After what seemed like a terribly long walk from Renaca to Vina del Mar, we got lost on backstreets looking for a quiet place to rest our bones and drink sangria until our kidneys sang. Actually, we were looking for congrio, which we found at Aqui Jaime. Quiet. Clean. Enclosed outdoor seating with a view of the street (and within earshot of all the car horns). Congrio a lo macho was superb, with the local fish topped with various mariscos and a rich sauce. Sangria was a beautiful jug-job laced with fresh fruit.
But the highlight was our waiter, Senor Jose from Trujillo, Peru. He said, for the best seafood in South America, we must go to Trujillo. More importantly, he was attentive, informative, and friendly to us gringos. From time to time, he would come by and add an ice cube or two to our sangria glasses.
All class. Coming from someone totally classless, like me, this is saying something (seriously, I am a scoundrel). read more
