Superpancho vs completo

The Argentine hotdog complete with 'lluvia', bits of potato chip

A pancho is what Argentines call a hot dog, in other words- processed frankfurter sausage shoved into a defrosted half stale bread roll.

A superpancho is the slightly spiced up version of this, which incorporates all your favourite salsas (mustard, tomato and ‘salsa golf”, a kind of a tomato sauce/mayo combo) with a special ingredient, ‘lluvia‘ (literally- rain)  which are pieces of potato chip.

Having lived in Buenos Aires for a few months, this simple two peso snack (about 50 cents) had become a favourite of mine. It was cheap, tasty and easy to find, with not only special pancho stalls scattered throughout the city, but just about every kiosk on every corner selling them.

Little did I know, but awaiting across the Andes was an even more exciting rendition of the traditional hot dog.

I went to visit a friend in Santiago de Chile and in the middle of a discussion about our respective culinary discoveries, I began boasting about the superpancho. Listening patiently to my description, my friend flattened my enthusiasm by informing me that Chile had more or less the same thing.

Not to be outdone by the Argentines,  she tells me that the Chileans have  the completo. Whilst there are variations on the theme, just as its name suggests the completo is complete- with avocado, fresh tomato, sauerkraut, chilli, mustard, mayo and God only knows how many calories, all crammed into a roll.

I have a sneaking suspicion that will put my pancho to shame, but I’ll have to try to be sure.

We head off sightseeing and after climbing to the top of San Cristobal to try to glimpse Santiago through its valley-trapped fog we’ve worked up an appetite.

Chowing into completos with avocado, diced tomato, sauerkraut, chilli, mustard, mayo and a serious amount of calories!

A van selling fast food catches my eye, adding a sparkle to it as I see the word ‘completo’ painted in red. I pull out some pesos and order a couple. Stretching my hand-span to the full I pass one to my friend and dig into my own.

Alas, my suspicions are confirmed. The completo does  show up the superpancho, and then some, even without the potato bits. I hang my head and admit defeat.

In my few days in Santiago I have at least two or three more of these tasty treats (much to the dismay of my hips) before heading back to Buenos Aires.

After my ‘completo awakening’, however, a simple superpancho just never tasted the same.

¡ Buen provecho!