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| - Empanadas, bubble tea, and desserts? Wow what a combo! I love the idea but unfortunately the execution leaves much to be desired. I think they might be trying to accomplish too many things and as a result while they have a lot of variety they don't succeed in focusing on creating an ideal product.
I came here for lunch and decided on the #1 combination ($6.75) which comes with 1 empanada of your choice, a side, and a drink. Note that the fountain drinks are either iced tea (Black or raspberry today), or lemonade. Sodas are by the can. The empanada case had a variety of flavors such as gaucho beef, chorizo, and samosa (Which isn't really a flavor per se and I get what they are trying to convey, but it's kind of like saying your flavor is "wonton" or "eggroll"). I went for the paella chicken empanada, enticed by the description of savory chicken, red bell peppers, and saffron infused flavors. Your sides are tortilla chips, kettle chips, or coleslaw. I went for the coleslaw.
Since the empanadas were already made, it took no time to heat it up and get my side plated. Seating is nice and comfortable with chairs and padded (Leather? Leather-like?) booths.
The empanada dough is not as flaky as Republica Empanada's, and the filling was overly salty for me. There weren't enough textures to add variety to the filling either and I could only discern the stringy chicken texture and the mushy background texture. In terms of flavor, I could definitely taste the saffron, but the salt tended to overpower any other flavors the paella might have had. In addition, I got a small piece of chicken bone in my empanada- not good eats!
The coleslaw, on the other hand, looked beautiful with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds to contrast with the dressed lettuce, but tasted bland to me. I could only taste a very faint flavor of sweetness and vinegar.
I wolfed down my combination meal but was still hungry. If you are going for a full meal I would go for the larger combination #2 which includes 2 empanadas, drink, and side for a little less than $10.
If I'm in the area I might stop by again to try a bubble tea but overall I wasn't overly impressed with the empanadas or coleslaw.
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