Julia’s Empanadas has been around since the early nineties. At the original store on 18th Street, looking for some guidance, I asked everyone in line his or her favorite flavor, but everyone gave me a different answer. :( I chose the Chilean style beef with ground beef, raisins, hardboiled egg, onion and olive. Perfection! The baked empanada crust was hard but flaky, and the stuffing inside was juicy and flavorful! I wanted another but didn’t want to spoil my appetite for dinner at Komi. So the next day, I picked up eight empanadas from Julia’s to make sure I got to try the different flavors and that I wouldn’t go hungry on my way back to New York. On the train ride home, I realized that the customers in line the day before weren’t kidding me; they were all good! The empanadas are $3 each, and cocktail sized ones 80¢ each (minimum order twenty-five — what a great idea for parties!). One of the men in line told me he’s been coming to Julia’s for ten years, and the empanadas used to be $1.75 a piece, but he still loves them at $3 a pop. I can see why Julia has such a loyal following!