"El Completo" may actually be Chile's national dish, not the empanada. And El Portal claims to…read morehave the best completo in Chile. Mr. Bahamondes, the previous owner of the restaurant, brought the hotdog from NY to Chile.
Complete means complete. This is a pretty ordinary hotdog in a very tasty bun with everything on it. My wife got the Italian: loads of mayo, avocado and tomato. Green, white and red -- the colors of the Italian flag .
I had an individual pizza with cheese, black olives and a ton of anchovies. Super tasty.
El Portal is fast, inexpensive and the portions are huge. As a Chilean friend used to say, bueno, barato y 'bundante. (Good, inexpensive and abundant).
Every locale on the ground floor of this building on Plaza de Armas competes with their own completo and everyone claims to have the best. The helpful lady at the museum advised that Ravera, the one on the far right, is the best. And maybe it is.
Just be sure to get a completo while you're in Santiago -- it's a cultural experience.