Aventuras en Valparaíso

So I am not sure if I have already shared that Constanza, Sergio, Marcelo, Erin and I decided in July or August that we were going to have a nice sit down dinner at a different place each month. In August we went to Malandrinos for pizza, and for September we went to an amazing restaurant called Pasta e Vino. We went there September 11, 2009 - but this is not only a marked day for the U.S., but it also has a sad significance in Chile as well. There was a huge coup d'etat this day that overthrew the government of President Allende (this all happened September 11, 1973) and then the military/dictator government of Pinochet took over. So yeah there's a little history for ya. I am actually really interested in the politics here, especially because there are going to be the presidencial elections for the next president in Chile this coming december, I think its right before I leave to go home. But I just think its rad that right now Chile has a woman president... and she is a very interesting woman. Her name is Michelle Bachelet, you all should read about her a learn a little more about Chile. :)

Okay back to the nice evening at Pasta e Vino. So this is a restaurant in Valparaíso thats a little more upscale... a little more on the expensive side, but I am so happy I went because the food was definitely on my list of best food I have ever tasted! This place in owned but a husband and wife, the wife is Chilean and the husband is Italian (actually from Italy). The food is more on the vegetarian side (Marcelo the meat eater just loved this place! ;)) and has tons odd combinations of things you would never think could go together.

Examples are:

Ravioli filled with pear and brie in a butter sauce

Olive gnochhi

Ravioli filled with pumpkin

Hazelnut gnocchi in a muhroom sauce

And many many more. I had the pumpkin filled ravioli and it was freaking amazing. It was fun, we all got different dishes and past them around the table (I of course shoved aside the meat to try everything else). We also had got pisco sour (really strong) and then a bottle of white wine. Seriously one of the best meals I have ever had. Oh and I almost forgot, the best part was the dessert. We got two different plates and shared them: one was a brownie with vanilla ice cream and then the other was a plate of different types of ice cream. The plate with the ice creams had flavors of: a lemon sorbet type, raspberry cream, and others but my favorite was bananas and manjar, it tasted like I was eating a banana whole with manjar on it. Absolutely amazing, can't even describe it in words.

This is what the outside looks like, the restaurant is only part of this building, its really small and quaint. I loved it.

This is pretty much all of the restaurant... so yeah you can tell just how small it is.

After dinner we went to Poble Nou, which is also in Valparaíso for another round of Pisco Sours, since they have the best pisco sours that we have tasted.

This is what Poble Nou looks like. Like Pasta e Vino, it too is very small. This place is owned by a french woman... so the name is obviously french. The atmosphere is really neat, its pretty much all lit by candlelight and its a place to go eat, have a drink, and spend time conversing with friends. We need more places like this back home.

This night was definitely a blast. I am not sure where we are going for our dinner next month. We talked about options. There is another nice Thai restaurant near Pasta e Vino, or a really nice french restaurant as well. But after that adventure I will of course share it with everyone. :)