There are as many kinds of empanadas as there are latin american countries and regions. Mekato's are Colombian. I'm not a huge fan of the style either.

El Mercado has them all the time, good and cheap, as has been mentioned. I grew up surrounded by empanadas from a bunch of different countries, from home kitchens, corner stores and cafeterias. But I'm not sure there's anywhere in the world where one can drop in an snag a sack of goat cheese and mushroom empanadas when the urge strikes. That's a pretty fancy version of a simple food.

JeffB wrote:There are as many kinds of empanadas as there are latin american countries and regions. Mekato's are Colombian. I'm not a huge fan of the style either.

Thanks for that clarification. Colombian is not my favorite style of empanada, but I have had Colombian ones that I've enjoyed more than Mekato's...in New York.

JeffB wrote:But I'm not sure there's anywhere in the world where one can drop in an snag a sack of goat cheese and mushroom empanadas when the urge strikes. That's a pretty fancy version of a simple food.

It's certainly possible. See the cupcake craze. I think the mushroom-goat cheese example is fancy in the context of Carnivale, but I don't think it'd be much more expensive and certainly no more difficult to make than a well-composed beef or chicken empanada. I'd be much more inclined to pay $8 for an empanada (which seems to be the cost on Carnivale's regular dinner menu...though, OK, maybe not a sack of them) than $4 for a cupcake, another very simple food.

Edited because I can't spell or write without skipping words today

happy_stomach wrote:

JeffB wrote:There are as many kinds of empanadas as there are latin american countries and regions. Mekato's are Colombian. I'm not a huge fan of the style either.

Thanks for that clarification. Colombian is not favorite style of empanada, but I have had Colombian ones that I've enjoyed more than Mekato's...in New York.

Obvious flame. The Colombian ones here are generally made by folks from Colombia too, so you shouldn't be discouraged from trying other spots. I'm just not big on the use of cornmeal in the crust, and I've come to like the baked, Argentine/Chilean style more than the fried style that was predominant in FL (Cuban and PR, mostly) when I was growing up there.

Hey, for $8 you can get 8 really good Argentine empanadas at Mercado. (Although they might have gone up to a buck fifty, I can't remember. They were 99 cents forever but I seem to remember an increase recently...)

I love Tango Sur's.

Same as mercado.

Some recent and valuable intel was posted here but I thought I'd post in this thread to try to consolidate the discussion for easier reference going forward.

I'm still in love with the empanadas at D'Candela but living very close to the Cafe Tola Loncheria (in the former Hot Doug's space), I'm smitten by their offerings, too. And being able to get a variety of fillings, especially of the breakfast persuasion, especially before lunchtime, is an added bonus. I stopped in yesterday morning for a gaggle of empanadas to bring to the office and it was hard to pick a favorite. Red Chili Pork with Potatoes and Green Chili Pork with Black Beans were both awesome but Chorizo & Egg and Chicken Salsa Verde were excellent too. My least favorite, Mexican Egg, was still pretty darned tasty. I used to hit their location on Southport but this newer one is super convenient as it's about a mile from home and essentially on the way to my office.

Ironically, I've yet to try Savory Crust, which is the closest to my office but I'll make it happen asap.

=R=

Cafe Tola Loncheria & Tacos
3324 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 293-6346

Cafe Tola
3612 N Southport Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 687-8428

D'Candela
4053 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 478-0819

Savory Crust
7180 Dempster St
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 423-2273

I was a bit disappointed in Savory Crust. They use the same pastry for everything and it's just too dense. It's like pie crust. I prefer the pastry at 5411 which is lighter and less overpowering.