Chilenazo is a Chilean restaurant in a Canoga Park strip mall from Cecilia Gonzalez and husband Giancarlo Aguilera that sports orange walls and plays high stakes soccer matches on a wall-mounted flat screen TV. They specialize in overstuffed Chilean sandwiches on soft amasado buns, but for my money, the most interesting menu option just may be their Pastel de Choclo ($11), which my friend described as a “Chilean shepherd’s pie.” Not exactly, but I can still see the point of reference for one of Chile’s most popular dishes.

Regardless of semantics, it was fun to devour the savory pie with the thick, slightly sweet cornmeal crust and a primarily savory filling of pulled chicken, spiced ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives and hard-boiled egg slices. A dish this hearty was probably overkill for a hot Memorial Day in the San Fernando Valley, but the tangy plate of Chilean salad (onions and tomatoes) helped to limit the lingering effects.