According to wikipedia.net, Viña del Mar is Spanish for "Vineyard of the Sea." It is the name given to a commune and coastal city in the Valparaíso Province of Chile. Viña del Mar is best known as a tourist and beach destination. It hosts an annual music festival, called the Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar. A google search for Viña del Mar pulls up travel vacation packages and almost cliché beach scenes. Does South America ever advertise beaches without sparkling blue waters, white sand, or beautiful bikini clad women?

In Ottawa, Vina del Mar is the name of an unassuming Chilean eatery in the Hintonburg area. My better half and I visited the nearly one year old restaurant after I sat for a hair cut at Celebrity Hair Design, which is just down the street on Wellington. After approximately twenty minutes under the masterful care of Rob, husband of dear friend and foodiePrints fan Sean, I exclaimed to Jenn that I was hungry. We had skipped breakfast that Saturday morning, racing to the salon to make it to my appointment. Once he put in his finishing touches, Rob suggested we try Hino's as he and Sean wanted to read my review before going there themselves. I chose to give Vina Del Mar another chance.

Ever since I read Xpress' food critic Simon Osborne's review of the establishment (dated April 17, 2008), I was excited to try its reportedly sublime Chilean street food fare. During Mademoiselle Ling's visit to Ottawa, last summer, I did. Late one Saturday evening, she and I picked up two platters to go, one featuring an empenada and another a half rack of ribs.

Empenada

Ribs
The empenada came with a fresh romaine lettuce salad. The ribs, peas and rice. Since we ordered both platters at the end of service, I surmise we were served what best the kitchen could muster. The empenada's pastry was thick and stale. Its filling of ground beef, black olives, hard boiled egg, onion, and raisins was tasty but cold. The ribs tasted as if they were warmed from slow cooked leftovers left to cool in the fridge. The rice was hard. Neither dish met the expectations set by Osborne's normally reliable review.

Happily, my better half and I were much better served after my haircut. This time, we ate in the restaurant and we arrived during the beginning of service.

As for the restaurant itself, please pay no mind to the brightly coloured walls, strange tiling, and vacation magazine cutouts that decorate every exposed surface.

Interior
These elements are meant to brighten the eating area and establish an informal atmosphere. Besides, it works remarkably well when bright midday sunlight spills into the dining room from the bay windows at the front of the restaurant.

The friendly owner, Hugo, is the front of house staff. His wife cooks up a storm in the kitchen. He invites patrons into the restaurant and checks up on them regularly to make sure they are comfortable. She prepares what Osbourne calls "Chilean comfort food" that makes up the restaurant's menu.

Like Osboure, Jenn ordered the pastel de choclo, ostensibly a Chilean take on the British Cottage Pie.
Topped with a mixture of what we presumed to be mashed plantains and potatoes, the filling consisted of ground beef, an entire chicken leg, black olives, boiled egg, onion, and raisins. Yes, save for the chicken leg, this closely resembled the empenada filling. The difference: it was served piping hot.

Chilean Cottage Pie
Jenn thoroughly enjoyed her meal, even squealing with delight when she found an entire chicken leg embedded under the sweet and starchy topping.

Me, I ordered the pichanga. According to Wikipedia.net, pichanga is a communal or "common table" dish where people serve themselves. It usually consists of a mixture of different ingredients, including french fries, beef, chicken, cheese, egg and sausage.

Mine was a single serving of different meats, topped with hand cut fries. The fries were freshly fried, crisp on the outside and tender in the middle. It was served with hot sauce.

Pichanga

Pichanga with Hot Sauce
The hot sauce consisted of various sweet and hot peppers and chopped tomatillos mixed with vinegar. It provided a fruity brightness as well as spice to the meal. If you are not served a bowl of "sauce" with your pichanga, ask for one. The flavor contrast adds depth to the dish.

The pichanga had grilled bone-in chicken, grilled German sausages, slow cooked then grilled ribs, and sweated onions.

Pichanga Deconstructed
The chicken was tender and flavorful. The sausages were juicy. The ribs, though twice-cooked, were very tender. The onions added texture and savoriness.

Hugo recommended the pichanga to me as I was literally starving. It hit the spot. When I finished, I was stuffed and happy. Next time, I'm having the pastel de choclo though. Even though I saw Hugo pulling two plastic covered servings from a freezer in the back of the restaurant, what my better half was served tasted relatively fresh. Jenn offered me a spoonful of the topping and mixture. It sang with flavor in my mouth.

At $31.62, including 1 very fresh spinach salad, 2 cans of Coke and taxes, the lunch was a steal. We left our tip in the earthenware gondola by the cashier and wished Hugo well.

We will definitely be going back and soon.

Here is Vina del Mar's business card.

Business Card

Particulars:
Vina Del Mar Restaurant
1079 Wellington Street W.
(613)724-3000

Celebrity Hair Design
1024 Wellington Street W.
(613)759-HAIR(4247)
celebrityhairdesign.ca.



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