Hey everyone I’m back with another food review of another take out spot that I’ve been meaning to try for a while as well. Just in case it is not obvious, this is just a review only on the vegetarian options and currently as this blog post gets published, these are the vegetarian options available. Take a read below for my thoughts, pictures, and more info. However, before you do, make sure you follow the blog on social media (Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook) for more veg food content! See below for a preview of what you can expect prior to reading the details!
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Info + Location
House of Empanadas is a small business where you can place orders for take out (20 min pickup) or delivery, but NOT dine-in. I believe they’ve done pop-ups at different markets before, and that’s how I heard of them but not entirely sure. It’s located in an industrial area in East York, Ontario at 19 Curity Ave, Unit 15. It is a bit far from where I am at and the owner was surprised when I told him I was commuting from Scarborough, but to be fair I was there to drop something off so it gave me the perfect excuse to finally try this out. I even told him it is hard to find veggie empanadas options if you’re not in LA or NY. Oh, and keep in mind parking is a bit limited.
Price
The price is set at $24 for 6 empanadas and $39 for 12 empanadas (both comes with 2 dipping sauces). However, what is not set is your choices as you are able to mix and match. I know that is pretty pricey but keep in mind the ingredients are gourmet which can justify their pricing strategy. You can check out all the options on their website, but for this review and myself I had to try all their veggie empanadas which will be reviewed in detail in the next section.
Taste
Left: Better Meat Right: Blue Cheese
There are currently 4 different options for vegetarians, blue cheese, better meat (plant based), cheese and onions, and of course, spinach! My favourite for me personally was the spinach as I loved the texture of the spinach and the caramelization of the onions, such a good pairing. Another good pairing that I was surprised (and to be honest, a bit hesitant about) was the blue cheese empanada. The blue cheese one is with you guessed it, blue cheese but also includes walnuts and golden raisins. Thankfully the blue cheese is mild so no there wasn’t any overpowering smell. It did have a soft texture and really enjoyed the crunch from the walnuts. I found the cheese and onion super cheesy, and bit surprised that the onions were super small onions but glad it was because it looked good and complimented it. Last but not least in terms of the empanadas, the “better meat”. It was not bad at all but I do wish there was more filling. I tasted more of the veggies than any plant based meat which isn’t a terrible thing either, but a bit surprising. Speaking of, I found it a little tangy but that maybe because of the olives?
Something to note about all of them was that the presentation looked great and it was nice and flaky. However, that is a little annoying when you are trying to eat in the car so I would advise to eat it in the right environment. I also noticed that in some of the flavours have several ingredients listed but each of those ingredients don’t have a distinctive taste eg. quinoa, raisins, red peppers, etc. I also want to talk about the 2 sauces. One is their signature Argentinian sauce, chimichurri and the other is the smoky aioli. I do see more options online but not sure if it was available at that time. My personal preference is the smoky aioli but the chimichurri wasn’t bad because it was different. Fair warning, the chimichurri has a kick to it and a bit oily. FYI, there are dessert options available eg. Nutella, Apple, and Alfajores but I didn’t try it that day, maybe next time!
Overall
In conclusion I did enjoy these empanadas and I can definitely see myself buying from them again in the near future! I do want to address that if I wasn’t in that area and taking into consideration the long drive it may have not fully satisfied my expectations and hunger. I meant to share it with my sister but I found myself eating majority of them. The biggest thing to consider beyond the taste is the price, and frankly it is a bit high. As stated before, the reason for this can be explained with the fact that they are a small business who use gourmet ingredients and lovely packaging with each order. Therefore, I get why it is a bit high but it is not unreasonable. It might be nice if they do bring the price down a little bit as I think more people would be fully satisfied and return more frequently. I would also love to see them introduce new vegetarian options but I can still see myself ordering all of the veggie flavours again, especially the spinach! Hopefully I can try it again whenever I am in the area but these are just my thoughts on the veggie empanadas. Let me know your thoughts below if you have tried them (even the meat) and please feel free to support by following on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
