I’ve previously heard about El Guayaquileno, an Ecuadorean food truck that parks on 37th St just west of 6th Ave, but didn’t have a chance to try them until today. I’m not usually near the Garment District, but made my way over there today to try them out.
If you’re expecting tacos and other Mexican-type food, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you want interesting South American fare, definitely give them a shot.
A guayaquileno is someone from Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, and the country’s largest port. This means they have several fish dishes, but there are also grilled meats and stews, including goat stew, which is not too common around here.
I was walking up 6th Ave in the twenties and saw a truck on the SE corner of 26th St and 6th Ave that I had not seen before. After doing a little research, I saw that UltraClay had recently written about this truck on Midtown Lunch.
He called it the NYC Mobile Eatery (the old name on the front and side of the truck), but when I was ordering, I noticed a sign next to the window that said Empanadas Paradise. When I asked for a menu to take away, it also said Empanadas Paradise, and it said they had homemade Argentinian food.
I was originally thinking of getting the Argentinian lomito, a monster sandwich with steak, ham, egg, cheese, lettuce and tomato, but once I saw the name, the deal was sealed. If a dish is in a restaurant’s name, try that dish first.
Today’s Lunch is a beef, a chicken and a cheese empanada ($2 each of 3 for $5) from Empanadas Paradise.
Say hello to Choripán – the ultimate Argentinian street snack. It’s named from the words chorizo, a sausage, and pan, meaning bread. The choripán is a hot, grilled, heavily condimented sausage in a bun, and the bread is usually crusty enough to scrape the skin off the roof of your mouth.
The wonderful food vendors at the Red Hook ball fields are set to begin serving again on May 1st. You may recall that Country Boys Tacos/Martinez Taco Truck won the top prize at the 2009 Vendy Awards. Below is a picture of their winning tacos from last year’s Vendy’s.
Earlier this week, we asked if empanadas can become the next tacos, as Leo Suarez is trying to accomplish. In that vein, here’s our personal recipe for ground beef and lime empanadas. Our recipe uses Pillsbury crescent rolls as the dough, but if you’re hard-core, feel free to make your own dough. We don’t have a lot of room in our little NYC kitchen to roll out dough, and would rather spend the time making margaritas to go with the empanadas.
GROUND BEEF AND LIME EMPANADAS
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
16 ounce can plum tomatoes
2 limes juiced
½ cup raisins
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup golden raisins
2 jalapeno chilies
½ cup chopped cilantro (with stems)
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground beef in large frying pan. Remove meat from pan and strain. Reserve 1 tablespoon of fat.
Drain and chop plum tomatoes reserving liquid in case it is needed. Soak raisins in warm water. Toast almonds.
Chop onion fine and add to frying pan. Cook until translucent. Finely chop garlic and jalapeno; add to onions for last 30 seconds of cooking.
Stir in browned beef, chopped tomato and lime juice. Add remaining spices and adjust seasonings to taste. Some of the reserved tomato sauce can be added back if the mixture is too dry.
Of course, you can make your own pastry dough and roll it out, but I usually use Pillsbury crescent rolls, which work very well as empanada shells.
Lay one triangle on the table and fill with about 1 tablespoon of filling. Pinch together two out of the three sides. Pick up the pocket you have made and fill empanada, then pinch the last side closed.
Place on baking sheet. (Lining the baking sheet with baking paper prevents sticking.) Brush empanadas with scrambled egg mixed with one tablespoon of water. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.
