What to Have for Lunch Today: Empanadas from Epicenter Café

John Birdsall

Empanada plate ($9.50).

​Mon., April 26, 2010

Ed U./Yelp

​"A lady from El Salvador," the counter woman told us when we asked her the source of Epicenter's empanadas. "She just ― makes them for us." The combination of vagueness and specificity made them irresistible, though they would've been good even without it. For the empanada plate, you get to choose two ― we picked corn and chicken. Slightly lumpy, homely, the corn version was sweet the way canned corn is, the finely shredded chicken spicy and delicious, with the earthy warmth of red bells. You get a balsamic-sweet pile of salad greens on the side, and a side of chipotle sour cream you don't need, but good enough to eat off your finger all by itself. And honestly? We're fine not knowing more about Epicenter's empanadas than the frilly aproned Salvadoran lady we imagine in a warm kitchen somewhere.

Epicenter Café 764 Harrison (at Fourth St.), 543-5436