Bistec a lo Pobre (or Poor Man´s Steak) in Valparaiso, Chile

Sam Sadle updates us from Valparaiso, Chile.

Those who know me well might have heard me say this once or twice, “I’ll have what he’s having.” This is in my opinion the best way to find good food. In this particular case it might have led me to the edge of a heart attack, or so the story goes:

It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon and Lisa wanted to go antiquing. Apparently this is something people do for fun. I think it has something to do with leaf peeping, but I´m not so sure. Either way after about an hour of perusing through old ship parts and discontinued Chilean money, I found something much more interesting, a card game. Apparently there’s this game in Chile that I´ve seen nowhere else called Brisca, (which now that I look on wikipedia I see is played throughout Mediterranean Europe and much of South America). Good to know. Anyways, after about a half an hour of watching old men play Brisca and listening to me mutter about how it looks like the seven through nine cards have different characteristics than the others, Lisa decided she had enough and ducked away into the nearest cafe to have a cup of coffee. About another frustrating half an hour later (in which I still had no idea how the game was played regardless of the old man´s attempts to explain the rules to me in Spanish), I walked across the plaza and join her.

The cafe served what is called in South America “comida typical” or typical food. In this case it’s Chilean seafood stews (see below for more details) and other cheap cuts of meat. Not sure what to order, I look around and spot an elderly couple enjoying two identical plates of food. This couple is exactly what you´d expect to see in an aging diner. Dressed straight out of the fifties, they look as if they´ve been together long enough and know each other well enough that they don’t need to speak or make eye contact anymore, but were obviously very much still in love (well, at least they tolerated one another). Either way, what was most interesting was the pile of golden brown fries topped with something I couldn’t quite make out (no glasses). I continued to look around and saw pretty much everyone in the place was eating the strange looking pile of golden brown fries topped with something. So I figure, if everyone else is jumping off the bridge, I might as well join them in the water. When the waiter asks for my order and I simply point at the old people behind me. He glances at the tour book sitting on the table and then asks if I’m sure that’s what I want. Now, starting to worry, I say yes and he shakes his head.About five minutes our waiter returns with a stupid grin on his face and this in his hands:

Now this not the best picture and you may not be able to see exactly what he´s carrying. Bistec a lo Pobre (or Poor Man´s Steak) is a very simple dish. Take one pile of french fries, add one poor quality steak, a pile (literally) of grilled onions and top with…. wait for it…. wait for it…. two eggs fried over easy. Yes, it is a heart attack on a plate and I could feel my arteries seizing up, but it was an experience I will never forget. Bistec a Lo Pobre is an amazing concoction. It takes some of man´s greatest inventions, beef, grilled onions, and french fries, combining them all on one plate. It truly is a masterpiece.

I would post a recipe but it seems pretty simple to make. Enjoy at your own peril!