An Ode to the Empanada Lady

Some mornings are strawberry-waffles-in-a-quaint-café mornings.

And then there are the other mornings -- the ones where you wake up wearing one shoe and clutching a cocktail umbrella in your left hand and wanting more than anything something greasy and deep-fried and devastatingly bad for you.

On THOSE mornings, may I suggest [insert superhero music here]... a visit to the Empanada Lady?

Last Saturday, after waking up feeling weak and woozy, I made my way to the corner of Smith Street and Sackett in Carroll Gardens, where the Empanada Lady runs her always-busy stand. Wielding a bunch of cilantro in one hand, she handed me a chicken empanada ($1) with the other. I'd already taken a bite when I decided to grab a tamale for the road ($1.25).

The empanada? Deep-fried perfection. Slightly spicy and steaming hot, it was hangover food at its finest. Even the bone I nearly cracked a tooth on didn't deter me from wolfing the entire thing down. The tamale (beef), neatly wrapped in red and white cooking twine, was even better.

At this point, I was purely satisfied, my stomach had stopped churning, and I was ready to head home for a peaceful mid-Saturday morning nap. Then I saw the Empanada Lady handing another customer a delicious-looking stuffed avocado. I couldn't resist, and $3 later, I was scooping out spoonfuls of a fantastic avocado/salmon mixture (she also offered shrimp and mango concoctions).

This, I have to say, was the pièce de résistance. Maybe it's because it was healthier than the heart-attack-in-tin-foil empanada, maybe it's because both avocados and salmon are, as a rule, normally overpriced, or maybe it's because my vitamin-depleted body was suffering, but the salmon-stuffed avocado made me swoon.

And swoon I did, all the way home. Life was good again.
And my hangover? A mere memory.

Thank you, Empanada Lady. Thank you.

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