New taqueria in East Boston

[coolaugustmoon]

After waddling out of Jalisco today, I noticed Que Padre taqueria across the Square (not quite a square really but close) Signs in window said "tacos, burritos, Sonoran hot dogs". Now I made a bee line for it, but my wife, who had just eaten a number of tacos while watching me eat an even larger number, said "no, leave it for next time, it will give you an excuse to come to Eastie sooner. Has anyone tried it? It appeared to be Mexican as opposed to Salvadorean or Guatemalan + tacos.

[opinionatedchef]

After we had our always flavor packed brunch at East Coast Grill today, we made a run over to Que Padre to try the beef sultanas. What a nice helpful fellow. They looked beautiful, well formed and plump with filling, with an appealing shiny brown glaze. I had been warned by DaveMP that they would be sweeter than empanadas, but i was not prepared for how MUCH sweeter they would be. First of all, the dough itself was sweet throughout, sweet enough for a dessert pie. The filling was cubes of braised beef mixed with onion, potato, hard boiled egg and peas. And sugar.

I bought some saltenas because I wanted to be supportive, but I confess feeling like they had a very good thing going until they started adding all that sugar. I myself will stick with my regular rotation beef empanadas from Tango in Arlington Ctr.These large fried crescents are also filled with beef (ground) , egg and onion, and include olives and raisins. There is no added sugar to the filling or the dough ( but also no cumin, herbs or spices, so i put a Chipotle sauce on them.)

[Dave MP]

Thanks for the report. The sweetness you describe sounds really good to me, actually, and I still haven't tried this place! I guess mainly because I live in San Francisco. But I have several trips to Boston coming up this summer, so hopefully I will try it soon.

[opinionatedchef]

dave, so glad you like 'em sweet; i bet you'll treasure these. btw they sell them frozen too (he doesn't keep many around in the warmer) so you could order and pick up a few dozen on your way to the airport when you fly back.

otherwise, plse remember my recchiuti swap offer :-}

[galangatron]

the saltenas are great. hopefully the bolivian dishes will be more readily available soon

[Luther]

I saw that sign for Que Padre the last couple times I went to Jalisco... ain't no bacon-wrapped hot dog with beans gonna keep me from my Jalisco.

[yumyum]

Sonoran hot dogs is sure to get some hounds interested! Thanks for the lead!

[opinionatedchef]

hey dave, how 'bout i send you some from Boston and you send me an order(custom order that is) from Recchiuti?(they don't mail custom orders) :-}

[Dave MP]

According to Facebook, they also have Bolivian food and salteñas!!! That's super exciting if it's good!

http://www.facebook.com/QuePadreTaque...

If I were not thousands of miles away, I would be hopping on the Blue Line right this instant.

[opinionatedchef]

Well, little did I know- saltenas are like empanadas, which I love but which, aside from my own, never have enough comino for me. But dave, check out this recipe:
http://www.boliviaweb.com/recipes/eng...

I've never seen GELATIN used in a meat filling that is then baked! Obviously it's to serve as a binder for the filling, but i would think the gelatin would break down under the heat (i guess not for the amount of time it takes to bake them. But what a surprise.)

[Dave MP]

Yes, salteñas are Bolivian empanadas, named after the city of Salta (which is actually in Argentina, and possibly where they originated). This is exciting, since as far as I know, there isn't any other Bolivian food in Boston. Salteñas tend to be sweeter, spicier, and smaller than Argentinian empanadas (and much smaller than Chilean ones), but I don't think they necessarily contain gelatin. Funny that that recipe contains it.

Anyway, I hope someone goes to try these soon. Need to know whether I should head here directly from the airport next time I'm in Boston!

[opinionatedchef]

well, for me, spicier is very good but sweeter is not. But i AM an empanada freak (last having run to Waltham to try some reported by striperguy) so i may head over there soon! and of course will report.

[SusanaG]

I've had their saltenas 3 times now and I adore them. I have to say that on their opening day they were freshly made and hot and juicy, whereas last time I went they had been sitting around longer. Everyone I was with liked them better than empanadas because they're not greasy. I agree, the tacos were so-so but the owners are thinking of making more Bolivian dishes on weekends

[opinionatedchef]

oh boy! were they baked, susana? were they more sweet than not? any cumin flavor? thx for the report!

[saria]

Salteñas are baked.
Empanadas are as different as the countries they originate from. Some are fried, some are baked. And there's no cumin in plenty of them, because that's simply not authentic. Salteñas usually have some cumin, A Colombian empanada made with cornmeal dough has a filling of potatoes and shredded meat, no cumin. A classic Dominican empanada, of yuca dough, also has no cumin (as Dominican food in general is pretty free of that spice). Nor will a picadillo-filled pastelito (which people tend to think of as an empanada).

[opinionatedchef]

yes, that has all been what i have experenced as well. And my emps have alot of cumin in them, so i keep hoping i will find a So.Amer. emp like mine!, but i think it's futile. Trad So Amer does not equal cumin, and if it does, it's v. little cumin.
(GEEF me cumin; i WANT it !)

[coolaugustmoon]

I finally made it. The saltenas were fresh out of the oven. Both beef and chicken were dynamite. The owner (mentioned previously) was extremely nice. Very proud of his food. A steal at $2.50 each. Literally spurted juice more than a foot upon biting into it (in a good way, dry cleaning aside). The owner ran over and apologized about not warning us. The tacos were better then most, especially the tortillas. Bolivian owner explained his niece is Sonoran and it is her recipe. Tops Anna's and el Pelon but ended up at Jalisco after for a tostada de camaron and cheek tacos just to get it out of my system. One "feel good" thing to me was the large # of massport employees of all different ethnic stripes getting saltenas by the bunch to go. Further proof that good Chow can bridge cultures and bring people together.

[Dave MP]

Great to read this! Thanks for reporting back!

[StriperGuy]

Next time ditch the wife and EAT MORE CHOW (kidding, I'm kidding).

[hyde]

follow this suggestion enough times and you wont have to worry about it.

[coolaugustmoon]

It literally was an arm pulling "come on, how can you think about eating more". deal. The place looked so clean and fresh and new, I was like a moth to a flame. Hope it turns out to be the real deal. I also noticed Mexico specific flyers around, I hope this is the tipping point of a Mexican migration to Boston.

[bearzie]

I wanted to try Taqueria Jalisco and I saw the sign for Que Padre so I figured I'd give it a try. I got a chicken taco. I should have asked for guacamole on it. I didn't realize they didn't charge for it. It was just OK. Rather bland. I'd give it another try but I'm not running back. The guy behind the counter (owner?) was very nice. I was so hoping it was like Taco Lupita which I really miss since they closed their Somerville location. The Lynn location is a hike for me.

I'm trying to find a taco in the Boston area that is like Taco Lupita. I haven't been able to find a spot that comes close.