(passing by the decomissioned San Onofre nuclear power plant, aka "The Tits", or at least that's what I call it)
We were invited to Bert's niece's Gold Award Ceremony...
The Gold Award is the Girls Scouts equivalent to the Eagle for the Boy Scouts. Both are the highest awards one can earn. She is a college bound senior in high school and this was a major accomplishment that we didn't want to miss as she and two other Girl Scouts were presented their award.
Before the ceremony that afternoon, we made a quick stop off of La Paz Rd. in Mission Viejo.
Earlier this year, I bought several coupon books since they were on sale for $5 each (in anticipation of future road trips to the OC, the SGV, LA and the Bay Area). After persuing through the books, I noted the ones I wanted us to try aaaaaaand, since we were in the area....
As you head north on the 5, you take La Paz Rd and make a U-turn at the first red light, then turn into this small strip mall. There's a Starbucks there but the Empanada place is byitself overlooking a small hill.
This was the weekend of the scorching hot weather. Funnily enough, although it was in the early to mid 80's, it didn't feel that bad when we were up here. At least the place had AC inside though.
Our game plan was to buy several of their standard flavors (including a few non meat ones for TC) as well as their specialty hand pies. The coupon afforded us at least $10 off our order, so score for that.
They had so many choices. There were a lot of customers here waiting for their orders and I was afraid we were almost going to miss the ceremony in nearby Aliso Viejo (we didn't, thank goodness).
The dips cost extra; we bought three, the chipotle ranch, chimichurri and the salsa verde. In our trunk was our trusty cooler with ice packs so we were good to go after we got our order. I admit, I ate half of the beef one before we even left the parking lot.
Here they are in all of their glory (receipt at the end of the post lists the flavors we got)...On the edges of the crust, it reads, "Enjoy" in raised letters. On the opposite edge is an embossed number. Very clever!
See the numbers?
Beef empanada 1/3 devoured...
Later that same evening, the innards of the other ones. Don't remember which but just know that every single one of these were pretty %$#@ good! The dough was a bit on the soft side and it is lightly brushed with egg when baked. The dough isn't as flaky like a puff pastry kind of dough, but was sturdy enough to contain the delicious fillings.
We saved moolah yo'...
Thank you coupon book! I still have another one through the online app, which will be used for a future road trip. Hand pie snacks are always a good thing.
Reviews/articles of The Empanada Maker:
"The Empanada Maker: Meat Them!". OCWeekly, January 2, 2014 plus another short blurb
"The Empanada Maker brings delicious Argentine hand pies to Mission Viejo", The Examiner, December 24, 2013
"Empanada Maker opens in Mission Viejo" OC Weekly, November 2013
+ reviews from you know where
We made it to the ceremony on time, mingled with the in-laws, etc and after a brief reception in which light appetizers and refreshments were served, we made our way to Tustin to use yet another coupon burning a hole in my wallet...
2 comments:
Mmm, empanadas! You're smart and bought extra books, I didn't do that. I'm jealous of your couponing abilities haha. The empanadas looks awesome! I'm very impressed with that embossing right on the dough.
I did that only recently because the price was pretty cheap. As with the SD book, some places are no longer in business, so it helps to check uf the restaurant or eatery is still around.
Post a Comment