by the neighboring fisherman.

Los Porteños, beside Central Market, next to Plaza Echaurren
This is where the locals go to chow down on delicious seafood right beside Valparaiso’s central market. Get there by 1:00 pm to get a table and avoid the lunch rush. The portions are huge and the turnover is impressive. Try the delicious machas a la parmesana, mussels with salsa verde, fried congrio, seared corvina (sea bass), and “ensalada chilena”, Chilean salad made of fresh tomato, sweet onion, and cilantro. Simple but good.

El Desayundor, Almirante Montt 399, Cerro Alegre, (32) 755 735
Adorable little spot to hang out for a while reading the newspaper and sipping a cappuccino. Very nice quiches, juices, and other breakfast goodies. On Sundays, they have live music and story book telling. If you go for breakfast, the eggs are delicious, as is the homemade jam.

Le Filou de Montepelier, Almirante Montt 382, Cerro Alegre, (32) 224 663
You can only get a table by reserving ahead of time. The owner is French and highlights his homeland’s food in a simple yet delicious setting. On the weekends, it is only open for lunch with a fixed menu; during the week and at night, there is an a la carte menu. It is cheap, very French, noisy, with a great dose of old world charm.

Café Vinilo, Almirante Montt 448, Cerro Alegre, (32) 230 665
Great ambience, very funky. Chill out with friends and play with the games at the tables. Good hot chocolate and background music.

J. Cruz, Pasaje Condell 1182, (32) 211 225
This is a certified hole-in-the-wall—but with authentic “porteño” atmosphere. One of the few old school haunts that has been around for decades in Valparaiso, here you can try the local specialities of the artery-blocking chorrillanas (French fries topped with steak and eggs) and fan shop (Fanta Orange Soda and Draft Beer). Live folk music, chipped formica tables, memorabilia and signatures on the walls, and cheap wine are all part of the experience.

Cinzano, Plaza Aníbal Pinto 1182, (32) 213 043
This place is a great lesson in getting to know Valparaiso’s bohemian roots. Unforgettable to listen (and dance) to the live music while having drinks.

Café Riquet, Plaza Aníbal Pinto 1199, (32) 217 014
The most classic Café in the port. Passing through its doors is to take a step back in time to a Valparaíso of decades ago. Great location and good German-style desserts (kuchens). Perfect with a café cortado, Chile’s version of the cappuccino.

Color Café, Papudo 526, Cerro Concepción, (32) 251 183, www.colorcafe.cl
Very bright, fun coffee spot with vegetarian food in Cerro Concepción. If you are into tea, this may well be your nirvana—40 different varieties make it worth a short stop to recharge your batteries.

Caleta Portales, Avenida España sin nombre, (32) 625 814
This is where the local fisherman come in and here you can try many local specialities such as the abalones (locos), razor head clams (machas), congrio (conger eel), erizos (sea urchins), etc. The place is not fancy but it is clean and as you hear the waves crash below, this is about as fresh as it gets.

La Piedra Feliz, Blanco 1067, (32) 214 644, www.lapiedrafeliz.cl
There is a bit of everything inside, from pubs to discos with chairs and dance floors. There is a tango room, salsa room, and concert hall. Good place to kick off the Porteño nights, which are infamous for being long and fun.

Pagano, Blanco 236, www.mundopagano.cl
Great spot if you are into dancing elbow-to-elbow. It is a somewhat chichi spot, perhaps the new face of the port. Check out the schedule for DJs and events.

Viña del Mar

Savinya, Avenida San Martín 199, (32) 500 700
In the 5-star Hotel del Mar/Casino on the second floor, this is the most elegant, refined, and top restaurant in Viña del Mar. The seafood is outstanding and fresh so do not hesitate to try their interesting preparations (like sea urchin flan) or the fresh oysters. The view of the ocean and boulevard below in the minimalist, chichi surroundings are astounding.

Enjoy del Mar, cannot find the address but in front of the Hotel del Mar, you cannot miss it!
Also part of the Hotel del Mar perched on the peninsula where the canal meets the ocean, here you can enjoy a lovely al fresco lunch. The daily lunch special usually includes fresh grilled fresh, selection of salads, a glass of wine, and scoop of their gourmet gelato (loads of local flavors, recommended ones are lucuma-merengue, manjar, cherimoya, etc.). You can dine inside or outside, but always with a view. The whole place is made of glass.

La Barquera, Avenida San Martín 199, (32) 500 700
On the second floor of the Hotel del Mar, next to Savinya, is the informal La Barquera with fresh salads and sandwiches—and a view as usual.

La Ciboulette, 1 Norte 191-A, (32) 690 084
The only Belgian restaurant in town, this place is worth visiting if you have an unexplained hankering for Belgian beer (it has a price tag to match how hard it is to find in Chile), pommes frites, or any sort of duck preparation (note: the paté however we ordered had been frozen, so make sure it is fresh). It is close to the Monterilla on the other side of Plaza México. Intimate, cozy atmosphere.

Divino Pecado, Av. San Martin 180, (32) 975-790
Great central location (in front of the Casino) and a cozy, friendly atmosphere make this fresh pasta restaurant naturally appealing. You can put together your own pasta dish or choose from their creative ones like squid ink ravioli stuffed with curried shrimp. All pasta dishes are served al dente. There are meat dishes available.

Barlovento, 2 Norte 195, (32) 977-472
Owned by an American, Barlovento is of modern minimalist design with lots of concrete, steel, and glass. The food is best for pick-ats and we exclusively come to drink up the cosmopolitans and Blood Marys, the only decent ones in Viña del Mar. Happy hour is worth a visit from 7pm-9pm most nights with 2 x 1 drinks.

Aquí Jaime, Avda. Borgoño 21303, Higuerillas (32) 812 042 Located on a bluff of rocks overlooking the wild Pacific in Con Con, a suburb north of Viña (fantastic drive along the coast, you can take a taxi or even the bus), this place gets packed every day at lunch and dinner for one reason: its fresh, its not expensive, and the view is unbelievable. Try the machas a la parmesana, the seared conger eel, sea scallops, everything is delicious. Get there early or better yet, make a reservation. There are beaches nearby for sunbathing before/after lunch, and paths along the ocean.

Las Deliciosas Avda. Borgoño 25370, Concon  The quintessential empanadas “joint” on the coast. This place is all business (so know what you are ordering when you sit down or get to the cash register). Their specialty is one thing: empanadas, all fried (don’t even think about calories when here). Order an ice-cold beer (Royal Guard or Escudo), sit down at the plastic tables and sit back. Great picks are: machas-queso (razorhead clams-cheese), jaiba-queso (crab-cheese), mariscos (seafood sautéed in onions and reduced in clam broth), ostion-queso (scallops-queso), pino (sautéed meat). Use the ají, it adds some punch.

Bravissimo, Avda. San Martin 200 block
Bravissimo is known in all of Chile for its stellar gelatos and somehow, walking along the Viña del Mar promenade begs for one in hand. 1.000 pesos (US$2) gets you 2 flavors. The local favorites are lucuma (a baseball-sized orange fruit that has a chalky, nutty taste) with meringue (sweet crisp egg whites), manjar (milk caramel), cherimoya (custard apple), etc. My personal favorites are the pistachio, dark chocolate, arab coffee, tiramisu, hazelnut, so many…

New Year’s
The pick of the town this year for New Year’s in Viña is at the Hotel del Mar (only one block from the Monterilla, ideal to avoid traffic jams and having to take taxis to/from). There are nothing less than five fantastic parties to choose from, all with the awesome fireworks that will be put on in front of the hotel (the hotel has huge windows). The parties are:
--Ballroom: If you want to dance the night away, this is your best bet: 85.000 pesos (US$170) for adults with dinner, drinks, and music.
--La Barquera: Slightly more informal but still fun: 60.000 pesos (US$118) with dinner and drinks
--Savinya: the most elegant and exquisite of the bunch, they will put on a special gourmet New Year’s dinner with drinks: 120.000 pesos (US$235)
--El Mirador: From the top of the hotel with a privileged view will be the VIP party with similar food to Savinya, 150.000 pesos (US$300).

Other options: many restaurants actually close for New Year’s Eve because food products triple in price (hence the expense of going out) and must entertain clients all night. The restaurants that are open usually charge a price that includes dinner, drinks, and the party (right to use the establishment). However, if you want a more “popular” New Year’s all you need to do is head out with champagne in hand (you can get it in Santiago before heading out) and get to the beach promenade very early (like go to the beach in the afternoon and stay) to cop a squat on the sand or rocks to sit under the fireworks with the locals. You can also take the new metro to Valparaiso to be in the port but now that Viña is having major fireworks, I don’t think it is totally worth the trip. Valparaiso is fabulous to be discovered by day, taking its antique elevators and exploring the winding streets of Cerro Alegre, Concepción, Carcel and Bellavista (you can now get there via the brand new Metro from Viña).  It really depends on what type of New Year’s you want. I have done both—both are fun and fabulous, just different flavors. Viña though has been pushing New Year’s and more than a million people are coming for a city with 200,000 inhabitants. Please bare this in mind which deciding the New Year’s style that is right for you.