Felipe Sánchez might just have the best job in the world.

Travelling from city to city and restaurant to restaurant, he makes a living by eating a new sandwich every day.

From the exotic “sushi sandwich” in Japan to the 10,000 calorie “heart attack burger” in Las Vegas, Felipe has tried them all. He built his own media empire with his sandwich-a-day project entitled 365 Sánguchez—a play on words between sánguche, a regional word for sandwich, and his own surname—and shares these sandwich-eating experiences on his blog, TV show, social media and YouTube channel.

Felipe informs his followers about each sandwich with a rating scale ranging from one to five pig noses, along with a detailed description of what he liked or didn’t like about it.

I knew I had to speak with the guy. Perhaps it was my curiosity, envy or a little bit of both, but I was just dying to learn all of Felipe’s sandwich secrets.

The youngest of seven brothers, Felipe learned about food from his siblings at a young age and frequently visited new, up-and-coming restaurants growing up.

His early knowledge gave him a bit of a reputation as a food fanatic and he would regularly give restaurant recommendations to friends. It wasn’t long before he was able to turn this expertise—and a background in business and marketing communication—into a thriving business.

He started the 365 Sánguchez project in 2016 to eat and document a new sandwich every day for a year, and create a sandwich map of his home country of Chile. The project culminated in August 2017 with a special sandwich prepared by his father, marking the end of his journey.

Not willing to slow down, Felipe continued to review sandwiches on his blog until November 2018 when he started his next adventure, which would take him to 52 cities across 30 countries to eat another 365 sandwiches.

Felipe has eaten all around the world, but I was curious to learn about his experiences in Santiago, Chile, his hometown and the city where I am based. Santiago is an energetic city with a booming restaurant scene, as well as a history of traditional sandwiches.

Felipe raved about three unique places—all built off raw skill and passion, but each representing a distinct aspect of Chilean sandwich culture. Ready to put his words to the test, I ventured out on my own Santiago sandwich crawl to see for myself, following in the footsteps of a local sandwich legend.

The “Chacarero” at Donde El Nano

My first stop was a tiny sandwich joint called Donde El Nano. Walk through the crowds of shoppers, past colourful fruits and vegetable stalls, and you will find this tiny shop hidden down an alleyway in the heart of La Vega, Santiago’s busiest marketplace.

The small space was packed with customers devouring their lunch, while a few busy employees were hard at work in the crowded kitchen. I was quickly greeted by the cheerful owner Gabriel Orellana Pérez, also known as Nano.

Nano has a close relationship with his customers. Throughout our brief conversation, people of all ages and backgrounds came to personally thank him for another tasty meal. Donde El Nano has only been running for five years, but Nano and his sandwiches are well known around La Vega.

Nano spent his childhood in the market, the place where his father and grandfather also worked. In fact, he used to sit in a small wooden box and passing people would give him food. His home is the market—it’s practically where he grew up.

“Do you eat?” asked Nano immediately.

“Yes, I’m going to try one of the sandwiches,” I replied.

“No…I mean do you EAT?”

Eating is no joke at Donde El Nano. The sandwiches are huge—all stuffed with massive portions of meat, vegetables and melted cheese, dripping in homemade mayonnaise. There is even a sandwich that weighs up to 1.6kg! It sounds crazy but felt fitting for Chile.

I was once told that Chileans show love through food. The more food they give, the more they love.

Nano says his sandwiches are Chile’s best. They are all cooked alongside fresh vegetables and natural ingredients. Nothing is processed or contains chemicals.

There are also many options to choose from, all traditional Chilean sandwiches and enormous in size. But according to Felipe, the best choice is the Chacarero. It is a typical sandwich served in Chile, made with green beans, tomato, green chilli, mayonnaise and meat. At Donde El Nano, you can order this sandwich with cheese.

This combination is one of Felipe’s all-time favourites.

“It reminds me of one of my brothers,” he says. “Whenever we had a special moment together—like going to the stadium, we’d go after to a Fuente de Soda [traditional restaurant] and he’d always order a Chacarero with cheese.”

Most Chileans like the Chacarero with a soft, shredded beef called mechada, but Felipe recommends ordering it with lengua [beef tongue].

“Tongue?” I thought. I was definitely a little nervous to try this exotic meat for the first time, but I knew I had to take Felipe’s word.

Nano made my sandwich himself and proudly brought it to my table. It was an absolute monster—one of the biggest sandwiches I’d ever seen. I got straight to work, going bite by bite. The taste was rich and dripping with flavour—and I think that all that gooey cheese added something special.

““I was once told that Chileans show love through food. The more food they give, the more they love.””

As I ate, bright veggies covered in creamy mayonnaise oozed onto my plate and I was constantly using a fork to stack my giant sandwich back together. As hard as I tried, I was lucky to finish half. But I truly enjoyed tasting Chile’s biggest and best Chacarero.

Round one: Totally stuffed.

The “Rumano Completo” at Fuente Alemana

My next sandwich was at a traditional restaurant called Fuente Alemana, which translates to ‘German Fountain.’

Fuente Alemana has been around since 1935 and was named after a fountain near to the restaurant. People used to gather near this famous monument before going to eat sandwiches at the restaurant. A German family started the restaurant, but ownership eventually landed in the hands of two new families who still run the business today.

Walking into Fuente Alemana feels like stepping back in time. It’s as if nothing has changed since the establishment’s opening more than 80 years ago. Friends and families gather at long countertops, seated comfortably on bar stools that surround the open kitchen. Women run the grills and a man in the back pours pints of beer, each person is dressed head-to-toe in typical diner uniforms.

According to restaurant co-owner Carlo Siri, Fuente Alemana has the advantage of being a well-established business for many years. People trust the food and know the quality of its ingredients. “The big secret here is never changing the products,” says Carlo.

Felipe recommends trying the restaurant’s famous Rumano Completo, a patty made from a mix of beef and pork and seasoned with garlic, chilli and spices. The sandwich is topped with sauerkraut, mayonnaise and a special, homemade tomato sauce—different from ketchup.

It all comes inside a roll called pan amasado, a traditional, kneaded Chilean country bread, which Carlo describes as a thicker bread that has a lot of flavour to it.

“For me, the most important ingredient in a sandwich is the bread,” Felipe says. “Bad bread will kill all your creativity and work.”

I grabbed an open chair at the end of the counter, patiently sipping on a cold beer and awaiting my Rumano Completo.

When it finally arrived, I couldn’t wait to dive in. Mayo and tomato sauce were dripping from all sides of the well-seasoned patty.

The Rumano did not disappoint. What I loved the most about this sandwich was the combination of flavours, especially with the strong taste of garlic and chilli. It definitely didn’t leave me with good breath, but I enjoyed each savoury bite.

Round two: Smelly but satisfied.

The “Ají Verde” at La Burguesía

My last stop was a familiar place, just a couple blocks from my old apartment. It’s a trendy, innovative restaurant called La Burguesía, specialising in gourmet-style hamburgers.

They only serve creative combinations, ranging from the blue cheese and pear burger to a burger topped with grilled shrimp. It fully represents the new wave of modern eateries in Chile.

“I think it is the only restaurant that I have tried almost everything on the menu,” says Felipe. “And everything is amazing!”

The restaurant started back in 2012 by René and Felipe Lillo, two brothers with creativity, passion and vision.

Felipe Lillo is the restaurant’s head chef and all of the burgers are his creations. It came as no surprise, considering he comes from a family that strongly values food and cooking. “During Christmas, the menu was always more important than the presents,” he says.

Before the opening of La Burguesía, there was only one burger restaurant in the whole city. Unhappy with their jobs and the small selection of burgers in Santiago, the brothers decided to open their restaurant.

La Burguesía quickly caught the attention of the press, winning an award for ‘Best Sandwich Restaurant in Santiago’ just six months after opening by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio.

“Nobody was making hamburgers with the type of combinations that we make,” he tells me. “So it quickly caught people’s attention.”

Out of all the burgers, one of the most popular choices is called the Ají Verde, which is also the sandwich which Felipe recommends. The 160g slab of beef is accompanied by lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese. Then there is a green chilli [ají verde] that has been filled and grilled with mozzarella cheese and bacon bits. Everything is pulled together with spicy mayonnaise on top.

“In the US, they have the jalapeño and in Peru, it’s the yellow chilli,” says Felipe Lillo. “The green chilli is traditionally Chilean.” It is the chilli that is used in various recipes and eaten in many typical dishes. He used his mother’s old chilli recipe—filling and grilling chillies with cheese—and incorporated it into a burger.

When my burger came, it looked scrumptious. I took a bite and the first thing that I noticed was its perfect level of spice. It is an absolute treat for someone who likes a little kick, but nothing overly hot or spicy. There was also so much cheese—all stretchy, oozy and delicious.

Last round: The perfect ending.

***

After living a few days in Felipe’s shoes, I can personally say that he really does have the best job in the world. Trying new sandwich combinations and flavours is all part of a day’s work.

He spends each day searching for the next “purple cow.” According to Felipe, a purple cow is something that stands out among the regular black and white cows—something that’s one-of-a-kind.

After eating over 800 sandwiches around the world that search seems harder and harder to come by. But Felipe’s love for the humble sandwich seems stronger than ever, and he shows no sign of slowing down.