Shauna Eats Sunnyside

Empanada Mash-Up

Occupying ourselves in the near-90 humidity zone of yesterday afternoon involved some creativity once we decided we didn’t want to be stuck in our air conditionless living room all day. A sluggish trek up Queens Blvd. soon resulted in our back-of-neck flesh being unceremoniously seared by the merciless sun, and the humidity seemed to swell from every which blacktop-abundant direction. On days like this, I f’n love the city… no, not really.

To escape the slow-roasting death of sidewalk bargain book hunting in direct sunlight, we ducked into a Colombian bakery we had yet to visit and plopped down to recharge…

El Pilon Bakery (on Queens Blvd b/w 46th and 47th Sts) occupies a stretch of red awning past the construction lot beyond Starbucks alongside several other eateries (Dee Thai being the most notable). We’d walked past a million times, but hadn’t set foot in there until yesterday.

Fairly cute interior, air conditioned (bonus points on a day like yesterday), big ups to the Motherland, and Spanish soaps on a flat-screen. The young women working the counter could’ve at least feigned interest in our order, but regardless, we were able to snag the last empanada (luckily, beef) and a frosty bottle of mango bebida. We appreciated the little details, like festive tabletop napkin holders and extra long straws.

For $1, the empanada was fine, though a bit on the small side. Crispy cornmeal crust with stringy stewed beef and an equal potato filling — it hit the spot, though didn’t exactly resonate. The $1 chilled mango drink cooled us considerably, and there were more sips than expected in that narrow bottle.

We then weaved over to Cafe Colombia Bakery (on Greenpoint Ave b/w 46th and 47th Sts.), where only chicken empanadas were in stock. Once again, $1, and since breathing room is scarce in the angled storefront, we ate it on-the-go.

This was B’s least favorite of the day. I kinda dug it, though it wasn’t exactly like other empanadas we’ve tried. Stuffed to the seams, it was a fat little nug of mashed potato-y goodness laced with bits of moist dark meat chicken. Kinda tasted like an Irish pub pot pie, to tell ya the truth. The shell wasn’t crispy, either, which made it more of a creamy pushover snack and less of an authoritative, rock-your-bowels deep-fried wonder.

Next stop, Pioneer! Sure, it looks like a typical supermarket from the outside (on 46th St. b/w Greenpoint and 47th Aves.), but we were lured in by their extensive sidewalk display of peppers, jicama, yuca, mangos, cactii, tomatillos, and prickly pears… a quick trip down the International aisle yielded Nestlé Abuelita Mexican chocolate syrup (“I just can’t shake the idea of artificial cinnamon Atomic FireBalls,” B said grudgingly after a disappointed milking later that night), Ecuadorian Aji Casero hot sauce, and a jar of spicy Goya jalapeno jelly:

Last car on the empanada train was MiraCali Bakery (46th St. b/w Greenpoint and 47th Ave.), which relocated in the past year from one studio-sized storefront to a more spacious locale on the same block. This bakery’s backers hail from the same Colombian city as the Pecas couple, which, in our books, is a good sign.

(What would any respectable Colombian bakery be without a packed display case of football-sized pastries?)

We grabbed stools at an empty countertop near the front window to enjoy our snacks… Mira’s $1 beef empanada sealed the deal, for B. Served with spicy and vinegary green sauce, the crisp crust and textured potato/stewed beef interior were delicious and went down with ease (twice, to be exact). Offset by a $1+ tart passion fruit drink, which we scored after spotting (mira! mira!) the chilled running beverage fountains behind the counter (where there was also an alluring vat of lulo juice), the drink brought on a sharply refreshing tang and aided and abetted our second empanada helping.

We finished the expedition and cleansed our digestive tracts with soon-to-be-Sunnysider friends J & D at Pecas Y Mas (on Greenpoint b/w 44th and 45th Sts.) for some customary SUPER CHOLADOS (still the best) and a “sencillo” ensalata de fruitas… yet another heaven-sent creation from the royal family of Colombian fruit assemblage:

The fruit salad is composed of tediously sliced fruits, mango sauce, sweetened condensed milk, fresh cream, shredded coconut and toasted granola. Very similar to the cholados, though with a crunchy-topped texture and fresh cream adding dimensional aftertaste. I’d be remissed to say I didn’t miss the shaved ice of the cholado, but for $6, this was an ample fruit salad that eased my sweet tooth without the full-on commitment of pastries or chocolate consumption.

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El Pilon Bakery
46-19 Queens Blvd. (b/w 45th and 46th Sts.)
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-784-9364

Cafe Colombia Bakery
46-27 Greenpoint Avenue, #B (b/w 46th and 47th Sts.)
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-349-0354

Pioneer Supermarket
45-60 46th St. (b/w Greenpoint and 47th Aves.)
Woodside, NY 11137
718-706-7802

MiraCali Bakery
45-38 46th St. (b/w Greenpoint and 47th Aves.)
Woodside, NY 11137
718-482-8840

Pecas Y Mas Corp.
44-20 Greenpoint Avenue (b/w 44th and 45th sts)
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-389-4443