Full-flavored Flakiness: The Empanada’s

Some of the many different types of empanadas on sale at The Empanada’s, a new restaurant in Key Biscayne offering what is says is a gourmet take on the classic Latin treat, Aug. 23, 2019 (Key NewsAnnali Hayward)

The humble empanada can be a thing of beauty, if done right. These little shell-shaped wonders can be filled with any number of delectations. They share something in common with the Cornish pasty, the Indian samosa and the Greek spanakopita – essentially grab n’ go from centuries ago, when folks needed sustenance with minimal leakage, fuss and packaging. 

The crucial element is the pastry. I’ve had some pretty bad ones on Key Biscayne (naming no names). There’s nothing like that sinking feeling of hungrily biting into a wedge of uncooked dough. No matter how good your filling is, if it’s wrapped in a stodgy, insipid mass of carb, nobody’s coming back for more.

This is where The Empanada’s reputation precedes it. I’d heard that not only were their fillings unusual, but their dough was somehow different and better. Owner Santiago Pinera – probably quite rightly – wouldn’t tell me the secret as to why. But happily I found it  mostly lives up to the hype. 

The team says their empanadas stay hot for 90 minutes, but eat them straightaway when the pastry’s at its crumbly best, with most of their fillings.

They do keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but by then I found the innermost layer of dough started to take on moisture from the filling and slightly smush (technical term).

On to fillings. Pinera says that although he is an Argentine and the basic recipe is from his homeland, they try to flex their style to please all the different empanada-loving nationalities we have in our community. Reflecting that, the lengthy menu splits into traditional, special and signature fillings. 

If you’re dining alone, a few pieces for $2.99 each will do you just fine. I sampled almost the whole menu with their dozen-for-$29.99 offer, starting with the classics. 

Beef was one of the best. It was really well filled, which I like – nothing sadder than a pocket of air sitting atop stingy filling. Mildly flavored with spices, it was cut through with boiled egg and olives. This was also one of the ones in which the pastry shone – tasty but super-thin too, easing the dreaded food-baby belly that normally appears after empanada excess. 

The spinach was also nicely filled with good pastry, but I did want a little more flavor from the veggies. Ham & Cheese had a great piquancy, but along with the Four Cheeses variety, I found that the salsa blancamixed with the cheese went a little stodgy, shrinking down and leaving a bit of an air pocket. But they tasted good. 

The best by far was one of the original concoctions, Pulled Pork with Mango BBQfrom the specials menu. I could have eaten that baby 10 times over. Hands-down best filling in the shop, and probably on the Key. Sweet, smoky, slightly spiced, nicely filled, with pork perfectly cooked down into juicy shreds. The pastry was crusty and flaky. It really worked. 

A close second was the Cheesy Pampa, another invention, this time from the signatures section. A yummy melding of cheeses including Atuel with corn, black beans and meat, with a similar mojo tang as the pork. These both pair well with the Sour Cream and chive add-on sauce ($0.50). I also tried the chimichurri, a red-chili classic that loved the cheese-based options.

For me, the Empanada’s Gourmet didn’t quite gel – it seemed like it was just a slightly tweaked version of traditional beef, although I did like the dried plum in there. Perhaps just smaller pieces and a bit less would work. Similarly, I so wanted to love the Knife-Cut Beef (by which I guess they mean, pieces of flank rather than ground beef). But sadly it didn’t quite come off; pieces of the meat were too tough and it was overwhelmed by what tasted like uncooked pimenton powder. 

The only ones that strayed into soggy pastry problems were the signature Chicken N’ Cream and the Capresse. I’m sure for both it’s due to the moisture from the chicken’s lovely winey sauce, and the juice from the tomato in the latter. 

Finally, dessert. Nutella & Brownie was sinfully decadent – I’ll be paying for that at the gym. Banana Split was a great combo too, with intensely sweet dulce de leche bringing up the rear in case I hadn’t quite managed my heart-attack yet. 

Customer Zelmira Crespi was satisfied: “The good thing about these is they have a thinner, crunchier crust that doesn’t overpower the filling.”

I applaud their efforts to do something different. “We make absolutely everything from scratch every day in-house,” Pinera said, and so much the better. They’re bound to develop a loyal following amongst locals looking for a home-cooked, authentic empanada.

The takeout-only store at 180 Crandon Boulevard has only been open since June, said Pinera. Along with his friends and business partners, the team of six are probably still honing their recipes and figuring out what customers respond to. Vegan options can be pre-ordered and salads are coming soon. 

They must be honing fast though, as Pinera confirmed they will be opening another store soon, in Brickell. “Probably in December,” he said. 

So get ready, city types. And if you can’t wait that long, they have a very nifty app you can use to pre-order, or get home delivery via ChowNow.