Archive for 'Chilean'

Barros Luco Is Just What New York’s Chilean Food Fans Have Been Waiting For

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After visiting Chile last winter, I returned to New York City looking to feed my new-found craving for all the foods I had discovered on the trip. I needed an Empanada de pino, a heaping plate of chorrillana, completos, and churrasco sandwiches. And I wanted to wash it down with a mote con huesillos.   And while you’d think NYC has pretty much every cuisine you could ever possibly want, for some reason Chile is woefully underrepresented… especially in Manhattan, where Pomaire (on 46th btw. 8+9th) is pretty much your only option (and too expensive for my taste.)

Well, this week my prayers to the food god of all things Chilean were answered when Barros Luco opened on 52nd Street, just east of 2nd Ave.  Taking over the space that was occupied by 99 Miles to Philly, it’s pretty far out of bounds for Midtown Lunch’ing purposes… but I will walk that extra 5 minutes when avocado topped hot dogs are involved!

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Barros Luco is Bringing Chilean Sandwiches to Midtown East

August is shaping up to be “Crazy New Chains” month.  After weeks of being all carts all the time, it looks like  Midtown has switched gears.  Last week it was the piada, and yesterday we heard about the middle eastern Chipotle, and the kolache.  But out of all of those, I think I’m most excited for this latest one… Barros Lucco: a new, Chilean quick service lunch spot taking over the old 99 Miles to Philly location on 52nd and 2nd.  That particular out of bounds location seems a tad bit cursed, since it has seen burgers, and philly cheesesteaks fail in succession.  But these are Chilean sandwiches!  Something you can’t get anywhere else in Midtown.

The menu will not only feature Chilean sandwiches, like the churrasco, and chacarero, but also the completo- a Chilean hot dog topped with mayo and mashed avocado.  The owner was born in Chile, and the Barros Luco website links to two posts I wrote about an actual Chilean completo and churrasco, so I have high hopes that this place will be bringing the real deal to Midtown. Want to see what they are supposed to look like?  Check it out after the jump.

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Chilean Lunch: Chorrillana, Completos, Empanadas, & Seafood From My Vacation Last Week

After 10 days of eating my way across Chile, I can’t say I was too excited for lunch yesterday.  A week and half of amazing Chilean food is not easy to replace with a boring $9 sandwich.  The only Chilean restaurant I know in the area is Pomaire on 46th btw. 8+9th, but that is way out of the Midtown Lunch price range.  Hopefully some cheaper options exist (or will pop up in the future).

Here are some of the lunch’ing highlights from my trip, that I am hoping are available somewhere in Midtown:

“Un Completo”, aka a Chilean “Hot Dog with the works”- only instead of sauerkraut and relish, it’s topped with salsa, tomatoes, guacamole and mayo.  This one was enjoyed New Year’s Eve in Valparaiso. ($1)

Empanada de Pino –  Baked pastry filled with meat, egg and olives.  Delicious.  This one (the first of many on the trip) was enjoyed just outside the Mercado Central in Santiago.  They also make cheese and seafood version (plus fried versions), but this one is the most common. ($1)

Raw seafood, the national drink of Chile (and it’s not a Pisco Sour), plus the artery clogging mountain of meat and french fry wonderment that is Chorrillana, after the jump… Read more »