A Lo Pobre

Chile has many dishes to which Chileans consider to be their own creation. Bistec a lo pobre is one of them. It literally translates as “Poor Man’s Steak”, this dish is anything but for the poor man. For starters it’s normally one of the expensive items on the menu. But after eating it, any poor man would be very content and feel like a king.

I imagine that once upon a time, when meat was in more abundance and the population less, it was considered a very basic dish. But as time went on, the population grew, the cut of meat got better and bigger, the proportions got bigger and bigger, and finally the price grew, until it is the size and price it is today.

You can find either lomo or bife a lo pobre or in some places pescado a lo pobre in literally every low to mid range restaurant in the country. Some upper class restaurants will serve it, but most consider it a very simple dish. Well it is.

It basically consists of a very large piece of meat, normally lomo, and I mean large. An even larger portion of chips. 2 fried eggs, normally done in the South American way of being over done, but sometimes just right. All this is hiding a delicious portion of fried onions cooked in a nice salsa.

As you can imagine it’s a mammoth plate of food, easily enough for 2. Although I am a greedy git, and refused to share a plate of this with Lina. Even though I should have, maybe my ever expanding belly wouldn’t be as ever expanding if I had of.

I had once pescado a lo pobre. Which was well same same as above but with fried fish. Hey it worked.

All this is best downed with a litre of Escudo. A delish Chilean beer. So far my fave in Latin America. Yes, better than Quilmes. Hard to believe I know, but its true.