Como Agua para Chocolate
This is the name of a 1972 film. Which means nothing to you.
Nor me, until just over a week ago when Rachel and myself went for dinner at a restaurant by the same name with some Chilean friends. And again, on friday. The restaurant was highly recommended to us. But strangely, on both occasions, there was reason for disappointment!
On the first, my food was not very warm. But then it was a dish called “Mil Hojas” which means “1000 leaves”. By leaves, I mean leaves of pastry; incredibly thin pastry, which is a speciality here in Chile, used in fine cooking and some (equally fine) cakes! When you’ve got 1000 leaves to heat and salmon between them, its pretty hard. So I accepted it as a downside of my choice. On the upside, the wine was excellent- Casa Silva Carmenere Reserva 2000.
On friday, the disappointment was mild; it was more like disbelief. We ordered food and wine to come with the meal. When the wine arrived- the same vineyard as above, but a Syrah (Shiraz)- I was given the customary taste. Errmmm. “Let me try that again” I said. I’m not a wine expert, but a wine lover who happens to be very ignorant about wines! But I detected something wasn’t right. I passed the wine to be tasted by someone else, distrusting my taste buds since I have a slight cold. Sure enough, it seemed to be corked.
So, I chose a different bottle from the menu. It arrived. The waiter opened it and I was given another glass and another sip. I was, without having had a bite of my dinner that was now steaming in front of me, beginning to enjoy this liquid dinner! However, to my disbelief, this wine tasted of vinegar! A second taster confirmed it.
I used to think it would be embarrassing to turn down a bottle of wine at dinner, but now I know I can and I’m just so glad it was accompanied by such humour! We like the atmosphere and the food at the restaurant so we look forward to visiting again soon and with any visitors to Santiago!
Oh yes… about that name. The restaurant does a great dessert involving chocolate, chocolate mouse, chocolate and a drop of raspberry puree. Tasted better than Santiago water. Thats enough of an excuse I’d say.
June 15th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
as one of the recommenders of “Como Agua Para Chocolate”, I should say that I ate there a couple of days ago myself for the first time in a while, and the prices had leaped by about CLP$2,000 per main meal, making what was once a great deal a less than great deal, made even worse by the strength of the Chilean peso at present. So my apologies about recommending it as a reasonably priced place. I think I need to start looking for a new fave restaurant in Bellavista. The brochetas are still tasty though.
I’d also recommend Etnico a little bit further up the road if you want Asian food in swank surrounds, or Galindo for typical Chilean fare (apparently one of Pablo Neruda’s old haunts when he lived up the road at la Chascona).
And the wine? Just goes to show that you should never drink Syrah from Chile (unless it is a very expensive one), they just don’t have the same body as an Australia shiraz. Never touch a Santa Emiliana syrah particularly, because even the non-corked bottles taste like vinegar. Casa Silva though, despite its unpretentious label, is always a good choice.
Finally, in the interests of accuracy on the internet, Como Agua Para Chocolate was a book prior to being a film, and I think the film came out sometime in the mid 1990s. Memorable for its portrayl of an outhouse toilet simultaneously combusting, a naked woman popping out and jumping on the back of a horse and riding off towards the horizon with some Mexican bandido. Random, but memorable.