This month we decided to explore the options for enjoying empanadas in and around Seattle. Empanadas are a (usually) savory pastry or turnover common in much of what was the Spanish Empire with similar dishes made in France, Italy and even India. Historical references to empanadas in Spain go back to the thirteenth century in Spain and the dish obviously spread throughout the Spanish empire. We were able to sample many varieties in Seattle, and discovered there are interesting regional differences.
Every region — indeed, each family, appears to take great pride in their empanada recipes. If you wish to enjoy gluten free empanadas, look for Venezuelan, and possibly Peruvian or Bolivian restaurants. In that region the empanadas traditionally are made with corn flour. Most of the other regions use wheat-based dough.
All the empanadas we sampled ranged in price from $4 to $8 each.
An Old Favorite Comes to Capitol Hill
If you have frequented the food trucks that rotate through Westlake Park you may be familiar with Paparepas, a Venezuelan restaurant based in Kent with a food truck we visited occasionally for lunch downtown (and reviewed during covid, but with an emphasis on other menu offerings). Paparepas has opened a location at 1620 Broadway 100E on Capitol Hill, 253.981.4810, https://www.paparepas.com. We checked out the brick-and-mortar location across the street from the Broadway Performance Hall (and a few feet North of the Jimmy Hendrix statue) and tried to resist the temptation of the arepas we know from the food truck to focus on their empanadas. They feature beef, chicken (with and without cheese) and cheese empanadas. Since they are Venezuelan, they use only corn flour, so the empanadas (and all the other menu items) are gluten free. The dough for the empanadas is reminiscent of the batter around a corn dog (in a good way).
We enjoyed each flavor, but the chicken and cheese the most. We will be going back (for both the empanadas and the arepas). And returning has been getting easier as they now have two food trucks and a third location (on the Microsoft campus).
Next Stop: South Park
We travelled to the South Park neighborhood to check out Bajon En Seattle, 8909 14th Avenue South, 206.245.5179, https://www.bajonen
seattle.com. Even knowing the address, we almost missed it as it is situated inside a corner store. Bajon En Seattle features both Argentinean and Chilean recipe items as the two owners come from each of those countries. We met Rodrigo, the Argentinian, and he was an enthusiastic and proud host. He is very proud that they make their own bread for the empanada and for the Argentinian and Chilean sandwiches they also feature. Being in the Argentinean tradition, none of their offerings are gluten free.
Bajon En Seattle’s empanadas were very much dominated by the flavorful bread. We thought the cheese option combined with the bread very well. The beef and mushroom was less memorable. Their empanadas were the least expensive of any we sampled, and we would stop by again for the cheese or to sample one of their featured sandwiches if we were in the neighborhood or near their associated food truck.
A To Go Window in Sodo Goes Full Brick and Motor (in Ballard)
Maria Luisa Empanadas has earned a strong reputation for a wide variety of excellent empanadas when operating as pick up window in Sodo, but in the few months they have also opened a brick-and-mortar potential dine-in location, 928 Leary Way Northwest, Suite 102, 206.582.1896, https://marialuisaempanadas.com. This location is bright and open with several tables. But we observed mostly brisk to — go traffic while we were there. Maria Luisa’s empanadas are from the Argentinian tradition (so not gluten free). The owner Ronaldo states they were “inspired” by his grandmother’s recipes, and claims to be the “most authentic” Argentinian empanadas in Seattle. This location may be the empanada capital of Seattle with a large selection of options including sweet as well as savory. Alas, there is dairy in the dough so no vegan options.
We sampled the Caballito Lomo (steak), the chorizo, the caminito caprese (Mozzarella, basil, black olive, and sun-dried tomatoes), and the Mushroom (heavy with cheese) and we would order all of them again, although we would also try several of the others offered, including the salmon option. The steak was well seasoned and very flavorful, complementing the flavor of the dough portion of the pastry. Both the mushroom and the caprese were very cheesy which we like, but that is a matter of taste. They were all served with a dipping sauce that could add some flavor as well as a little heat. We thought the sauce was good but it verged on a distraction from the flavors in the empanadas themselves.
Maria Luisa’s empanadas are in the middle of the price range and they have a frequent diner point system, email and on-line coupons to encourage repeat business. But the food is good enough that they probably do not need those incentives to get you back in the door.
Back to Pike Place Market
It is not often (as in never before) that we cover the same place two months in a row, but we went back to Pike Place market to get empanadas from El Mercado Latino, 1514 Pike Place, 206.623.3240, https://www.facebook.com/pages/El%20Mercado
%20Latino/133426670042324/, but they are the spot in the market for empanadas for lunch. We sampled three of theirs; spinach and feta, steak, and the vegetable curry. Of these, the vegetable curry was our favorite and it was probably the only one we would order again. The steak filling was both bland and dry and the third was not memorable. These were wheat based, so there were no gluten free or vegan options, although the curry we liked would satisfy most vegetarian limitations.
Not surprisingly in a tourist rich environment, El Mercado Latino’s empanadas were the most expensive of any of the spots we visited ($8 each). They were also slightly larger than most of the others’. Apart from this establishment’s convenient location to downtown, we would probably not go back for the empanadas.
And Another
We were curious about how empanadas evolved in another corner of the Spanish Empire. And, the owners of Knee High Stocking Co. also operate a Filipino street food window (and restaurant), Jeepney Cap Hill, 1356 East Olive Way, 206.979.7049, https://www.jeepneycaphill.com (basically across the street from Knee High). They feature a wild boar empanada. But they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and our schedules did not allow us to taste it for this issue; look for an update next month.
Overall, we had two favorites, Maria Luisa’s for wheat-based empanadas and Paparepas for corn based. Both ran between $6 and $7 per empanada, depending upon the filling. We will happily return to both in the future.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard, with the help of friends and family. Send comments and suggestions to him at chh@f2t.com or 206.669.5956.
