Miami's Best Colombian Empanadas are at this Sweetwater Bakery
Your new inflatable friend beckons....
Check out the full review on our Instagram!
Empanadas aren’t hard to find in Miami. Throw a crypto trader down the street and you’ll hit at least five places selling them. But good empanadas can be a little tricky to discover, especially if you’re a fan of the thick cornmeal, deep-fried Colombian variety.
If you’re a fan of that style, and maybe want a little cheese-and-hot-chocolate to go with it, might I suggest a little field trip out to Sweetwater and the obviously named La Casa de la Empanada. If you somehow live in Miami and haven’t even picked up rudimentary Spanish, that means “House of the Empanada.” They’re the best Colombian-style empanadas I’ve found in Miami, and when washed down with a fresh-squeezed mayacuya juice make for an unexpectedly delicious snack.
How’s a Colombian empanada different from the ones I find at the gas station?
Every Latin American country has its own take. The Cuban ones you find most commonly around Miami are fried with a thin, pastry crust. Argentine, probably the second most-popular, have a crispy flour crust, but are baked. Colombian, however, are the most indulgent and satisfying, with a thick, corn masa crust, deep fried like fluffy corn chips surrounding meat or cheese.
The space: Every Latin bakery needs a giant, inflatable empanada wearing a cowboy hat welcoming guests out front. It’s creepily cannibalistic – like eating the mascot at the end of the Pop Tart Bowl. But it makes this place the most Instagrammable Colombian bakery in Sweetwater. (Trophy forthcoming). Also upping the ‘gram factor: A neon sign that says. “Si me pruebas repites,” a not-so-subtle hint to keep eating empanadas.
What to eat and drink: The empanadas, obviously, which come filled with the usual line up of carne, pollo, and queso plus some specialty creations. The arepas are also solid, and they’ve got big cases of Colombian desserts that beckon you from the front counter. Best of all, si se pruebas, you can take frozen empanadas and empanada dough home and make the stuff yourself. You’ll find all you need in the coolers lining the wall. There’s also a huge selection of Colombian snack foods, which I didn’t recognize but triggered instant nostalgia in my Colombian friend.
Coffee is coffee, always great in Colombia. But the move here is the chocolate santafereno, hot chocolate with cheese in it. There’s also a huge selection of fresh squeezed tropical fruit juices, with stuff like mora and mayacuya that you don’t typically see.
Perfect for: Breakfast, or a mid-day snack.
Expect to pay: Under $10
Pro tip: Go earlier in the day if you can. The baked goods are all fresher.
How’s the parking: Sweetwater strip mall spectacular.
@lacasa_dela_empanada_miami // 10354 W Flagler St., Sweetwater