Dona Empanada

[denisea]

At the request of StewartG, a new thread for a review of Dona's Empanadas on 15th Ave.

[StewartG]

I've seen this place mentioned here and there on the board, but I need to take a minute to give it SERIOUS PROPS! It is located on 15th ave between 2nd and 4th streets - EASY walk from 5th Ave. Along with HC de Monterrey, it is my favorite restaurant in PDC.

This place has a great selection of the MOST delicious empanadas I have EVER had in my life! I have had Mexican cookie style empanadas and Columbian "mealish" empanadas, but nothing compares to these. They are all made fresh to your order, right in front of you. The kitchen seemed clean and the staff was very friendly. And the price? For most empanadas they are 5 pesos each! A couple were a bit more, and the shrimp was 9 pesos (not my favorite). These empanadas are about four or five inches long, and two or three would make a great light meal, four or five will get you stuffed! Heck, I was able to feed my entire family of four for 50 pesos!!!

"La Renia de Empanadas" makes a good variety, my favorites being cheese, ham and cheese, and the creme de la creme - spinach and cheese! These reminded me of every other spinach dish I love (Greek spanakopita, Indian saag paneer, etc.) She also has a dessert empanada made with dulce de leche (my favorite mexican candy) and coconut that almost made me cry. Like I mentioned, I wasn't overly impressed by the shrimp empanda. It was good, just not nearly as good as the others. Also, the strawberry and coconut empanada came out a bit sloppy, as I think La Renia uses strawberry jam. Personally, I would have added a few more fruit empanadas using fresh local produce, but of course I don't know diddly about making empanadas!

I'm trying to talk my wife and "La Renia" into letting me open a location in Houston! I could charge three times as much and I think I would *still* have people lining up around the block!!! Do yourself a favor and go try this place before it becomes internationally famous and it costs $10 bucks to feed a family of four instead of $5.

[MWC]

Thanks, I'll add it to my "cheap eats" list.

We, too, were struck at how well one could eat cheaply. We have a favorite mom-n-pop taquieria nearby, here in the States, but they charge at least three times, if not four times, what it cost us to eat a similar meal in PDC.

Kinda hard to get motivated to go back there now that we're home.

[StewartG]

MWC, I meant to thank you for your restaurant list. It was the "backbone" of my master "places I wanna try" list. For the most part, I agreed with your assessments. I found the surly service at the coffee press not worth the decent food and very good coffee. (Joe at Java Joe's, on the other hand, made it a *pleasure* to pay $3 for a bagel there!) On a side note, however, I enjoyed browsing their (Coffee Press') "used book store" and actually bought a biography of Ian Curtis, the lead singer for Joy Division - what an odd place to find that book!

On another side note, I have been meaning to tell you for the LONGEST time that you have the COOLEST avatar on the board (Heather's being a close second). I have persuaded myself that that it is ACTUALLY you in your avatar - if it ISN'T, please don't burst my bubble! I have a wonderful image of you wandering around the streets of Hartford (or wherever you are), going about your everyday life dressed like that. If I wasn't already past my own personal cross-dressing phase, I would do the same thing!

[StewartG]

I have heard from one source that this place closed and from another source that they moved.

I had talked to "La Dona" about buying the place at one time, but we decided not to. I sent the owner an email but haven't heard back. Anyone know what the status is on this place? I'm going to be REAL sad if she closed up and didn't sell the place to another good owner...

StewartG

[MWC]

Stewart, we were in Playa over Xmas, and I made it a special point that we had to try this place, because of you! There is still a storefront, and the paintjob looks well-maintained, but it was never open.

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by MWC

Stewart, we were in Playa over Xmas, and I made it a special point that we had to try this place, because of you! There is still a storefront, and the paintjob looks well-maintained, but it was never open.

Oh man, I'm sorry you missed the place... I am going to be really sad if she just closed up shop. Her food was SOOOO good and SOOOO cheap!!! I could STUFF my family of four for lunch for about 50 40 or 50 pesos!!!

StewartG

[mindz]

We were just in playa, looking for the lady who sells handmade empanadas. she was next to the dentist building on calle 4, but isn't there now. Around the corner on 15th there is a storefront labelled "Dona Empanada," but it never was opened. Did we just miss her, or has she moved again?

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by mindz

We were just in playa, looking for the lady who sells handmade empanadas. she was next to the dentist building on calle 4, but isn't there now. Around the corner on 15th there is a storefront labelled "Dona Empanada," but it never was opened. Did we just miss her, or has she moved again?

If you browse through there, you will find that this was one of my FAVORITE places to eat in Playa!!! Despite my shouting her praises to the heavens, Stephani (La Dona) seems to have closed up shop. We talked to her over a few weeks last summer about buying her place, but we decided (thanks, in part, to some wise advice from some local Playa friends) that it would be too hard to own and operate a restaurant "in abstentia."

If you manage to track her down, please let me know. I tried sending her an email a few months ago, but it got bounced back...

Those were the BEST freakin' empanadas, and MAN my wife and I could eat like KINGS for about $4 U.S.!!!