Empanada's Place review - Costa Mesa

[Wonginator]

I finally had a chance to try out the new Empanada's Place in Costa Mesa after driving by it a couple of weeks ago. The restaurant is in the same shopping center as Pho 99 and Moscow Deli.

This is a tiny little location, set up almost like a little cafe. The restaurant has 7 small tables inside, with one outdoor table. Being a newbie to Argentine food, I decided to pick one of the empanadas (the cheesy spicy beef version) and the Argentine tamal. There are 10 meat versions and 8 vegetable versions of the empanadas. There are also 3 different sandwiches on the menu. Each of the empanadas are $2.99 (you can get a dozen for $29.99 if you bring lots of friends), the tamal is $4.99, and the sandwiches range from $8.99-10.99.

The cheesy spicy beef empanada was not all that spicy, but it was very tasty. I like the crunchiness and texture of the fried exterior, and the nice flavors of the beef mixed with carrots, peas, mozzarella cheese, and potatoes on the interior.

As for the Argentine tamal, this was very good and quite different from most tamales I've had before. Like most people, I'm pretty familiar with the Mexican tamale, and while I've eaten my fair share of frozen food and restaurant versions, I've not been much of a fan of it in the past. But I was intrigued by this one, since I never tried an Argentine version. This chicken version that I selected tasted great, as it was made with fresh corn (as stated in its description on the menu).

This place is related to the Culver City location. For OC residents like myself who have never visited the Culver City location, this Costa Mesa location is a nice addition to the variety of cuisines that we're lucky to have nearby. I have yet to try Empanada Man in Lake Forest that I've read about, but I might soon just to do a comparison to the tasty food at Empanada's Place.

Empanada's Place
3011 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa
[phone]
Tue-Sat 11a-8p
Sun 11a-7p
closed Mondays