It’s Wednesday and time for Eat This Now by Daniel Walker of DeepinthegutofTexas.com:
I’ll admit, it’s been a while since my high school Spanish class, but I’m pretty sure “Empa Mundo” translates loosely to either “world of empanadas” or “empanadas-so good-they’ll-melt-yourface-off.” Although this humble establishment may be a bit off the beaten path, this is one path is filled with richly rewards for those willing to traverse it.
Owner Raul Gordon is a man who understands one simple culinary concept: if you are going to do only one thing, then do it well. And when it comes to empanadas, Raul does his job superbly. His quiet dedication to the empanada has produced a nearly perfect little pocket of love.
Every empanada is hand-made to order and fried to order right before your eager eyes. The crispy exterior shell is light and flaky, never too oily, and creates a perfect vessel for each of the tantalizing fillings awaiting you inside.
There’s more…
Drool-inducing flavors include the criolla (beef or chicken, onions, raisins, and eggs); spinach (with ricotta and parmesean cheeses); Texas brisket (with potato and chiles); and chilipanzingas (with ham and cheese). Each is accompanied by the herbaceous house-made chimichurri. Believe me, you will be drinking this stuff with a straw after a few tastes.
If Hugh Hefner wasn’t such a senile old coot and had a little more sense, he would stop selling magazines full of silicone-enhanced naked women and throw in a few centerfolds of these empanadas. He would have a copy hidden under every foodie’s mattress in America.
Don’t be fooled by the strip mall facade, what lies within the doors of Empa Mundo is nothing short of a culinary gold mine. Go eat this now.
3977 North Belt Line Road
Irving, TX 75038
(972) 746-4516
