Bye Bye Chile: Astrid & Gaston, Terminal Issues, and AA Lounges
On our last evening in Santiago, Andreas and I decided to really indulge and made reservations at Astrid & Gaston (Antonio Bellet 201). I had read only good reviews of the restaurant, which specializes in Peruvian cuisine, and it was another recommendation from Andreas’ friend. I had missed out on going to Astrid & Gaston in Buenos Aires, so was very excited that we were going to experience it in Santiago.
Reservations are a must! We walked into the restaurant and were surprised by how packed the place was. Since we had a reservation, our table was waiting for us. Our waiter was beyond attentive, and he spoke English. You can request an English menu as well. I don’t think “indulged” is really a fair assessment of what we did at the restaurant. We went over the top and went above and beyond our usual damage in restaurants. Be forewarned, the prices are quite pricey, but the quality of the food, presentation, and service made “the arm and the leg” that we paid worth it. We ate so much that everything is a blur. For my main course, I had the Ají de gallina, a favorite dish from Lima. The dish is a chicken stew made in a puree of yellow peppers, pecans and sunflowers. We also had appetizers, a bottle of wine, and desserts. All very delicious!
The restaurant attracts plenty of foreigners, but you’ll also see the elites of Santiago, those who can afford the hefty prices. Because the restaurant is very popular, the noise level tends to get loud. And the waiters are always running around the tables tending to the restaurant patrons. Having said all of that, if you want an experience in fine dining, I would definitely go to Astrid & Gaston.
The following day Andreas departed first, as he had an early flight to northern Chile to work on one of the telescopes. My flight was not until later in the evening but needed to depart the apartment by noon. I had the brilliant plan of purchasing a day pass for the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge, which was $50, and chilling out in the lounge before my flight in the evening — but little did I know! My cab got me to the airport by 1pm, and I made my way to the American Airlines counter only to discover that the staff would not get there until 5pm! I was livid and annoyed. I had to wait 4 hours before I could check-in. There is literally nothing in the departure’s terminal to do. Needless to say, once 5pm rolled around, I was the first in line to check-in. At least I had about 3 hours that I could kill in the Admiral Club lounge.
The Admiral Club lounge in Santiago is dated, but there are few redeeming things in there. Free Wi-Fi is one, but the signal is quite inconsistent. Non-alcoholic refreshments, finger sandwiches, and magazines galore are the other pluses. But other than that, it’s certainly nothing to write home about. Forget about even attempting to video Skype. The Wi-Fi is very bad. Don’t even get me started with the actual American Airlines flight back to the U.S. Andreas and I both agreed that the AA flight to and from Santiago is exceedingly dumpy (especially when you compare it to a LAN flight).
All in all, my trip to Chile was fantastic – a week is just not enough time to give to such a marvelous country. So I look forward to my return!
