Finally Listening to Mom

The Empanada Maker

26131 La Paz Road

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

I've never understood why empanadas have not had their moment in the sun. Filipino food is the wildly trendy thing right now, and rainbow-colored foods, poke, avocado toast, cupcakes, bacon, and even the equally awful kale and quinoa have had their time to shine. So why not empanadas? They are versatile, relatively easy to eat while driving and are way better than their inferior, Hot Pocket cousins that you can find in the freezer section at your local grocery store.

Lucky for the people of South OC, there's a chance to experience empanadas before they make it big. The Empanada Maker has been around for coming up on four years now. To be honest, my mom had eaten here about three years ago and wanted me to try it out. Being the son that I am, I, of course, put it off until now. I had their menu on my desk for all those years and decided that I would finally make my mom happy on a recent Friday night and visit the Empanada Maker. She, of course, will never know this, as she stopped reading my blog long ago, but that's a story for another day.

The Empanada Maker came to be when the Owner, Cameron Davis, lived in Argentina during his late teens. He fell in love with the handheld empanada, and once he returned to the US, he made them for parties, and friends and family would tell him to make them for a living. Finally, after some time in real estate, he made his empanada dream a reality when he opened up this restaurant. Not only is he serving up traditional, South American empanadas, but the product line also includes more non-traditional empanada options from different areas of the world. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

We arrived on a Friday evening, and they were doing a steady takeout business. I was surprised that there were not more people eating here, as there was a football game at Mission Viejo High School across the street. This small restaurant was very comforting, with its purple walls, red trim, and the warm glow of the empanada case, which houses the 12 varieties of empanadas available. The guy manning the register was very patient, explaining the menu to us and what some of the favorites of other customers happened to be. We observed him doing this over and over again with first-timers like us. We made our selections, and our food was brought to our table within a few minutes.

When Katie's Combo #2 ($7.99) was sitting in front of her, I was surprised at the size of these empanadas. They stretched from one side of the basket to the other. Way bigger than others I have had, by almost double the size. I did not snap pictures of the inside of Katie's empanadas, as I was trying to be respectful and wanted her to enjoy her meal. I know, first time for everything. She had the Chicken and the Chicken Florentine. She thought these were good and gave the nod to the chicken one as being her favorite. It was stuffed with tender chicken, peas, potatoes, onions, peppers, and a touch of garlic. It surprised her how filling these empanadas were. She also enjoyed the Deviled Egg Potato Salad, which she picked as her side item. This was a different take on a potato salad, which pushed the egg to the forefront. The menu claims that this is better than grandma's recipe; in my case, that's true, but my grandma was not that good of a cook.

I also went the combo route at the Empanada Maker with this Combo #3 ($9.99). I had ordered the Spinach and Cheese, the Diablo, and the Philly Cheesesteak. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the kitchen, as I got a Chicken Florentine instead of the Philly. As for my side item, I opted for the Chimichurri Rice. The chimichurri rice was a good option, with its diced onions, peas, red peppers, and chimichurri sauce. This will sound like a backhanded compliment, but this tasted like a more flavorful version of Rice A Roni, which I have no problem with. I grew up on the San Fransisco treat, and it always reminds me of my childhood, which is not bad for me. Let's take a look at the insides of these empanadas.

Since you can't really judge an empanada by its outer shell, here are a few shots of the inside of each of the ones I had. Yes, I got to try the Philly Cheesesteak when I returned and ordered one for myself and a ham and cheese one for Katie. I was pretty impressed with all of these, as they were all very flavorful, tasted like they were described, and had a good amount of fillings. The spinach and cheese version was better than I anticipated. It had a creamed spinach feel, as the cheese was an excellent binding agent for the leafy spinach. The chicken florentine was OK but probably my least favorite out of the four that I consumed. It was kind of drab, and even though this one had the most ingredients included inside of it, this empanada was the only one I would not consider getting again. That can not be said for my evening favorite, the Diablo. This spicy pulled pork, cheddar cheese, onion, and cilantro concoction woke my taste buds with a not overbearing but slow burn, making me very happy. The cheesesteak version was dead on and probably my second favorite of the evening. They got the essence of the cheesesteak right, and this will be one of my go-to's on future visits to The Empanada Maker.

A word about the Sauces ($.49). I liked them but felt they were secondary to the empanadas. They had five to offer, and we tried them all. The Chimichurri was too oily and did not add too much in the way of flavor. The Tomato Salsa was fine, but it did not seem to jive with any of the empanadas I had. The Cilantro Avocado was a favorite of Katie's, and she used it generously with her two empanadas. My two favorites were the Salsa Verde and the Chipotle Ranch. I'm always a sucker for anything ranch, and this one had a nice tinge of spice at the end of each bite. The salsa verde was the same, mellow at first, and then you get a gentle burst of heat near the end. Again I did not feel the sauces were necessary other than adding another flavor profile to the already delicious empanadas. 

There are also dessert empanadas. We ordered the Coconut Cream Pie ($2.89) and the Cinnamon Apple ($2.89). The apple version reminded me too much of an upgraded McDonald's pie we all had when we were kids. I enjoyed the chilled coconut cream version better, with its toasted shaved coconut and a generous amount of coconut-tinged cream inside the outer casing of the empanada. Very good and a definite must when craving dessert here. Next time I have the chocolate creme brulee empanada in my sight.

After leaving The Empanada Maker, I felt terrible that we had not made the time to come here sooner. It's so close to our house, and I can see this restaurant becoming one of our usual haunts when we just want to stay close to home and don't want to drive anywhere to explore new restaurants. The menu is varied enough, with 12 kinds of empanadas and five dessert options, and they even offer breakfast versions until 11 am. The sides were fine, but I'll try the fries and the jalapeno black beans next time. Service was very cordial, and the kids behind the counter explained what empanadas are, what some of the favorites are, and getting the food out quickly. We will be back, and empanadas will be the next big thing with any luck. But, of course, I'm usually pretty bad at predicting the next big thing. I just hope kale and quinoa don't make a return to glory.

Out of five golden chalices (because the empanada originated in Galicia, the northwest portion of Spain, and that area's symbol is a golden chalice), five being best to zero being worst, The Empanada Maker gets 3 golden chalices.

For more information about The Empanada Maker, head to their website here: http://theempanadamaker.com/