“El Criollito” is not just a restaurant, but more like a small empire. The owner, Señora Ermelina Acuña Caro, has expanded from a small soda fountain in 1956, to a series of family run franchises. Besides the first Criollito, the franchise includes “El Criollito No 2”, run by her daughter Marcela Sanhueza Acuña. Her son, don Armando Sanhueza, runs “El Criollito de Armando”, also in downtown Temuco. Most recently, her other daughter, Paola E. Sanhueza Acuña has opened a hotel and restaurant called the “Boca-Budi” in Puerto Saavedra. However, the original “El Criollito” is still run by Doña Ermelina personally, with a hands on management style and attention to detail that would put many Harvard managers to shame.
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Of course you don't build such a business without the clients to back it up. Everyone from the international backpackers to President Lagos has made their way through her doors at some point. Lagos claimed she makes the best locos empanada he had ever had. While we were there, we watched a group of Japanese hug her as if they were family. So, in spite of the ever growing empire, she manages to keep the personal touch intact.
So much for atmosphere. What about the food? Basically, if it is Chilean and good, she cooks it better. The Criollito has all the typical foods of Chile, done with class, while preserving the original Araucanía style of cooking typical Chilean plates.
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The specialties of Señora Ermelina are the “cazuelas”; a soup with potatos, green beans, squash, and corn, cooked with either turkey, chicken, or beef. The beef is a very special cut of meat and one of the secret recipes Señora Ermelina would not tell us. Another of her specialties is roasted lamb with peas, and flavored with a touch of “Araucanía” home cooking. |
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The Star of her menu is the “Pulmai”. This is a dish of potatoes, pork, beef, sausage, various sea foods, and fish put to simmer together in the same pot. She insists that her method of preparing this dish not to be confused with the way it is prepared around Chiloé.
Every meal comes with 2 kinds of Chile salsas, a pured “aji verde” (green chile), and “merquen salsa” (a traditional Mapuche spice), along with “sopaipillas” (fried bread) and pan amasado (a country style hand made bread).
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Of course a meal in Chile is not really good until the drinks arrive at the table. The Criollito is very traditional in this sense. Pisco Sour and Wines are not an issue at El Criollito. One of the more interesting drinks is Pipeño. It is kind of a very young “late harvest” homemade wine. We can not recommend this, simply because it was sufficiently popular that the Criollito was out of it during our visit. So, we will leave you to report back to us on Pipeño.
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Likely the most impressive thing is that with all this, her prices are still more or less traditional Market Prices. The low end lunch time sandwich starts at about $700 pesos and her high end menu stops at about $10,000 pesos. Many restaurants with such a reputation and history would have tripled their prices or more. Figure, a long lunch with drinks, and the best of her menu, to set you back about $7,000-10,000 pesos per person on average, drinks included. About $5,000 pesos per person will be a nice lunch. A quick discount lunch, with a drink, will run you about $2,500-$4,000 pesos. The Criollito has still kept that city market price and atmosphere, even when the market around it is quickly turning into more of tourist trap than a Latin American Market. The “real” Temuco market has been moved further away from the center of the City towards the bus stations (Please See Our Article On the Temuco Market) .
So, when asking where the market is in Temuco, as a foreigner, you will most likely be directed to the old city Municipal Market. Ignore, the ladies hustling tourist to have lunch and walk to the center of the market. El Criollito will be the most elegant in the center, with no one trying to hustle you in the door for lunch. El Criollito has the three Chilean B's: Bueno, Bonito, y Barato.
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