On November 2, 2010, I made my first visit to Santiago's Mercado Central (Central Market). It is not, as I had partially expected, a big market with lots of fruit and veggie stands. It is mostly known for its seafood, both for purchase-and-take-home, and also in the form of restaurants. According to my rough translation of the website blurb:
"The Central Market of Santiago is the place with the largest concentration of gastronomic locations that commercialize typical regional dishes. In its installations you can enjoy varied dishes that come from the maritime zone or from rivers, from the hands of the best chefs of the Metropolitan Region (i.e. Santiago). Thanks to its historical transcendence it has been transformed into a place that people demand to see, proof of that being the great quantity of tourists installed in the urban area."
Like I said, it's a rough translation. But you get the basic idea. You can also find various touristy trinkets and mementos that you can mostly find throughout the rest of the city, too. All in all it is neither terribly big nor terribly impressive, but a place you should visit if you make it here, and fantastic if you like seafood.
During my first visit I simply went for lunch with a friend and tried the paila marina, a seafood soup, which was heavy but excellent. It is a typical Chilean dish and I definitely recommend it.
I took very few pictures on this occasion -- two, to be exact -- but the second one was a pretty nice view from the second-floor of the restaurant we were at:
My next trip to El Mercado Central came a few weeks later and was not at all seafood-related. To be covered in an upcoming post. :)
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