What finally brought me to Chile on a semi-impulse trip was Patagonia, but what I revolved most of my solo plans around was Borago. I landed in Santiago at the start of the protests before they evolved into riots and was thanking universe energy that the cheapest flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas was the day before they decided to cancel all domestic flights. As I kept getting bits and pieces of news about fires and looting and curfews and chaos, I could only think about my reservation at Borago. Because I'm selfish, and I think with my stomach 98% of the time.
I mean, in all seriousness, I was concerned about such things like.. my safety. My likelihood of getting back home. My ability to find a job and pick up Chilean Spanish. ...Whether I would make it to my reservation..........
I did. It was fine. Minus the slight panic I felt when Cabify was not taking my credit card and I had to run out and try to catch a real cab (if you didn't think social anxiety could affect your ability to catch a freaking taxi, think again) and then I spent the whole time hoping and praying what little cash I had would be enough to make it there and also that it was just Cabify glitching out and not my credit card because holy shit how embarrassing would it be if I had to promise that I could actually pay for this $150 dinner I reserved if my freaking credit card just worked.
But I made it. And the panic I felt mostly washed away when I stepped into this giant airy dining room where you could hear the echo of every step. Can they tell I'm sweating from running up to the front door?
I started with a pisco tonic. And holy crap it was the most refreshing beverage I had while there, aside from any gallon of water I chugged post any hike I trekked.
was tart and sweet and amazingly realistic... or wait... did I just really eat a branch?
was super sour and astringent in the best way
was so savory and a little cheesy and the texture of the seafood.. so buttery
you were supposed to scrape some of the wall of mold into the broth and I couldn't help but poke through to try a bit of the pumpkin underneath (which was not super savory like I wanted it to be)
painted with a mango-y, uni-y paste to look like a Van Gogh painting
and mushroom broth made with a species of mushroom that only pops up at this time of year for about two weeks
and cooked oyster mushrooms in a spongey seaweed bladder
was the weirdest sounding dish but so refreshing and the bland-ish almond tofu worked well with the salty abalone-like shellfish
was so so salty and savory, it was the only one I couldn't finish all the way
with a sauce made from the bones
was maybe my favorite dish
maybe I'm biased by the duck
but I'm a sucker for meat + jammy tart sauce
lamb cooked 'a la inverse' and liquid amber leaves preserved for 3 years
was the cutest fucking dessert of sheep's milk ice cream with rhubarb and marshmallow
was my favorite mint-y bitter-y herbal-y foam-y dessert ever
I was so intrigued by the texture
nitro menthol palette cleanser bite
that you have to pop into your mouth right away
and sit quietly while you breathe "smoke" out of your nostrils
lemongrass infusion with sweets
I loved this menu because I love seafood and I love tangy sour things and I love unexpected flavors and I love preserved things and it was such a perfect journey through all the kinds of things you can eat in life and specifically life in Chile.
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