Mmmpanadas

I met up with a friend last weekend to go walking; she lives in the Delwood neighborhood, between IH-35 and the Mueller development. She walks her dog daily, so she knew the route to get from Delwood to Mueller. It's been a long time since I've been up in that area, and it was neat to see how far Mueller has come along. A couple years ago, I went driving through there with some other friends, when houses were still just being started. They've got a beautiful green space, trails for walking, etc. Not sure that I'd want to live there, but still pretty, and it seems well-planned. And they even have their own little trailer food court!

We found the Mmmpanadas truck, along with Elixir coffee, and the Short Bus sub sandwiches. Tried the Argentinean empanada, that had ground beef, green olives, and some hard-boiled egg with chipotle mayo; my friend had the spinach mushroom with lemon aioli. Have to say, I was impressed. Mine had good flavor and texture. My friend said in hers, she didn't really get mushrooms, unless they were really chopped up. Both dipping sauces were good too.

What I probably appreciated most was their crust -- it's light and somewhat flaky, but doesn't crumble to pieces when you bite into it. Many other empanadas use a soft, doughy crust, which just doesn't cut it for me. After finishing, I asked the guy working the trailer what the dough was made of; he said he didn't know (you should ALWAYS know your ingredients, even if you are just the hired help!), but I am guessing it's shortening.

This Argentine empanada most closely resembles the empanadas of my youth, purchased from Wagshal's Deli in Washington, DC, generally my gold standard for empanadas. Add a few golden raisins or currants and maybe some dried thyme, and the Mmmpanadas one would be right there.