Empanadas

I'm on the search for good empanadas, and so far I haven't been thrilled.

Last weekend I tried the Argentinian restaurant El Nandu-- of the three empanadas I sampled (the pollo, Tucumana, and criolla). All of the empanadas had a wonderful, flaky crust, but the filling seemed to be lackluster. The Pollo was probably the most flavorful-- it had moist chicken with peppers and onions cooked down until very tender. The Tucamana wasn't so good-- the chunks of steak seemed cumbersome and dry. The Criolla was OK-- but overall I felt like I was having a hard time tasting a lot of its flavors.

I do like the empanadas at La Unica-- flavorful meat, and nice and greasy; but the crust on those (if I remember correctly) reminded me of a soggy wonton.

My favorite empanadas are actually at Cafe Laguardia-- I usually order about 5 of their beef empanadas and still want more. Although their crust isn't spectacular, it gets nice and soggy from the fat of the ground beef that has a sweet, tomato flavor.

Nevertheless, I'm still searching for more. I expect that this city has the perfect empanada lurking in some corner that you know about but I don't.

This should keep you preoccupied for awhile: search.php?keywords=empanada&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

dippy-do-da-egg wrote:I'm on the search for good empanadas, and so far I haven't been thrilled.

I'm no empanada expert, but Mekato's are the best that I've had in the area.

RAB wrote:

dippy-do-da-egg wrote:I'm on the search for good empanadas, and so far I haven't been thrilled.

I'm no empanada expert, but Mekato's are the best that I've had in the area.

Agree with Laguardia (and Laguardia West > Laguardia), Mekato's, and recent opening Taste of Brazil's are just right for my palate, but you have to get there right when the batch is fresh.

I had a pretty tasty empanada at Lito's Empanadas, a small storefront on a stretch of Clark street not too far from the Wiener Circle. It was some time ago and I don't remember what I had but it is a small clean storefront with a few seats. I do remember liking it. They offer 7 or 8 different empanadas, fried to order for about $2 per.

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... empanadas/

Lito's Empanadas
2566 N. Clark St.
Chicago. Il. 60614
773-857-1337

A search is in order. This subject has been discussed many times, yielding good information. One thing to keep in mind is that, like tamales, empanadas take many, many forms across Latin America. From the cornmeal dough pockets of Colombian spots, to deep fried Puerto Rican fritters, to the unusual Nayarit-style shrimp empanadas at Islas Marias, to doughy baked Argentine pastries. Asking generically about empanadas is akin to the same question about sandwiches.

Anyway, even though I grew up eating Cuban and Puerto Rican empanadas, I think the Argentine and Chilean versions at El Mercado (the grocery that begat Tango Sur) are tops, and as good as what you'd get from a similar bodega in BA.

No doubt, my favorite ones have come from:

Mixteco Grill
1601 W Montrose Ave
(773) 868-1601

litos are very good. I also prefer the argintinian style.

Shrimp Empanadas at La Cazuela are dyno-mite. And BYOB , claro.

6910 N Clark St.
(773) 465-1298

deesher wrote:I had a pretty tasty empanada at Lito's Empanadas, a small storefront on a stretch of Clark street...

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

-Dan

RAB wrote:

dippy-do-da-egg wrote:I'm on the search for good empanadas, and so far I haven't been thrilled.

I'm no empanada expert, but Mekato's are the best that I've had in the area.

Second Mekato's. Especially in the morning when they're fresh, crispy, light, and simply delicious.

I've always been happy with the ones at Tango Sur. Also, the shrimp empanadas at El Barco- tho they're not pastry, more like deep fried tortilla enclosed half shells.

Ya gotta go south my man-

all the way to 38th and Kedzie for the unbelievable
Shrimp Enpanadas @ Mi Abuleo y Yo!

Read the write up here.....
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11921&hilit=el+abuelo

globetrotter wrote:litos are very good. I also prefer the argintinian style.

Lito's Empanadas
2566 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
773-857-0794

Lito's were good in everyway last time I was there, except everything needed more salt.

I'm a huge fan of Lito's (it helps that they're pretty much right around the corner from my house). Their housemade hot sauce is fantastic and is pretty much a must with many of their empanadas.

What a coincidence. I just reviewed Lito's!

What a coincidence. I just passed a pile of garbage outside!



Edit: Apologies for the meanspirited comparison of backandfront's post to a pile of garbage. It's more amusing than anything else that he would search out a 5 month old thread, then cite as a "coincidence" that he just happens to have reviewed the same place. His motives might genuinely be to share his love for the empanada, rather than to shamelessly promote his blog, as it appears.

yeah- but did you happen to write a review about,
that pile of garbage?
No-
but- someone else chose to add to the conversation- furthering the knowledge and appreciation
of a unique "meal-in-a-hand"...
So-
What!

your complaint to me- is analogous to Democrats quibbling amongst themselves that some are Blue Dogs whilst others are more progressive....
HEY- yaz (WE) got ridda GW-
so shut up already!
Soapbox put back for now.......


Peace and Love-
Team Empanada!

Hombre,

I would reply if I could understand your prose, but it is far too advanced for me.

Kenny

Hombre de Acero wrote:yeah- but did you happen to write a review about,
that pile of garbage?
No-
but- someone else chose to add to the conversation- furthering the knowledge and appreciation
of a unique "meal-in-a-hand"...

they didn't choose to add to the conversation, they chose to attempt to drive the conversation to their site, instead of here.

if they wanted to add to the conversation they would have actually posted the review here.

I can do that in the future. I just felt like it would be better to lead you to a place where you can see the pictures in more detail. Copying and pasting works for me if it works for you. I don't know LTH preferences yet, I'm a rookie.

backorforth wrote:I can do that in the future. I just felt like it would be better to lead you to a place where you can see the pictures in more detail. Copying and pasting works for me if it works for you. I don't know LTH preferences yet, I'm a rookie.

There's no one "right way," and LTHers will have varying preferences. You can post the whole review here, you can post part of the review and a link to your blog for people who want more, or you can post something entirely different, such as a response to something another LTHer else wrote about the place, that you happened to either agree or disagree with. The main thing is to view this site as a discussion forum, not an advertising forum. I don't think the problem here was about LTH preferences, but rather that you didn't come across as genuine when you wrote "What a coincidence." The last post in the thread was from 5 months ago, and you searched for it so that you could link to your blog. There is no coincidence there.

I had a very good empanada at Irazu last night. The cheese and spinach needed more spinach and cheese, but, the star of the show was the beef and potato. It might have been that the cheese and spinach puffed up to much and there was an air hole in it, I don't know, but it needed more filling. The beef and potato was filled completely. Very tasty and affordable.

Kennyz, just to clarify, I did a search for Lito's or empanadas to see if any relevant threads were up. I figured it was better to respond to someone else than to start my own thread entitled, "Lito's Empanadas". So, if I was just doing it for the sake of promotion, that's the avenue I would've chosen. Also, I didn't take the time to look at when the last post was made. That was my mistake.

Hombre de Acero wrote:yeah- but did you happen to write a review about,
that pile of garbage?
No-
but- someone else chose to add to the conversation- furthering the knowledge and appreciation
of a unique "meal-in-a-hand"...
So-
What!

your complaint to me- is analogous to Democrats quibbling amongst themselves that some are Blue Dogs whilst others are more progressive....
HEY- yaz (WE) got ridda GW-
so shut up already!
Soapbox put back for now.......


Peace and Love-
Team Empanada!

Code: Select all

The Venerable
                         e.e cummings
           wouldmostdefinitely
(were he still alive today)
                 
                       approve,,,

    of
  your
post

backorforth wrote:Kennyz, just to clarify, I did a search for Lito's or empanadas to see if any relevant threads were up. I figured it was better to respond to someone else than to start my own thread entitled, "Lito's Empanadas". So, if I was just doing it for the sake of promotion, that's the avenue I would've chosen. Also, I didn't take the time to look at when the last post was made. That was my mistake.

FWIW, there is already a thread called Lito's Empanadas and one called Lito's empanada's, is this the best out there?. Doing a Google site search is usually a pretty quick way to find old threads (I prefer it to the built-in search function on the board, though that seems to return solid results too).

-Dan

I haven't had the ones at Mixteco or Lita's but I too love the beef empanadas at LaGuardia...YUMMY!!


Anne

Several months ago, I enjoyed an excellent empanada 'gallega' w/ chicken and iberico cheese that came with an arugula apple salad at Carnivale. They also have a cuban style beef empanada on the menu. I especially like the emphasis on local and sustainable products at this restaurant which really shines through in the food. Happy eating.

I grew up eating homemade empanadas (and, unfortunately, didn't learn how to make them). I haven't found an empanada in Chicago that's blown me away.

I'm not a fan of the Mekato's empanadas--I don't like the shell or shape/size and haven't been impressed with the fillings. Most often I get empanadas from Habana Libre, which I like fine, but which I order really just so I have something to eat while I'm waiting for my fried chicken. I had an excellent mushroom-goat cheese empanada last night at Carnivale. I wish there was a place where I could easily pick up similar empanadas on a whim.

Habana Libre
1440 W Chicago Ave
Chicago IL 60642-5232
312-243-3303

Carnivale
702 W Fulton St
Chicago IL 60661-1002
312-850-3017