Lito's empanadas

A couple of weeks ago I spotted this place on my bike ride and today my better half and I went to get a snack. The tiny shop only makes empanadas - nothing else. In my book, that's always a good sign of focus.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, so no pictures to show off now, but I'll definitely be back for more and will take some pics.

We had 3 types (out of the 6 available options): "beef, rice, raisins and olives", "potato, onion, green pepper", and "shredded chicken and rice". All were good, though the vegetarian option was a bit bland (think un-crisped hash browns). All could have used a bit more salt and to be a bit more heavily seasoned in my opinion. ~$2/each

The dough was perfect - crisp and brown on the outside, fluffy and chewy on the inside. They clearly have their frying temperature just right; there was virtually no grease to be detected.

Living in the area, which is otherwise a bit of a cheap-eats culinary wasteland, I'm happy to have them in the neighborhood. I hope they kick up the spicing a bit, and perhaps offer some house-made sauces instead of just a couple of bottles of hotsauce on the counter.

The woman behind the counter was super-friendly, and the guy in the back making the empanadas (young fellow - perhaps the owner?) was nice enough to show me the device they use for stuffing and sealing the empanadas (he was making a batch at the time. He explained that the dough is hand-rolled, but then they use this hand-crank rolling thing to stuff and seal each one).

2566 N Clark St.

-Dan

Do you know in general from what country of origin these empanadas are? (Is the dough wheat flour or corn? Are they fried or baked?) Just curious. I need to go check them out in any case...

I am very curious to try these - the empanadas (the beef ones, I believe) made TimeOut Chicago's top 100 dishes list. I will report back after I do.

Mhays wrote:Do you know in general from what country of origin these empanadas are?

I don't know to be honest.

Mhays wrote: (Is the dough wheat flour or corn? Are they fried or baked?)

Definitely wheat flour and they are fried.

-Dan

Do they do Goatmeat empanadas?

-- which I think is the secret mystery cure to the curse of the cubs.

Fried and wheat flour (and the choice of fillings) say southern South America to me: Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile all have these kinds of empanadas. The lack of chili peppers in the filling also makes me think south.

IIRC, corn masa empanadas are usually Colombian.

Thanks for finding this - always good to find another empanada.

We went to Lito's this afternoon for a late lunch. The guy working the counter said he was from Columbia.

We had three different types of empanadas: beef (with onions, raisins, olives, etc), Hawaiian (ham, cheese, pineapple) and beef & rice. All were very good. As stated earlier the dough is absolutely delicious. It's got a light texture and a slightly sweet taste.

Don't look now, but this stretch of Clark may be evolving out of its status as a culinary wasteland. Starting at Diversey and working your way south you now have Hai Yen (not as good as the original, but still), Lito's, Cafe Luigi (for NY-style slices), Mandy's (new cupcake place, really good based on my one visit so far), and Aloha Grill.

I'm definitely rooting for Lito's to make it. We'll be going back soon (and often).

jesteinf wrote:Mandy's (new cupcake place, really good based on my one visit so far),

Any other info on this? Google's coming up short. Do they serve things other than desserts?

Always looking for new options in the neighborhood.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Mandy's (new cupcake place, really good based on my one visit so far),

Any other info on this? Google's coming up short. Do they serve things other than desserts?

Always looking for new options in the neighborhood.

Well, one problem is that it's actually called Molly's Cupcakes...sorry about that.

It's mostly cupcakes. You can customize (picking the flavor of cake, icing, and any toppings you want) or go with their flavors. But they also have other baked goods, homemade ice cream, coffee, tea, etc. Another nice thing is that they're open late, midnights on weekends IIRC. They're still trying to get their act together (the full menu isn't always available, and they seem to run out of things a lot), but the people working there are really friendly and the cupcake I had was pretty darn good.

Molly's Cupcakes
2536 N. Clark St.
773-883-7220

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Mandy's (new cupcake place, really good based on my one visit so far),

Any other info on this? Google's coming up short. Do they serve things other than desserts?

Always looking for new options in the neighborhood.

I actually tried Molly's Cupcakes on the same day I went to Lito's and had intended to start a thread about it too. I'll start one on the main Eating Out board to discuss...

-Dan

jesteinf wrote:Don't look now, but this stretch of Clark may be evolving out of its status as a culinary wasteland. Starting at Diversey and working your way south you now have Hai Yen (not as good as the original, but still), Lito's, Cafe Luigi (for NY-style slices), Mandy's (new cupcake place, really good based on my one visit so far), and Aloha Grill.

If you continue south a bit more, you will come across a small, unpretentious, but very good sushi place, Green Tea. I have been there many times and the sushi is very good, fresh and very consistent.

Thanks for the heads up on Molly's cupcakes, I am always interested in getting dessert after sushi at Green Tea. Will check it out and report back.


Green Tea
2206 N. Clark St.

I don't know how they can make stuffed deep fried dough taste so light and fresh. I took my order to go and the empanadas hardly even left a grease mark on the paper bag that they were packed in. It must be magic.

Don't miss the chocolate banana dessert empanada.

Don't forget Toro on that block! The food is great, but the wait can be horrible. Fortunately you can wait at Molly's. Ok, so after a cupcake and a hot chocolate you can't order quite as much at Toro.

They sound great, but as far as source and inspiration go, there's no rice in Chilean empanadas.

Katie wrote:They sound great, but as far as source and inspiration go, there's no rice in Chilean empanadas.

Interesting. What's your source, are you Chilean, been to Chile, cook the food of that country extensively?

What actually comprises a Chilean empanada? Is there a particular mix to the dough, baked/fried, filling mix? I'd love to know the details.

Enjoy,
Gary

No, I'm not Chilean, but I did split my time about 50-50 between Chicago and Santiago for about ten years, as a partner in a civil engineering consulting business, and kept an apartment there until about two years ago (til I met Sweet Baboo and decided to stay put in Chicago and get married). Technically I still have permanent residency in Chile.

The most common kind of empanada served in Chile is an empanada de pino, aka empanada de horno (oven), which is oven baked, half-moon shaped, and about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. It contains ground beef and onions in sauce, a wedge of a hard-boiled egg, white raisins, and a big black olive (not pitted, so don't bite down hard til you find the olive).

I found a picture of a Chilean empanada on this wikipedia site, which also give details about what is considered an empanada in several different countries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanadas#Chile

I don't know why the filling is called "pino"; they don't contain any pine nuts or other pine-related items. I wonder if it is a way of saying, Chilean style, i.e., a reference to the araucanian pine forests of southern Chile, which is to say, the araucanian region, the Mapuche culture. Just a guess. I'd be curious to know if anyone googles up a better explanation than that.

You can also get cheese empanadas (fried) in Chile; they are a bit smaller and more of an appetizer thing than a lunch thing. However, the little two-bite-size fried cheese morsels that are called empanadas in Argentina are called empanaditas in Chile, and are generally considered bar snacks (although KFC does serve a side of them as an alternative to the usual sides you get in the US).

Seafood empanadas are more of a special occasion thing, not to be found in little lunch shops. I can't remember if they're baked or fried. Just thinking about them now makes me want to find a recipe for them.

Contrary to what the wikipedia page says, Chilean empanadas aren't spicy, and I don't think they're typically made with aji, though some people might like to add it as a condiment.

For anyone who gets a chance to go to Santiago someday, I remember:

(1) that there was a restaurant somewhere that sold just empanadas, with several different kinds of filling. I never found it, though, to my regret, and don't know if it's still in business.

(2) That there is a bakery at the Rotunda Tomas Moro that sells fantastic empanadas by the dozen on Sunday mornings, for a good price, and a long line of people gather to get a box of them and take them home for Sunday lunch. The line moves quickly because employees move down the line taking orders in advance, so by the time you get to the window, a big cardboard box of hot empanadas is tied up and ready for you to take home. THAT is a fantastic way to spend a lazy Sunday, alone or with friends, eating a bunch of empanadas and saving the rest for late-night snacks.

(3) The big, if that's not redundant, Jumbo supermarket (at least the one on Avenida Bilbao; I'm not sure about the other ones) has a snack stand where you can take a grocery shopping break and eat an empanada, and -- and this is what I love about a country where mayonnaise is a national right and avocados are about as cheap as potatoes -- there are big pump dispensers for you to put as much mayo and palta as you want on your empanada. (On Sundays, Jumbo has another snack bar running back in the seafood section where you can get a cup of ceviche and a glass of white wine on your grocery shopping break, but that's another story.)

Now you've really got me going. Lito's or Latin Sandwich Cafe, or both, I don't care, but somehow I am going to have to get some empanadas as soon as possible!

I'd forgotten it's called palta in South America!

This place is actually a columbian owned restaurant, not chilean.

sarain wrote:This place is actually a columbian owned restaurant, not chilean.

Absolutely correct...as I posted earlier in the thread

katie-

If my memory serves from years ago in Chile, the empandas de Pino were named for a town a few hours north of Santiago.

I have never had empanadas anywhere in the world as memorable as the emp. de pino outside the santiago to valparaiso bus station. I've found all chicago empanadas a disappointment (I do like the latin sandwich shop's, but i don't crave them like i did in Chile).

paul finamore

Katie wrote:Now you've really got me going. Lito's or Latin Sandwich Cafe, or both, I don't care, but somehow I am going to have to get some empanadas as soon as possible!

Katie,

Thanks for the interesting and informative reply.

Enjoy,
Gary

My pleasure, GWiv.

paulfinamore wrote:If my memory serves from years ago in Chile, the empandas de Pino were named for a town a few hours north of Santiago.

Interesting -- I've never heard that before. Tell you what, I'll email a friend or two down there and see if I can confirm that.

paulfinamore wrote:I have never had empanadas anywhere in the world as memorable as the emp. de pino outside the santiago to valparaiso bus station. I've found all chicago empanadas a disappointment (I do like the latin sandwich shop's, but i don't crave them like i did in Chile).

I could really go for a big Chilean empanada right now!

I was in the neighborhood and stopped at Lito's to try the empanadas. I had dinner plans later, so started with a single beef, raisins, olive empanada and a side of the home-made green salsa.

They took my order, took an empanada from the storage and dropped it into the deep fryer - telling me that it would take about 5 minutes. Although I love freshly-fried food, the long fry time made me worry about the greasiness of the pasty. Luckily, my concern was unfounded. The empanada was fantastic- with a grease=less delicate lava hot cripsy crust. Inside, was a nicely balanced ground beef with occasional sweet raising and pitted olive nuggets. Very savory, very tasty. The green salsa was an incredible accompaniment and I could have drank it straight. Tangy, fresh, with a nice slow burn that lingered on the lips.

I liked the empanada so much, I couldn't resist ordering another one. Despite the assortment of about 10-12 varieties (including an intriguing banana and nutella one) I stuck with a repeat of the beef with green salsa. A very satisfying snack and I will definitely be back to sample some more of Lito's stuff.

dansch wrote:And while certainly not traditional by any means, their Nutella and Banana empanada is really freaking delicious. C'mon... deep fried Nutella!
-Dan

That was a quote from dansch in a thread about empanadas, but anyway, I tried one of those nutella deals yesterday after a so-so trial of Del Seoul (though surprisingly, amongst the mediocrity, the fish taco shined pretty brightly to me.) I have to say, that this Nutella-Banana Empanada was horrendously incredible. I will not tell my significant other about this. I'm saving it for a surprise next time we're in the hood. If there's a joint for a scoop of ice cream right there, I might say that a Nutella-banana empanada on top of a scoop of plain old vanilla or choclolate ice cream could possibly be a "top ten in city" treat. That thing was bad ass. Think hot, fresh fried funnel cake, topped with tiny banana pieces, and melted nutella. Yeah. Exactly.