Completo

Chile eats more hot dogs per capita than almost any country on earth, and the completo is the reason. A standard frankfurter in a soft, fluffy white bun is transformed by an extravagant layering of toppings: chopped fresh tomato, sauerkraut, grated avocado (sometimes a full half-avocado) and a truly extraordinary quantity of mayonnaise applied with something between generosity and aggression.

The most popular version is the Italiano — tomato, avocado and mayonnaise in the colours of the Italian flag. The bun-to-topping ratio is completely inverted from any reasonable standard, which is the point. Santiago's street stands measure mayonnaise by the ladle and Chileans consume them without apparent concern. The completo is street food that is entirely uninterested in being nutritionally defensible.

What to Expect

At a Santiago street stand the completo is assembled in under 30 seconds and handed over wrapped in paper that immediately becomes translucent from the avocado and mayo. You eat it in two bites or let it unfold across the paper. The sausage is almost beside the point — it's a vehicle for the toppings, which is not a complaint.

Why Try It

The completo is Chilean street food at its most specifically Chilean — not borrowed from Germany, not influenced by neighbouring Argentina, but something that evolved locally and makes perfect sense in its own context.