We haven’t been to Nuchas in quite a while, and their new stand in Greeley Square was a good reason for a return visit. It also helped they were serving potato leek soup on this freezing, windy day.
Nuchas had a couple of specials, with 3 empanadas for $9, or 2 empanadas and soup for $8. We ordered the latter.
If you recall, Nuchas won Rookie of the Year at the 2013 Vendy Awards. They started with a stand in Times Square, then opened a food truck, and they now have a stand at Greeley Square, which is on 32nd St. between Broadway and 6th Ave.
portobello empanada (credit: Perry R.)
We were looking forward to digging into the potato leek soup, and it did not disappoint. The soup was thick with chunks of potato and plenty of shredded leeks in a pureed base. At home, we use more cream in our potato leek soup, but Nuchas’ soup was still a tasty, body-warming experience on this cold winter day.
potato & leek soup (credit: Perry R.)The first empanada we tried was the Portobello. Inside the dough were chunks of portobello mushrooms, spinach, onion, and a bunch of different herbs and spices we would need a chemistry set to decipher. It had an earthy, umami taste.
The menu said the portobello empanada included mozzarella cheese, but it wasn’t readily apparent.
The portobello empanada was wrapped in a spinach dough, which gave it a greenish tint. The spinach dough probably added a few more vitamins, but it didn’t change the overall taste too much.
The second empanada was the classic Argentine. At Nuchas, they used ground beef from Pat LaFrieda, one of the best and most popular meat purveyors in the NYC area.
Argentine empanada (credit: Perry R.)There was plenty of ground beef and potatoes in the empanada, and it had a bell pepper taste too. We didn’t see or taste any olives, which is usually an integral part of Argentinian empanadas.
One of the things we like about Nuchas is their empanadas are baked, not fried. This makes for a healthier lunch, since cooking oil is not used. It makes the dough and the entire empanada lighter to eat (and digest).
You can find the Nuchas truck on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.
Don’t forget about their two stands, either. We didn’t, and enjoyed a very good lunch.
