I head off for Santiago this afternoon on the way to Easter Island, and on the recommendation of Chilean food critic Raul Yañez Campos, I’ll be having dinner Thursday at Picada Ana Maria. I trust his taste, so without doing much research, I took him up on his offer to speak to the owners and get us a reservation.

But this, according to the Ulterior Epicure blog, is what we’re in for:

Ana Maria has become an institution of traditional Chilean cuisine, one that focuses heavily on fresh seafood and roasted game. I went twice, once with Guzman, and once with Foods From Chile.

They don’t do small at Ana Maria. When you order quail, three whole birds arrive in a brothy stew of vegetables. When you order wild boar, you get three, large, fists of meat in a sticky, ginger glaze (one of my favorite dishes here). Giant Patagonian pine nuts arrived in a bowl. Spliced lengthwise, each pine nut was at least an inch in length. The texture of cooked chestnuts, they were simply sautéed with some herbs.

And, when you ask for sea urchin, they bring you a whole plate of them: fat, creamy, sweet.

Locals disagree on how to eat their sea urchins on toast – whether to dress them, or eat them plain, with little more than salt and lime. At Ana Maria, the owner’s son, who ate with Guzman and me, prefers sea urchin on toast with a smear of butter, some salsa verde, lime, salt, and a spot of extra virgin olive oil. I tasted both versions, and I prefer them dressed the way the owner’s son likes them.

For dessert, we were served a smattering of Chilean fruits, including a cup of diced quince, which I especially loved for its tartness.

And here are some pics.

Sounds like I’d better do plenty of walking tomorrow in Santiago to earn that dinner …