A long time ago, I made the choice to remain single. I really did not want to deal with relationships and I was genuinely happy to take life’s journey on my own. Little did I know that the Universe had a completely different plan for me. I met my (now) husband on September 12, 2012 at a wine tasting in Beverly Hills. Fast forward a year, and he proposed on September 12, 2013. Keep going… we got married April 12, 2014. Why does this matter? Well, it leads me into this restaurant… Boragó.
My husband and I have always had South America on top of our lists for travel. So when we planned our wedding, we planned it specifically to coincide with the wine harvest in South America. (If you’re a wine-o and you know it, clap your hands!) So April was an easy choice. Before we went on our honeymoon, we did our research and made sure we hit up the top restaurants. So begins the story of Boragó… a progressive restaurant in Santiago, Chile that collects its ingredients only from a 150 km radius of the restaurant.
Boragó is in the top 10 restaurants in Latin America as published by Restaurant Magazine (number 8, actually). It is located in the nicest area of Santiago, Chile. There are wide streets, and beautiful parks; you’d hardly know you’re in Santiago compared to the rest of the city. The restaurant looks very minimalistic from the outside. You almost have to know what you’re looking for to find it. Once inside, the minimalism continues with small boulders on every table and a lonesome plant in the middle of the dining room. I loved it! The outside perimeter is surrounded by greenery. It’s truly a beautiful setting.
The amuse bouche was a series of 5 different bite size pieces. As it filled our table, our jaws got lower and lower. This is like no amuse bouche we’ve had in L.A. And no, it didn’t end there… it continued with a can of sardines, but let’s call it an adult can of sardines. It was filled with a salty “dirt” and a sauce at the bottom of the tin. It’s indescribable, delicious, and confusing. My brain was saying, “stop eating the dirt!” but my heart said, “Oh my God, is there more?”
Our official courses began with a dish called “Pichanga de Punta de Tralca.” Forget the name, it was gorgeous! There were beet balls, and the liquid from the beets was incorporated into the farmer’s cheese. The branch had a dried prune hanging on it. I LOVED the minimalism!
Our second course was called “Huepos de Niebla” – and in my world, this translates to ‘an artistic and beautiful dish that resembles the breeze at the beach.”’ This was a carpaccio of Hamachi all arranged on the side of the dish with greens standing up as if to portray a light breeze passing through.
We enjoyed three more courses, all more interesting than the next, and each paired perfectly with a wonderful wine. I enjoyed a soft boiled egg, twice. My husband, while tough and strong (all of 6 feet 6 inches), doesn’t like soft eggs. Our fourth course was a beautiful blend of darkness. It was absolutely delicious. And our final savory course was veal covered in milk skin… so rich and succulent.
What truly captured our attention was the grand finale, the duo of desserts. Each had earth elements and were deconstructed. Both were also paired with beer instead of wine which was a nice little change. It was a beautiful end to a perfect evening.
We were so moved by the experience, we asked to meet the chef. Rodolfo Guzmán came out of the kitchen and chatted with us for a bit. We talked about his travels to California, and we shared with him that we were there on honeymoon. We are so grateful for the best meal of our trip… and hope to return again soon! Maybe it was the fact that we were on honeymoon, but we had an amazing time, and one of the best meals we have ever shared together.
To whatever else the Universe has in store…. Cheers!
Maylynn Jakubowski is a Spiritual Counselor that works and lives in Los Angeles. You can find her through her website, www.SpiritLightDivine.com, or find her on twitter, @oenophile79.