So, LP Chile and LP South America on a Shoestring both recommend a place called La Mia Pappa in Santiago, Chile (p93 in Santiago, p429 in Shoestring.) They put it in the budget category, and say there are dishes from USD3.
They also say it's a pasta place, with all you can eat pasta ("pasta for your peso", they call it.) When you do get there, you find that it is a buffet, with no menu at all (waiter refused to bring us one.) You also find that this buffet has no pasta whatsoever. None. There are a few casseroles. There is lots of meat. There are some steamed veggies. (We did see a poster with lots of pasta on it - it looked good!)
We're vegetarians, and we know that limits our options in Chile. That's cool, we understand. We have no real problem with this restaurant serving all the meat in the world - to each his own. But, we went because we figured with pasta, we could find something to eat, and LP did say it was a pasta place (in two different books), and that it was cheap.
So, we're thinking, after eating our plate of veggies and the few rolls they brought us, "Well, this was a bust. We're probably going to be overcharged for this. Lonely Planet said the dish of the day was $3, we're probably going to pay twice that, since it's dinner and all." The bill came, and it was $41 for two people. (20,550 pesos, $41.36 at today's exchange rate.)
So much for our budget for the next few days. Looks like saltines and water for us for awhile. I wish I had been able to eat more than some corn, peas, and a few rolls. I wish I weren't hungry right now.
The people who like the food they were serving were no doubt satisfied - it was crowded! Our issue is with Lonely Planet. Has the place changed formats and sextupled their prices since you were there last? You owe us dinner, Lonely Planet. At a decent place. In Seattle, where we don't pay as much as we paid tonight for a meal.
