The 10 Trips I Want to Take

I've written this post before, I think twice before - a list counting down the trips I hope to someday take. I've been fortunate enough to cross a few off the list from past versions over the years, from South Korea, to Argentina, to others. I'm shortly to take a trip to Budapest, Helsinki and Talinn (Estonia) - the last two of which made earlier versions - albeit Estonia combined with its Baltic neighbors. It got me thinking of re-doing in the list, with the same one of the Top-2 that is so, so unlikely at this point.

10.) Mongolia

Lets start weird. Mongolia is a new entrant, and I really know very little about the country other than it being a fairly barren, almost narnia-like place of strange. Who wouldn't want to sleep in yurts or whatever. In reality, the country is alluring because it is so unknown - similar to Laos where I plan to visit this October. Mongolia has a couple large cities but is mostly pure, unworked terrain, and I can't wait to one day see it fully

9.) Yellowstone National Park

I only have two domestic places on the list, and one of them is about as far as you can go while still being "domestic". Yellowstone isn't so remote. Thousands if not millions visit each year. I'm not trying to cross off all the parks in short order, but doing maybe America's most reknowned, most idyllic, most special park is definitely a goal of mine. Yellowstone is not too far from my current primary project in Utah, which gives a decent chance I could check this one off this summer. The hiking, the animals and just the ability to say I've been in Wyoming and seen some of the most special natural beauty this beautiful country has to offer.

8.) Bali

A new one, and if I liked more the idea of just chilling on the beach or in tropical areas, this is probably higher up. I've now had my parents go to Bali, a good ten years after my sister and her now husband went. Both groups loved it. It looks beautiful, it looks serene. The resorts are amazing, and I certainly have enough points to do it easily. As I grow older, maybe this goes higher up the list, when I more look at being in comfort and serenity than anything else. Lost in all of this is me probably wildly underrating the food on offer.

7.) Brazil

This is one of my few hold-overs from the initial time I wrote this list back in the July of 2016. Since then, I have crossed off Peru, Chile, Egypt, Israel and Croatia from the original. The other five places still remain - you can't get everything in life. Anyway, Brazil remains, but in reality my desire to visit only drops. It's weird in a sense because having been to  Peru, Chile and a few days in Argentina, South America may well be my favorite continent at this point. Brazil I'm sure will be fun, but I think there is a bit to much industrialness about the place.

6.) Proper Safari

Another holdover from my initial list, the safari would be higher up if I could easily afford one, and if I didn't do a one-day safari in Chobe National Park. Certainly a proper, multi-day, rise at 5am type is better, but that one day sated me for now. From everything I've seen, these are damn expensive luxury trips, even if 'luxury' means sleeping in some godforesaken tent in the Serengeti. Of course, I would still love to do it one day. It's just more practical dream trips have overtaken it because at the end of the day, we still ahve zoos in this world, or even mini-safaris like Johannesburg's Lion Park.

5.) Hawaii

Like, i could do this tomorrow (assuming I get the leave and what not). I have the miles (flex here, I have the miles for all of these...). It's in our country for goodness sakes. Don't even need to pack a passport. Anyway, Hawaii seems amazing, one of America's truly last untouched gems. Of course, for all the obvious reasons, may as well save this for a honeymoon or couples trip spot. But the volcanoes, the lifestyle, the incredible scenery. It all looks so amazing.

4.) Namibia

I've had a few cousins go to Namibia and swear by it, both loving the extreme mix of dessert, grasslands, and everythign else in between. There are always struggles with traveling in Africa, and Windhoek is certainly not easy to get to, but the scenery again looks so amazing. After years and years of shuttling through museum and church in Western Europe, I've slowly grown to shift my travel love to the natural world. and places like Namibia are perfect to dive into that world. Namibia is also a relatively untouched pearl of Africa, somethign not destined to last long given its relative stability and breadth of sights and beauty.

3.) Iran

Look, let's go crazy (if anything the next one maybe even crazier). I know it isn't all that easy to get to Iran, and there's of course significant danger concerns at this very moment. But also it is an untouched, beautiful country. THe food, the culture, the history. Sure, there is the matter of safety, but let's not make a mistake that Iran is say Syria - the Iranian government seems to still care about its milennia of history and preserving it. My parent's have had multiple friends go in recent years and enjoy every bit about it. As I run out of countries in "modernity", these overall "off the beaten path" countries will become more and more a requirement for me to keep climbing up the ranks with new countries.

2.) Russia

Truly, I think a lot of my yearning to go to Russia comes from not being able to go in 2007 with my school's Orchestra (went with my family to Turkey instead). We can have our issues with Russia the country as a political entity, but as the World Cup two years ago showed, Russia the people and the country is a beautiful, fascinating place. Food is probably better than people think. The drink and nightlife looks great. The sites are many and varied, from world-class museums and history, to beautiful scenery and nature. All of it seems so appealing. Openly, this is my other preferred option for after my sister's wedding. If only there was any security in planning an international trip in July 2021, but alas these are times for dreaming, not planning.

1.) New Zealand

New Zealand still appeals to me as maybe the best combination of natural beauty and cuisine that I can think of. From the food perspective, I know there is amazing seafood, lamb and local produce. From the natural beauty - well come on. From the coastline, the caves, the mountains, the fields. New Zealand looks to be one of the great treasures in our world. Hopefully one day I can experience it so. The toughness is the specific time of year you reasonably have to go doesn't really line up to where I can easily take two weeks off. Now, I guess going over Christmas Break is an option at some point, and probably one I will take on, but for now it remains elusive. The scenery, the mysticism, the remoteness, the lambs - I want all of it some day.

Re-Post: Nostalgia Diaries, Pt. 15: The 2008 NHL Playoffs Out West

In honor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting again, the world's greatest Playoff Tournament. If only so because of their great sudden-death, "play till you die", overtime rules we can get games running to 2am on the regular. Hasn't happened yet as I write this. Sadly on day 4 of the playoffs we've had just one OT game to date, and it was two Florida teams, and it ended in the first OT. But inshallah, we'll get our 2am like always sooner or later.

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I'm a late night owl. I can probably count the times I've slept before the clock turns over to a new day on one hand each year. On weekends, my normal sleeping time is between 2-3 AM. On weekdays, between 12-1. I don't get up too late (if I get up past 10AM on weekends, I'm generally upset at myself). I don't know where this started, but I think some part of it has to do with being a sports fan, always jealous of my friends on the West Coast, who were watching games long before my childhood self had his head hit the pillow.

As a child of the 90's, I grew up with the newspaper being my daily sports bible, and I always hated the fact that the West Coast games ended too late to get the scores printed in the next days paper. Given that I have lived most of my life in the internet age, and today can cue up any baseball or hockey game with HD quality on my computer, this seems almost ancient. But it was true.

Prior to 2008, the Western Conference Playoffs were always some mythical experience that started at bedtime, and ended way afterwards, I may have snuck a few games in here or there, but never enough to really enjoy San Jose, or Anaheim, or LA, or Vancouver, or Calgary, or so many others. In 2008 that all changed, to disastrous effects which I'll get too.

I've written about 2008 a few times, whether it being my learning to love soccer wholeheartedly in Euro 2008, or my unabashed joy of the 2008 NFL Season. But the other aspect of that magical year was me watching those night games, the Calgary's, the Anaheim's, the San Jose's, and all the rest. By May or so, 2008, I had finished my AP Exams, which essentially meant I finsihed those classes in school. I had a license. My parents decided to first travel to the Balkans, and then to India. I was alone at home (something I mentioned in the Euro 2008 post). Some would say that this was iraresponsible of them, but truly, I was the only irresponsible one, watching NHL playoff games past midnight on what were ostensibly school nights.

I can picture it now, me sprawled out on my family room couched, all the lights off, with the playoffs in Calgary or Vancouver on the TV, on what was at the time the 'Vs' Network. I knew little of these Western Teams, aside from my pull for the Sharks. But what I quickly learned was the game was a little bit different out West - faster, more skilled, more loud, more exciting.

The Goal Horns are deeper, punching the air with bellowing pitch. The crowds are just as good, if not better. Nowadays, every team does the 'have all fans wear the same color' gag, but it was started by teams out West during this era, the Flames and Oilers and so many more.

I have no idea if the hockey was better, but just the time itself made it more exciting. At the time, I had to technically get up around 6:45 to get to school by 7:40. But that didn't stop me from enjoying every second. If I wasn't alone at home sprawled on the couch, I was on my bed watching a stream of a game at a time when watching a stream meant shaking hands with the computer virus devil, and closing every ad and pop-up and rapid-fire pace. Streams are so much better now, but I do miss the old-days of vagabond sites that forced you to learn which of the three 'x' buttons was real.

Let's get to the disastrous effect. In 2008, my school band, of which I was the tuba player for (a story for another day), had a concert tour to Virginia in the May period. My parents were vacationing in the Balkans. I was supposed to go to my neighbors house the next morning around 7:00 for them to drop me off to school to catch the bus to Virginia. I decided to watch the playoffs the night before, once again sprawled out on the couch - never leaving that position until late AM.

I awoke to my neighbor in my house, yelling (more our of concern) for me to get up, woken to a stupor - one of the last 'woken up in a stupor' moments that had no alcohol involved in my life. Apparently I overslept various alarms, various phone calls. Somehow, my neighbor reached my parents in Croatia, who gave her the garage door code. I was late, probably reached around 8:00 instead of 7:30 - though I will say was definitely not the last person to arrive to teh school that day - maybe someone else was watching late night hockey too.

I can say surprisingly little about the 2008 playoffs out West. I do know the Sharks beat the Flames in seven games, a time when they were still seen as choking chokers (something they would skid into the next round losing in six to Dallas). The Avalanche beat the Wild, something that was fairly common back in teh day. The Stars beat the defending champion Ducks. I remember little about the actual games. I have no idea which late game it was that I was watching the night I should have been resting before our band trip.

One forgotten aspect that increased the joy of watching these games was that at the time since NBC was reticent to put any money into the NHL coverage, most of the late games were simulcasts of Canadian broadcasts, be it CBC or TSN. They had Canadian announcers, Canadian music, Canadian joy of hockey, most importantly. It was a great indoctrination into hockey for real.

By 2010, I was in college, a time when my earliest class went from 8:00 my first semester, to 2:00pm by 2nd semester Junion Year, I was routinely watching late night hockey. In fact, I coveted it. If anything, I wanted those late nigth games to go to triple OT, ending around 3am EST. I didn't want the intensity, the joy of the game, to end. I would cherish that first day of playoff hockey, when the last game would start at 10:30 or 11:00, and I could be up until 2:00am watching hockey, instead of mindlessly browsing the internet (let's be real, 'being asleep' wasn't a real alternative by then).

If anything, the worst part of getting to the Conference Finals round was that there were no more 10:00pm or later start-times. Things would be normal, would be sane. But I wanted the insane, the late nights, and it all started because I was able to experience it the year I finished my school effectively in April. So much of my life, be it my love of driving, the friend group I still have, my love of football, is due to my highschool life, from an academic pressure standpoint, more or less ending in early May, 2008. The first gift that period of my life bestowed upon me was the ability to stay up to watch the games I never could, and love hockey more than ever before.

The A to Zs of Santiago, Lima and Buenos Aires

As I wrote about in my last three posts, I jsut finished a quick jaunt through Santiago - made even quicker by a 13-hour delay at the start due to weather in New Jersey. Luckily for me, the weather and in reality the city as a whole, was quite perfect once we reached. This completes a trio of trips over the past three years to three great South American capitals, in Lima (2022, then rewent in 2023), Buenos Aires (2023) and Santiago. Such I do often with trips is to write about them A to Z style - in this case adding the total days across the three trips to similar in length to trips I've made in past where I've done A to Z lists about a single trip (Spain/Portugal in 2021, Korea in 2022, Japan in 2023). Anyway, here we go.

A. is for  Andes

The Andes Mountains, the beautifully regal mountain range that hugs South America's West Coast is the imposing backdrop in many ways to both Santiago and Lima. Now, it is in the literal sense for Santiago, with the city being in a high valley in the Andes, with images of mountains hanging over you at all times. For Lima, you can't see the Andes, but you can feel their presence in the weird climate of a place that is cloudy nearly all the time, but never rains. That impossibly odd climate is because of the Andes, in some degree. One of the reasons these are two of the best cities to visit weather wise lies due to that Mountain range.

B. is for  Bohemian Bellavista and Barranco

All three cities have great neighborhoods full of life, culture and amazing vibes. No two better, in my opinion that the twin bohemia-focused neighborhoods of Bellavista in Santiago and Barranco in Lima. There are some great similarities - from little artsy boutiques, to great craft breweries, to some great night spots, to great street art, and mainly just amazing vibes seeping through the walls. Like everything in Lima relative to Santiago, Barranco is grittier, but both are truly excellent spaces to spend evenings and nights.

C. is for  Carnaval

The world rise in fancy cocktail bars has made its way down to the Southern South America Capitals. Maybe not Santiago as much, but in Buenos Aires and Lima, certainly so. Carnaval is very much, well, a carnival of color, fun, excess and joy. It matches whimsy and tasty so well, with a crowd that is more into having a good time in a dimly lit, loud, DJ heavy spot. It combines the best aspects of the "fun" of South America, with the refinement of one of the best cocktail bars in the world.

D. is for  Don Julio Parilla   

I'm not the biggest steak guy. But even I can't pass up what is consistently named as the best steakhouse in the world. Don Julio Parilla, a steakhouse so good it gets mentioned way up the Top 50 Restaurants list in spots normally reserved for tasting menus. And you go there, get past the throngs of people crowding it from 6pm to 1am, and you realize why. Immediately as you enter their giant grill with truly huge, thick, cuts of steak, just bewow you. Beyond that, their appetiziers (gourmet sausages), sides (ember-fried potatoes) and incredible wine, all accompany that incredible steak. Worth the wait, worth the hype, worth it all.

E. is for   Eva Peron

Her grave is the main attraction in the Cemetery in Recoleta. Although that grave is super staid and laid back, at least compared to the pieces of sculpture good enough for art museums that are all over the rest of the world's fanciest graveyard (so I claim, at least). Her memory lives on in Argentina, and her dictator husband's legacy lives on too. I won't go into the darker stuff, but in a good way, it lives on with the lovely bistro Peron Peron, which had great food, greater kitschy decor with everything Peronista, and of course the greatest element of all, the playing of the Peronist March every 00:10 on the hour. By the thrid time we heard it, we were basically signing along.

F. is for   Funicular y Teleferico

The two modes of transport up and down Santiago's San Cristobal Hill are a beautiful getaway in the middle of the city. Santiago is spectacularly green, despite sitting in the valley of the Andes, and nothing is a better testament to this hill where the path up and down will lead through periods of palm trees, and evergreen forests, with incredible views and lush greenery on the way. The stops also are great to make it into an entire multi-hour event, to the San Cristobal monument and church, to the multiple cable car (Teleferico) stops on the way down. 

G. is for Gran Avenida

Another cheat here, but at least keeping it within the same language this time. Avenida 9 de Julio, the large, ten lane thoroughfare that cuts right through the bleeding heart of Buenos Aires, replete with its own Washington Monument like building, Teatro Colon and so much more. At this moment, you feel you escape South America and transport yourself right to Europe and North America. It is truly a grand avenue, truly a shining light for the city that extends in every direction around it.

H. is for  Human Rights Museum 

So, here's one where we'll use the English translation. Too many great aspects of the three cities coalesced within the same letter. The Museo de Memorias y Derechos is a beautiful three story work of art tied to explaining the darkness of the tyranny of the Military Junta that controlled Chile from 1973-1988, and the slow burning rise of freedom fighters, rebels and democracy that took hold in the late 1980s and has continued to turn Chile into the most stable and upwardly moving South American economy. The way it painstakingly talks about the events of September 11th, 1973, down to the incredible grassroots fight by the people to overturn Pinochet's dictatorship in teh 1988 election. It was a beautiful testament to a dark period of history.

I. is for Italia

This is not a drill people. There is a Barrio deep in Santiago named Italia. Are there Italians there? No, not really. What there is there are rows and rows of boutiques, craft shops, trendy bars, coffee shops, art adn craft fairs, and so much life. On the weekends, they close off the main blocks and make it into a never ending street and art collective fair. You never feel less in South America, in a very good way, than you are when stroll through Barrio Italia.

J. is for  Jaime Pessaque

As I've already written about and for sure will continue to focus on, there's a lot of convenience in how I'm going about this. In this case, to talk about the best restaurants in these cities, I'm going to flip between the restaurants name in some cases, and the chef in others. Here, we have Jaime Pessaque, the genius behind Mayta. Lima is such a tough market to break into the Worlds Top-50 fine dining game, what with the mainstays in maido and Central. Well, Chef Passaque created a masterpiece in Mayta - another spot showcasing the beauty of Peru's amazing culinary roots and ingredients. From dishes around serving Guanaco, to various preparation of Huacatay, to so much else, Mayta is a place just cresting to the top.

K. is for  Katedrals

Ok, this is probably my biggest cheat, literally changing a letter. But in my defense, "K" is an exceedingly rare letter in the Spanish language. Anyway, each city has a Cathedral in its city center (though in Lima's case, it's the city's old city center). All three are similar in their understated regality. None scream of the oppressive excess that seeps through each white marble column of Europe. No, this was trying to replicate grandeur with more homely ingredients, artists and paintings. Not to say their simple places. No, this is probably the perfect balance between simplicity and excess. And each hold some importance, to Francisco Pizarro's grave in Lima, to Jose de San Martin in Buenos Aires. All three are fairly Catholic countries (not Catholic enough that Don Julio Parillo was open and throbbing on Good Friday...), and their grandest testament to Catholicism is well placed.

L. is for  Larcomar

Lima's Miraflores, as we'll get to, is a suepr well built up neighborhood leaning on the coast, and nothing speaks to this better than their glistening, multi story open air mall literally built into the coastal cliffs itself in the Larcomar. The views of the long stretches of coastline, with the Malecon walk extending in both directions is lovely. So too are the endless food options, open-art arts and crafts fairs (including a memorable craft beer one on my first trip to Lima in 2016). It was a cosntant first stop on in the day, to get some fresh air, get some grub, take some photos and move outward across the Lima downtown in any direction.

M. is for  Maido 

Maido will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was the first proper tasting menu restaurant I ever went to, in October 2016 on a trip with two friends. It was an eye opening experience, seeing that food can get so creative, so good. And yes it was expensive (though still less then than it is now). I've since gone twice more, both for dinners, and the restaurant never ceases to amaze. It is Japanese in style, but I've slowly noticed on each trip back that while the basis remains Japanese nikkei cuisine, it has more and more local Peruvian ingredients. Some elements remain, like a course with a perfectly crafted nigiri, or mochi petit fours, but others are so wildly varied each time we go back. Maido is a magical place both for being my entry way into this level of cuisine, and my familiar first stop each time I go back to Lima.

N. is for 

O. is for Observatory Deck

South America is a land of tall mountains, with its regal Andes that I talked about back in the "A" section. However, it is very much not the land of tall buildings. The Grand Torre tower in Santiago at 300 meters is the tallest, but it is beautiful, standing regally above the skyline of the rest of Sanhattan (Santiago's financial district). Its observatory deck is one of the best I've been to as well - no pomp and circumstance - just giant window panes and great signage on things you can see from every angle. The best part - the clear view of the Andes in teh background.

P. is for  Palermo

I've talked about many neighborhoods so far, mostly those in Lima and Santiago, but there's some great ones within Buenos Aires too. Recoleta is the most famous, but far from the best in terms of culture, style, artwork and vibes. For me, Palermo is the best for that. Beautiful tree lined streets, street grafitti lined buildings (in a good way), and bars spilling out to the streets. Lovely to walk through in the day, even lovelier in the night. It's hard to miss Palermo, but so easy to love.

Q. is for  Quecha 

Buenos Aires from teh start screamed being a European style city masquerading in South America. Santiago is a nice happy medium between Europe and South America. Lima is the opposite, and its greater connection to its pre-Spaniard roots, most notably the Quecha people, is so pronounced. From the pottery, to the clothwork, to so much else, Quecha history is so present and lived in Lima. I'm probably being a bit too harsh on Santiago and its connection to keeping the Mapuche people's heritage alive, but it isn't as pronounced as Lima's connection to the Quecha's.

R. is for  Rodolfo Guzman 

Sr. Guzman is the mastermind behind Borago. I'll talk about Central in a bit, and I had heard of Borago being seen as the "Central of Chile", and it is startling how accurate that is. Borago was mindblowing, from the conception of the dishes, to the varied ingredients they use for it, from all over the weird climates that Chile has within its borders. Some of my favorites were the various genius interpretations and plays on seafood, the ridiculous monkfish and lobster dish, and of course that slender cut of Patagonian Lamb, spit-roasted all day. So simple, so expertly fatty and tasty. It was a perfect few bites, representing the larger perfection that was Borago as a whole.

S. is for   Sanguche's

I'm going to continue to cheat here by looping in the Choripan - Argentina's great hot dog type sandwhich - with the more traditional Sanguche so common in Santiago. Both are so positively great in their simplicity, and the way that more and more places are experimenting, with wackier ingredients, combinations, and growing what were sandwiches for workmen into mini pieces of art. And of course it is a fairly cheap meal, at least relative to how good you can eat elsewhere within both cities.

T. is for   Tres Monos

Tres Monos is arguably the most reputed cocktail bar in all of South America, and much like the also reputed Lima cocktail classic Carnaval, what I loved most about Tres Monos was how it so well mixed the mixology of Europe and Asia, with the vibes and style of Latin America. Not to say it was all Mezcal focused and the like, but it had a certain acidity and spiciness about it. My favorite part of the place was how just chill the vibe was. Large couches, long communal bar tables. There was no pretense, no exclusivity (other than the lengthy line), and no over the top ness. Just an incredibly fun place to monkey around.

U. is for  Under

I've often talked about my love for EDM/Techno clubs, which far outpaces my general love for that type of music (which I never really listen to outside of such clubs). Well, so far that is one thing say Asia has better, but Under in Buenos Aires is another story. Dark in a good way. Large in a good way. Three bars, all with ample bartenders. Two stages. Fun when half-full, even more fun when totally full. Few tables and tiers for special people - jsut a place for the everyman and everywoman who wants to have an amazing, headbanging time from midnight to 7am - true Buenos Aires hours.

V. is for   Virgilio Martinez

My last chef/restaurant letter is about the world reknowned genius behind Lima's Central - which was named the Best Restaurant in the World by the Top-50 folks in 2023. It is much deserved, holding its lofty Top-10 ranking for a solid decade now. I've gone twice, and it was incredible both times, while having just two overlapping dishes of its 14 course menu, one of which its "Cacao bean in 8 ways" dessert. The other dishes are ludicrous - art pieces in design and an inventiveness of botany and gastronomy in concoction. I've never been more just agape hearing descriptions of how they made their dishes. I'm sure the great restuarants of Europe are as artistic and brilliant, but I really can't think of anything bar my first meal at Gaggan, that will ever come close to this. So much anticipation, from Chef's Table, to seeing it rise up the rankings, and so well paid off in 2022 and 2023.

W. is for  Water Park of Lima

Another one where I'll go with the English spelling rather than the Spanish one, just to get my way and add it. The "Circuita Magica del Agua" in Lima is a wonderful park right smack dab in the middle of the city, with tons of truly beautiful water fountains, water spouts, water tunnels and a bunch of other creative uses of water. It's even more special at dusk, where they have lit colors added to the fountains, and light shows set to music, and it is a grand old time. What is even nicer is, as you can imagine, the place is often just a park for locals having a great time. Tourists can have a great time too of course.

X. is for  X-Rated Art

The Larco Museum is a great museum in general, but one of the best parts is the Erotic Art Gallery, on the ground floor on one side of the green, beautiful patio at the museum's base. It isn't porn in a classic sense. These aren't French paintings. These are hundreds of year old water jugs, plates, bowls, spades and other usable artifacts that all happen to have erotica sculpted and moulded in - be it phallic imagery or straight on people going at it. It isn't for the faint of heart, but when you walk through you realize the titillating name draws you in, but the haunting pottery under the haunting light, keeps you enrapt.  

Y. is for  

Z. is for  Zero Regrets 

I had never gone to South America until October 2016, when two of my friends and I took a trip to Peru. We loved it then, and then I loved it some more after visiting Patagonia in 2017/18. It took me then four years to go back - on a quick four-day lark of a birthday trip in 2022 back to Lima. That begat Buenos Aires adn now Santiago. Many people ask me often how weird it is that I go to different continents, 10+ hrs of flying time away, for four days. I respond by saying that the trips to South America are at the very least more practical than similar length trips to Cape Town. Our beautiful sister Continent on our half of the world has so much to offer, with the cherry on top of the lack of jet lag and time zone acclimation when you get there. Yes, it takes a while to get to Lima, Buenos Aires and Santiago, but when you get there you see such amazing places, such great local culture, cities developing on their own and getting better on each visit. South America is a magical place. The magic is in no way limited to just these three cities or the urban capitals, but those main cities are still so great.

Santiago Trip: Day 4

After a day of mostly doing things we did in 2018, today was a day of doing things that are mostly new. What it really did is cement for me my feeling that Santiago is the best South American city that I've visited, and unless say Rio de Janeiro is incredible or something, I imagine it won't be beaten. There is just a calm, pleasantness about the city that is exuded at all times. 

We started the day by going up San Cristobal Hill, the large hill at the back end of Bellavista. There is a hiking path up, but most go up by funicular. I have a hazy memory of the line being way too long to do it in 2018, but here the line was pretty minimal, at least when we went up. The funicular itself takes about four minutes and gives nice views, but there's a lot of trees around and the views are partially blocked because of this. No issue, because from the top iotself you get great views. There's also a giant statue of San Cristobal (unsure of his significance to Santiago) at the top where you get great views of the Western half of Santiago. 

The real treat though is the long cable car down from the top of the hill ending in Pedro de Valdivia, a posh residential neighborhood. The cable car takes about 10 min, and here you get the Eastern half, the more modern side of Santiago, with its glistening office buildings and manicured homes as far as the eye can see. It is in moments like this that you really see just how well developed Santiago is. 

Pedro de Valdivia is nothing fascinating, apart from some nice houses, but a quick walk towards the roaring Mapocho River, you get the sculpture garden. On the banks of the Mapocho is a long, slender park space that extends for pretty much the length of the city. It is cut into different sections, and here was a section of the sculpture garden, with about 30 different sculptures, all well dispersed in an area with minimal tree cover (in a good way). Tons of people just picnicking and lazing around. The sculptures themselves probably weren't to the level of say the sculpture park in Minneapolis, but uniformly nice all the same. 

The park was also on the way towards the start of the area of the city nominally named Sanhattan - given its office buildings and the like. The main one of which being the Gran Torre - a 900 foot building that is the tallest in South America. Chile has a few additional buildings say in the 400-500 foot range, but the Gran Torre really just stands out. It is a regal shaped building, and had a nice observation floor on the 61st and 62nd floors. The trip up and down was nice, easy and gave just great views of all parts of Santiago, and the mountains further afield - though with a bit too much haze (apparently caused by the Andes) to really see deep into the Andes.

This was a tight two hours of day time prior to our lunch at La Calma, another well reputed seafood spot, this one featured on Somebody Feed Phil. Once again, the place was just well put together. Really nice plating, really great dishes and a great attention to detail. I had a ceviche of abalone and limpets which was fascinating. The ceviche broth was notably spicier than I've normally had it, and the limpets and abalone were perfectly chewy. As chewy was my main of conger with confit garlic oil, which was fantastic. It was clear that La Calma jsut does seafood really well.

After lunch, which took a while as we enjoyed a leisurely pace, we went eastward towards the Museum of Memories & Human Rights (the name is cleaner in Spanish), which is a fascinating three floor museum in a very modern building, laying out the last bit of Chile's history - the military Junta led by Augosto Pinochet, his dictatorship and Chile's revolet back into democracy. Basically its a step by step view of 17 years (1973-1990), explained in pretty fascinating detail. One floor is about the junta itself, which I had no idea but Day 0 of the operation was September 11th. 

The second floor was about the darkness of the dictatorship - the terrors of the regime, life of political prisoners, etc. And the final floor about the last few years when revolt, uprising and finally democracy took over. Most of the final floor detailed the election in 1988, as for reasons I didn't gather, despite being a dictatorship they allowed an election in 1988 to basically ask the people if they wanted to keep Pinochet in power. The people voted no in a huge voting campaign where apparently 92% of the eligible voters voted. 

From there we headed to Barrio Italia, which was just lovely. I remember it distinctly on my first trip, but I think I didn't fully remember just how big the area was, and just how many shops and stalls it packed into its streets. Their main drag they had made pedestrian only, and it really is just you ping ponging from side to side stepping into these little small shop collectives that have 5-8 small shops selling random stuff, from record stores to cosmetics stores, to some with handicrafts, to some selling really fancy furniture. Barrio Italia is a shoppers heaven. Also interspersed in all of this are bars and restaurants and people generally just having a great time. Just a great place to spend a weekend afternoon, as so many of the lcoals were. This is very much not tourist season in Chile, so in a way it was great to see places like this packed with locals.

So too were a bunch of locals filling the brim of Patio Bellavista where we stopped by for a couple quick half-pours at Bar Spoh. I think Patio Bellavista has expanded since our trip in 2018 - then I remember it being primarily one courtyard, while here there were at least 3-4. courtyards, one of which was packed with what seemed to be a wine festival. It's stuff like this that's makes Santiago so interesting to judge or grade out. There are not a weeks worth of tourism sites (unless you count things 1-2 hours away, from the wine valley to Valparaiso) but it is absolutely the most livable South American city.

One of the tourist things there is to do, however, is Borago. One of the Worlds Top-50 Restaurants (and spoiler alert: I think underranked...), it is the shining light of Chile's culinary scene, and it was a masterpiece of a meal. I may do a dish by dish post later, as I did for say the first time I ate at Central, or Maido, or Gaggan. It is worthy of that type of praise, probably slotting in at #4 in all time meals (behind Gaggan the original, Central and Azurmendi). Just insanely cultivated presentations of amazing Chilean ingredients. Some of the masterpieces stick with me even as I write this a day later, particularly the show-stopper final main which is just a slice of baby Patagonoan lamb that has been cooked over fire all day, which is about as perfect a few bites I've ever had.

Borago was a showstopper event, but the show did go on for a few more hours and locations, mostly though a replay of the day before. We went back to Siete Negronis, which just has a really great vibe. Their cocktails are world class, but the place is far more fun, vibey and less pretentious than you wouild think for a place of such excellence. Right in the middle, as the clock in theory hit midnight on my Birthday, we were gifted an extra hour, as Chile's Daylight Savings Time ends at midnight on April 7th, pushing it back to 11pm, April 6th. 

The night finished up mostly at Espacio 93, which was less showy than the day before but still a whole lot of fun. I'll say it is edging a bit more on the hardcore techno scene than what I usually prefer, but it was quite a bit better than La Feria, even if both places have some positives. Santiago isn't reknowned for its nightlife, at least the way many other South American capitals are (particularly Buenos Aires, and of course Cartagena and Rio) but it is still quite good, dependable and fairly centrally located in buzzing Barrio Bellavista.

Santiago Trip: Day 3

Out of the four of us, myself and one other had been to Santiago before. The other two hadn't. One of the other two is taking next week off and venturing further South to Patagonia. With that housekeeping out of the way, I'll say that most of what we did today was stuff I did in 2018 - which is recent enough for me to remember most of it. Not to say it is a waste, because Santiago is a fantastic location, and I was filled a lot with nostalgia of my prior trip. I think a lot of the reason I loved Santiago was at was the end of probably the single favorite trip of my life.

The first stop was the Museo Nacional Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts), which is a nice building in a park about 15 min walk from the AirBNB. It is towards the main city center of Santiago, and an entry point into the dense section of tourism in that area. The one disappointment was that three of the exhibits were being renovated (a bit of a theme throughout our day - we are notably right after the main tourism season in Santiago). But beyond that was the lobby with Chilean sculptors in the late 1800s recreating Italian classics. The second floor had a series of exhibits showcasing Chilean modern art. The museum was free, and a quick pit stop right on the path of more of what Santiago has to offer.

Our next stop was Santa Lucia Hill, a park effectively on a hill with a castle-like building at the top. The main part of the building is for events, but there is a lot of surrounding gardens, patios and one castle steeple open, where at the top you get glorious views of Santiago, with mountains in the background in every direction. There was a slight haze at the top of the sky so the mountains were not as prominent, but lingering in the back and still quite imposing. The winding way down the Hill ends at Plaza Neptuno - a giant fountain structure, draped with a big Chilean flag. Santiago is an extremely green city, 

From there we went on a walk through Lastarria - a posh neighborhood with well manicured streets, houses, and little lanes with shops and restaurants galore. Our lunch spot was there - Jose Ramon Sangucheria - one of many sanguche shops, but one of the more reputed brands. The Sanguche is a religion in Santiago, and while some places get notable for just pounding as much stuff on the sandwhich as possible, Jose Ramon seemed more restrained. I got a sandwhich of hamburger, bacon, caremlized onions, sweet peppers, pickles and a chilean cheese, and it was great. Despite having a lot of caramelized onion and the pickles, the bread stayed dry and it was a delight to eat - alogn with a pint of Bar SPoH. Santiago too seems to really cherish its craft beer culture.

From lunch we went to the beating heart of the city, the Plaza de Armas, its large open square with the Santiago Cathedral on one side, and old historical buildings on the other three, one of which has been turned into the National Hustory Museum of Chile. The square itself was full of life, and if there's any criticism, it is that there are too many trees so that you can't get really great pictures of the entire square. I small criticism, and a totally unfair one, I know. 

The National History Museum showcases Chile's history from the Independence from Spain in the early 1800s, through to the military coup that put Chile under the rule of Augusto Pinochet. Now, that may seem weird for it to end with what is seen today as a black mark on the countries history - but it seems like Santiago has decided to make clear delineation's in its museums. This one will cover the country up to Pinochet, adn there's a separate museum, one that I didn't go to in 2018, which seems like it covers the rest.

The museum is a nice, quick journey through 180 years of history. The only negative is that the placards are only in Spanish, but I did my best to dust off my high school level Spanish to understand what I could. There was no such issue with langauge at the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, but before we go to that, we took a pit stop at the Cathedral.

I'm sure we went to it in 2018, but I honestly was shocked by how beautiful it was. Great paintaings on teh ceiling, ornate in all the right ways. Not ostentatious like in Europe, but probably as clsoe to a European style cathedral that you'll get in South America. Even all the side altars were regal and orante with sculpture and carvings. A really nice experience, and despite it being right off the Plaza de Armas, a bit of a hidden gem.

Not as much hidden is the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, a couple blocks away. I loved it in 2018, and loved it again today. This houses artifacts from the earliest inhabitants of Central and South America through to about the time the Spaniards came. A lot of the museum features artifacts from all areas of Central and South America that are very much not Chile - going through in great detail the earliest peoples, through to the Incas and Mayas and many other lesser known native groups. It's a fascinating museum especially since we don't really think of the "New World" having so much history in the way back BCs, but here we are with jugs and spears and plates from 6000 BC in some rooms.

They nicely keep all the Chile stuff for the basement, with a large ceiling and dark lighting creating this great visual setting as you walk around the various displays showcasing about 6000 years of Chilean history. Overall, the museum is a great showcase of art, artifacts and the staggering age of history on this side of the world.

Dinner was at Olam, a seafood forward restaurant of sharing plates opened up by a Chilean chef who used to work at El Bulli. It isn't a tasting menu spot, but given it was four of us, we split enough dishes for it to effectively be one. The place is pristine, as are the preparations. My favorite was a salmon belly tataki in a cold dashi and smoked, with the most beautiful smoke flavor you can imagine, or an abalone tataki served in a ponzu dashi with soba noodles and a 36-hour egg. Just immacualte dishes that work really well. The "Loco Dumplings" were probably our favorite though, rice and seafood dumplings with tamarind, huacatay and a smoked coconut milk broth. Perfect. Olam was a special spot, and a good place for our only non-tasting menu dinner.

I lied yesterday when I said that the one thing Santiago doesn't really have is a top cocktail spot. Today we ventured to Siete Negronis, which only a couiple years ago was ranked #66 on the Worlds Top 50 Bars list (yes, no idea why they call it a Top 50 and then rank 1-100...). It's mostly known for its, well, seven types of negroni, but also has a bunch of other creative cocktails. They are served in pretty small portions, though are also quite cheap. Overall, food in Santiago seems more expensive than you would expect, but drinks far cheaper. My favorite was the "Baconvardier" which has "fat-washed" liqour making a standard Boulvadier, with the added plus of a slice of cured bacon on top. Sure, it was a bit gimmicky, but it was also a bity crunchy and salty and tasty.

After drinks we went to two clubs in Bellavista, which was far more rowdy tonight than yesterday (no real surprise given today is Friday). The first was La Feria again, which was still quite good if a bit mainstream. The other was certainly not mainstream, in Espacio 93 - it was proeprly underground in the best way. It was also a weird "erotica" themed night, which was not what you would think but did involve a lot of people coming in chains and shit to the club. We were out of place in a way, but what you learn about places like this - no one is out of place. No one cares as long as you have a good time, which we all did to end a great first day in Santiago.

Santiago Trip: Day 1-2: The Long Journey Down

Getting to Santiago was a nightmare. Stuck on the tarmac for two and a half hours in Newark, because of one day of torrential rain. The day started with a two-hour connection in Panama, one of the most convenient airports to transfer through - just walk from one gate to another. But as I sat on the tarmac, I saw what was supposed to be a lengthy, safe layover dwindle minute by minute down. A decent while in I knew it was gone. In the moment I acted out over test to friends and family - really in a way that was not becoming, but the real issue was the next flight from Panama City to Santiago was only the next day at noon - there was no morning flight. So instead of a redeye and getting to Santiago at 7am on Thursday, I would arrive at 8pm.

The flights themselves were fine, and my brief time in Panama City was fine as well - grabbing a Courtyard with one colleague (our other two were flying a different route but had the same issue happen to them, missing a connection in Bogota). The hotel was in a mall that had a sports bar still open, which helped grab some last minute munchies. 

Anyway, after it all, and a nice stay in Panama's large, beautiful airport, we were finally touching down in Santiago, a good 13 hours behind schedule. It was already a short trip, in what has become an annual tradition for the four of us, a ludicrous jaunt down to South America for my birthday. Granted, I'm not a big birthday guy, but its more just to travel to what is quickly becoming my favorite Continent to visit. In 2022, it was Lima. In 2023, Buenos Aires. In 2024, it is the last of the three great southern South American giants, with Santiago - a city I absolutely loved over 1.5 days in 2018. I have consistently ranked it in my Top-5 favorite cities. This trip was for many things, but part of it was to test if that was a ridiculous ranking, or deserved.

Anyway, sitting back in our AirBNB, about 24 hours into what will be a 72-hour visit, I have to say things are trending well. There's a level of cool, calmness and development in Santiago that is just a level above anything else I've experienced in South America. We could tell from the drive from the airport straight to our dinner at 99 Restaurante - who nicely accomodated the four of us midway through the normal 8pm set meal (we got there by 9). The lateness made the dinner a bit odd - with us getting food out of order, basically playing catchup in between live prepared main courses, but it was great all teh same.

99 Restaurante was a place I went to in 2018 with my parents. Back then it was a tweezery tasting menu spot. It still is in some ways, but lived a lifetime in between. It closed during Covid and only recently reopened as a small 20-seat restaurant isnide the glistening CV Galeria - an office building with a large open foyer and underground floors host8ing numerous bars. Just a spectacular spot visually. Instead of the more haute stuff 99 served in 2018, they reopened with a more narrow focus. Every three months they pick a part of Chile, serve wines and dishes featuring ingredients native to that region and cooked in the way the natives could make. It is refined cooking, still 8 courses, but with a more homely touch.

Here they were focusing on the Huasco Valley, an area to the North tucked away right before the Atacama desert hits hard. The wines were gerat. The food was better - with a mix of seafood, goat (from the meat to goat milk, goat cheese, goat milk curds, etc.). Chile is not as noted as Peru for cuisine, but much like Peru it has a whole host of climates and regions within its borders and our trip to Huasco was a nice one.

Still with bags we then went to our AirBNB in the heart of Barrio Bellavista, the main bohemian / bar area of Santiago. The heart of nightlife. It wasa a little barrio I loved in our one meal and after meal driks in 2018. Since then I've been to quite a few nice neighborhoods in South America, from the Recoleta in Buenos Aires and Barranco in Peru. Bellavista is right up there, a beautiful little 8x8 block of life.

To end our night, we went first to Bar SPoH, which is on the ground floor of Patio Bellavista, a cascading series of balconies of restaurants and bars, all with an open air patio in the middle. It;s a wonderful spot that had both the craft brewery (great Imperial Stout) and a cocktail bar named Red Luxury. Now, if there's anything a couple days in that I can say Chile is not great in is cocktails. Not that they're bad, but not to the level of say Carnaval in Lima - but the beer at Bar SPoH was fantastic, as was our experience at Club La Feria to end the night.

There are 4-5 different techno clubs in Bellavista, two of which we went to on Thursday Night. Club Ambar was a bit too "clubby" - with small tables mixed into the dance floor and more "scene" than "songs". Feria was the opposite. It isn't underground, with a high ceiling and two levels, but had great DJs, decently priced drinks (though oddly had run out of club soda...) and a good sized crowd for late on a Thursday. The best part was it was four blocks away from the AirBNB, and also past a few food carts that let us get the final snack before ending our adventurous, long trek to Santiago.

My Favorite Restaurants: Top-30 Tasting Menus, Pt. 3 (#8 - #1)

8.) Salon  (Cape Town - 2024)

One of my only real regrets through all my trips to Cape Town is taht I never made it to The Test Kitchen, which for years was the premier single restaurant in Cape Town. Bookings were frighteningly tough. Then Luke Dale Roberts closed it during Covid, but I guess got the itch back to open a fine dining spot. It was incredible, a culinary tour through all the spots the Chef Roberts has worked or taken inspiration from. Brilliant South African dishes to be sure, but also a foie gras take on black forest cake, a brilliant "tamale" dish featuring the most Mexican of flavor profiles, to a brilliant play on Duck l'Orange, to authentic Korean to end it. It was all brilliant. In isolation, maybe you would worry about how successfully a place could pull off all these different cuisines, but apparently Mr. Luke Dale Roberts is a talented, worldly man - and after going to Salon, if anything I rue not having gone to The Test Kitchen even more.

7.) Mingles  (Seoul - 2022)

Mingles is Seoul's top ranked restaurant, and after going I can see why. It was a classic tasting menu shop, with sharp clarity on its menu, its decor, its everything. It also had a really nice 'Korean Liquor' pairing along with the wine pairing, something I took that got me to taste various different Korean localized liquors. The meal itself was great, with some of the best, most interesting dishes I've had, such as a great king-crab two ways dish, a brilliant take on surf & turf (pork & squid stuffed oyster, along with a braised beef cube), to an incredible lamb three ways dish as the primary main. The vegetable dishes were also spectacular, such as a corn soup dish that opened my eyes to just how sweet corn can be. Mingles was a special restaurant showcasing the best of modern Korean cuisine.\

6.) I Pupi  (Sicily - 2019)

This was the second tasting course meal we had in our trip to Italy in 2019, and while the first one - Imago in Rome - was a big disappointment, the seafood-forward I Pupi in Bagheria, Sicily (about 30 min away from Palermo) was incredible. Their first course of a random assortment of small bites was inspired, each being seafood forward. The second plate which was a platter with six nigiri on it with six different salts to add on top was divine, and while not 'Italian' in any way was just an insane dish. The rest of the meal got more Italian, but still small, focused, refine, seafood plates, from a zuchinni noodle wrapped fish, to an incredible soup, to lamb chops (the only meat). Each dish was so well put together, alternating from amazing small bites to dishes that approached the size of a normal restaurant starter, to everything in between. This was just a fabulous meal and such a nice comeback after being disappointed with Imago earlier in that trip.

5.) Maido  (Lima - 2016, 2022)

Maido will always have a soft spot for me as it was the first tasting menu spot I went to, at a time where I didn't really know just how well reputed it was. We went for lunch, unable to get a dinner reservation but the menu is the same either way. It is a japanese-peruvian kaiseke meal that is just perfectly designed, executed, presented and crafted. 13 courses, all seafood based, all incredible, from various nigiris, to incredible takes on ceviche, to a choripan of fish & octopus sausage, to a very complicated but inredible soup decanted in front of you. Even the deserts of sea urchin and what they call the 'reef' which is a giant edible reef rock, are wild. I'm sure there are places in Japan that are just as good and more 'authentic', but this is my favorite take on Japanese cuisine ever. Just now I remember being mesmerized at each dish, on how it looked when it was brought out, on the complexity of the way it is described and of course on how it tasted. This, and to be fair the two above it, are peerless for me in the sense that I have zero idea how to recreate any of these dishes. They are simple while being complex, each ingredient, each little piece just so perfect. I hope to go Lima's other world reknowned restaurant Central at some point (maybe even this year, to which I will have to likely re-write this list to add it in), but if we could only go to one premier spot last time, Maido was a perfect pick.

4.) Gaggan Anand  (Bangkok - 2022)

Because of many reasons, I'm going to rank my 2nd trip to a Gaggan Anand restaurant separately from the first one. One reason is it technically is a different restaurant, in a different space. Another is the experience was different - this is a restaurant where he serves just at a chef's table to a group of 14 people. And the biggest difference was Gaggan Anand himself was present, was there to talk to the patrons, the entire thing being equally an experience along with the food. The food was still great, with some of the most inventive dishes I've ever had with insane preparations that he explained so well. It still had all the measure of excitement, like random things that tasted like tom yum soup, or charcoal chicken balls or a dried paper lightly filled that tasted just like hummus. It was classic Gaggan, classic modern cooking, and the only restaurant on this list whre the Chef was there to personally chat with and serve to the customers. The old restaurant is higher up the lsit because at the end I think the food was even better, but my second trip to a Gaggan was about as good as I could have imagined.

3.) Azurmendi  (Bilbao - 2021)

Azurmendi came as close as any meal I've had to unseating what might be a lifetime pick at #1. The basque restaurant certainly met it for downright creativity and presentation. From the picnic basket of small bites, to the greenhouse where they were literally picking up roses from a garden bed before you realized it was sorbet, to of course each incredible bite at the table. All in all they technically had 27 dishes, almost all of which were excellent in their design, freshness, preparation and ultimately taste. My favorites of the small bites were the cod fish brioche and the truffle meringue, just incredible little bites. The daiquiri rose was incredible, from presentation to taste. The asparagurus three ways and play on fish taco were divine. The tempura oyster was maybe the best bite I've ever had, and the ending dishes of cod tart and iberico pork were just sublime. They have a rich tapestry to which to create from local produce and Iberian meats and fishes, but Eneko Atxa's brilliant mind puts it to incredible use.

2.) Central  (Lima - 2022)

Very likely next year Central will be named the best restaurant in the wrold by San Pellegrino in their World's Best 50 list. It is well deserved (the restaurant ranked above it for me has reached similar heights on the same list). The dishes are both uniformly incredibly tasty, and ridiculously inventive. As shown on his turn on Chef's Table, what chef Virgilio Martinez and his team create are art pieces, they're stunning, they're beautiful, they look as good as any dishes I've had, and they were all very good. From dishes made out of random amazonian vegetables, to amazonian fish, to incredibly weird lattice things, to some of the most inventive desserts I've had, including a panoply of peruvian chocolate as the final dish. The best part of the restaurant is how focused the theme is, with showcasing hte beauty of Peru across elevations and its various weird ingredients. It may not have been as many courses as it was in its height pre-covid (I believe 18, now down to 14) but I can only imagine what the four extra would have been.

1.) Gaggan  (Bangkok - 2019)

I don't know if any restaurant will ever top Gaggan, which had so much hype entering in, having seen it on Chef's Table, see it rise up the world rankings, and it being Indian focused. I was expecting a lot, and it somehow overdelivrered. The 25 course menu was just perfect from the start of audacious versions of famous Indian street food (still unsure how my little bit of what looked like a cracker with foam and curry leaf tasted like idli sambar), to the mains of prawn balchao, decronstructed curries, a perfect lamb leg, and multiple Japanese dishes during Gaggan's Japanese phase. The setting, sitting at the chef's table watching his sous chef's go to work, with Gaggan's noted love of Heavy Metal ringing through the speakers, was a delight. IT was so well paced, 25 dishes of 3:30, never once making you feel like you're being rushed through each delectable dish. It is astounding to think this is what is possible with Indian food, that this is how good a menu can be even if you limit yourself to just five meat courses in the 25, and how great an atmosphere, a perspective, a cuisine and a legendary chef can concoct together.