Chile Welcome Dinner

On January 15^th we arrived in Vina del mar with a day full of activities planned. To start the day, we all got amazing pictures during our graffiti tour around Valparaiso and had a chance to walk around local markets for souvenirs after the Pablo Neruda Museum. After we got back to the hotel we had a good amount of free time before our “welcome dinner”. During this free time, the majority of the group took a rejuvenating nap to prepare us for the night ahead while the rest of the group went to the beach. After everyone spent their free time wisely, we all met in the lobby of Best Western at 7:40 and proceeded to take a bus as a group to Palacio Astoreca Restaurant for traditional Chilean, international, and contemporary cuisine in Valparaiso. Our bus driver dropped us off as close as he could get us to the restaurant, which was on top of a hill. In order to get to the restaurant, we had to ride in a traditional funicular to take us to the top where there were breathtaking views and obviously a photoshoot had to occur. The professors eventually dragged us away from all of our picture taking and into the restaurant.

             The Palacio Astoreca was a very fancy and classy restaurant in which most of us were underdressed and not prepared for. This particular restaurant was inside a hotel; however, it is open for everyone to enjoy. Our tour guide, Valentina, had told me that the hotel used to be a house that belonged to an aristocratic family who founded it in the 1800s or the 1900s. something I found to be very interesting and unique. Bridget Gomes said “It has a very nice atmosphere.” The tables were decorated with elegance and had a decorative candle on each table.

              As we were all socializing and enjoying the time together, the waiters came around with bread rolls. The rolls and the butter were amazing. However, we were only given once piece of bread which hits me personally. As I went around talking to my classmates I found that just about everyone felt the same way I did. WE NEED MORE BREAD. Because the bread was so delicious, we agree that baskets of bread on the table would make our experience that much more enjoyable. As the night went on, they brought over the starters. Since it is a fancy restaurant, the portions tend to be smaller but still just as delicious. For this group dinner, we were unable to choose what we ate which hit a lot of soft spots for people. The starter was considered a traditional Chilean salad. The salad was very green; it included apples, celery, avocado, grapes, and was dressed with olive oil and lemon. I got very mixed reviews regarding if people liked or disliked the starter. However, Professor Berdiev “I enjoyed it and thought the dressing brought it all together and the combination of celery and avocado was exquisite.” Aleks enjoyed the starter so much that he ended up having two servings, eating Mary’s salad as well since she found she wasn’t a fan of it.

              

            For our entrée the classmates that have the vegetarian meal had quinoa which looked and from what I heard, tasted amazing. Everyone else had southern Hake straight from Patagonia with cheesy potatoes and cooked carrots. This main course brought panic to some people since the majority of our group don’t like fish as we discovered in our Agribusiness presentation in Argentina. My first impression was that the presentation was very nice and I assume that they chose fish because seafood is a very popular dish served in Chile. Despite the mixed reviews about the fish, the carrots and potatoes were delicious. Professor Gomez expressed to me “Given the fact that we are in Chile, I felt the entrée served was appropriate and that the salad was exotic and very unique.” Mary also enjoyed the meal and said “I was pleasantly surprised with the food and for someone who doesn’t like fish, I was doubtful of the entrée and ended up somewhat enjoying it.” Non fish lovers were glad they tried the entrée and felt that the pepper on top helped with the taste a lot. Emma said “I didn’t know what to expect when I saw it and I didn’t have the best expectation but when I tried it, it ended up being good.” Kayla thought “the fish was very bland and I didn’t like it at all.”

              After some of the disappointment of not being able to choose our meals and the meal being fish, we were eager for some delicious dessert. What we had was a mousse made out of manjar (dulce de leche) and a citrus sorbet on the side. The individuals who had the vegetarian dessert received a bowl of fresh fruit that looked very enjoyable. The majority of the group enjoyed the dessert which is no surprise, however, the portion was very small since it was a high end restaurant. I heard from a couple people that they did not like the mousse but the sorbet was amazing and they would’ve been happy with only a bowl of sorbet. Others described the mousse as rich and delicious. We also shared a couple laughs when Mary’s dessert flung off of her plate as she was trying to cut it.

             

              Overall Arnav thought the dinner was “deceivingly good.” However, Kristi thought “The restaurant was too fancy and didn’t like it because she’s a picky eater.” I’ve concluded that with this dinner you either loved it or hated it. I enjoyed it because I had the privilege of sitting next to Aleks as he tried to teach me Bulgarian. The dinner did not satisfy many of the bulldogs and the majority went to get an alternative meal afterward. Dogs gotta eat.