julia's empanadas

julia's empanadas
1221 connecticut avenue NW, washington, dc 20036 (i've only been to this location there are others - one in adams morgan, one in columbia heights)
tel: 202) 861-8828
hours: daily 10am-8pm-ish, friday-saturday until 4 am

what was consumed: empanadas (jamaican style, saltenas, spinach, etc.)

julia's is a place that i had on my list of "to go" for a long time (here and ben's chili bowl. as of right now, i have still not visited the DC local favorite that is ben's chili bowl - soon!!). when my friend, angelina, was in town, i finally got my chance to go (mind you, this was after a few hours at cafe citron. i was the designated driver (yay - we were responsible, boo - i had to be the responsible one (haha)) and ended up driving around a car-full of drunk folks. oh well~). in the least, i wanted to grab some good late night eatin'. the car-full of folks had no objections.

it was an early night, so the line wasn't too long (i've heard people tell me that they've had to wait a long while). it looks like, though, that julia's prepares for late night visitors, so their oven is packed full with empanadas. because there were lots of people with me during my first visit, we purchased a smorgasboard of flavors and then raced home to cut the varieties into smaller pieces in order to taste them all.

since then, i've visited julia's on a number of different occasions, none of which were during moments of inebriation. i've had the empanadas as snacks, as meals, as in-between-meals. always, i've been pleasantly surprised with my decisions. these days, i find myself ordering the 'saltenas' empanada. the combination of chicken, potatoes, and other veggies in a slightly spicy reddish sauce (i think it's slightly spicy; others may think otherwise) with the light and thin-ish flour wrapper makes for easy eating whether you're on the go or sitting down for a quick (or not so quick) bite. there isn't any seating at julia's (at least not the one off connecticut avenue), but that area of downtown is filled with outdoor seating options (e.g. farragut square). and because julia's makes the empanadas fresh and keeps them warm in a nice oven, the empanadas are warm, not dry, and always delicious.

all of this writing is making me hungry. maybe i'll swing by julia's for a little late afternoon snack (lucky for me, i work walking distance away - woohoo!).

on a side note: julia's is cash only. luckily, the empanadas aren't super expensive ... but way delicious!

online: http://www.juliasempanadas.com/