Empanadas are snack-sized turnovers filled with meat, cheese, or shellfish, and are a staple of daily life, not to be missed. Fresh-baked bread, in a variety of styles, is available in local panaderias in even the smallest towns. A surprising variety of excellent sandwiches make for good, quick meals. Chile's seafood is unequalled in variety and quality. Mussels, clams, and urchins, oysters and scallops, salmon and sea bass, the list of fish and shellfish goes on and on, and a morning visit to fish markets anywhere in the country is an overwhelming sensory experience.
Paila marina is a delectable shellfish stew available throughout the country.
North American and European visitors will find the quality of red meat served here to far exceed that which they are accustomed to. From north to south, Chilean cuisine is as varied and unexpected as the country's marvelous geography.