What I Got: Creamy Corn Empanada, Smoked Chicken Empanada, Fugazetta Empanada

Price: $$

Location: NYC

Review:

I usually don’t mention the location of the restaurants I review because I want to focus on the food, but this location is worth mentioning.  Criolla’s is located in the Turnstyle Underground Market which is a market in a subway station!  The entrance can be found on 8th Avenue and 57th Street.  You can order delivery, but if you are looking for a fun little adventure it’s worth a visit.  You walk down what looks like a regular subway entrance to find a variety of unique restaurants, shops, and even a hair salon! All the empanadas are baked, so if you don’t want a fried empanada these are fantastic.  Each flavor of empanada is shaped differently, so you can easily tell which flavor is which.  You can get individual empanadas, or there is a deal for a box of three, six, or twelve.  The “three pack” is my favorite because it is the perfect amount for a meal for me (although I wouldn’t mind eating more).

Creamy Corn Empanada – The Creamy Corn Empanada is a vegan empanada with sweet corn cream, scallions, onions, and red peppers.  The corn cream is smooth and packed with delicious sweet corn flavor.  The scallion and onion add great savory flavor to contrast with the corn.  The red peppers are sweet and bright which compliment and elevate the corn cream.  The empanada dough was incredibly flaky.  I love corn, so this was one of my favorite empanadas I’ve ever had!

Smoked Chicken Empanada – The Smoked Chicken Empanada includes BBQ pulled chicken with tomato paste and chopped onion.  The chicken was tender and juicy with an amazing smoky flavor that gave it a lot of depth.  The tomato paste was bright and sweet.  It balanced out the saltier chicken.  The onion was savory and brought together the tomato and onion to create a delicious empanada.  The dough was incredibly flaky and made the empanada top notch!

Fugazzetta Empanada – The Fugazzetta Empanada is a vegetarian empanada with cheese and caramelized onions. The cheese was melty, salty, and gorgeously gooey. The caramelized onions are sweet and jammy. They compliment the cheese beautifully. The dough was perfectly flaky. If you are a lover of cheese and caramelized onions, you can’t go wrong with this empanada! It is cheesy and satisfying.