Chile Lindo Empanadas — Restaurant in San Francisco

Ahhh Empanadas, Chile’s National food. A mouth watering savory party tucked into a hearty soft and crunchy on the edges pastry pocket. Been going to Chile Lindo for over 20 yrs. Visited Chile several times - went to almost every Empanaderia I saw cuz I’m a little obsessed. Chile Lindo’s Empanadas are authentic. Just as good as the ones I had in Chile and better than some. These are large Empanadas and one is definitely a meal…..but we often have two only because we can’t control ourselves. Our favorite is the classic Pino, a very savory seasoned beef w/ a black olive and hard boiled egg. The Merken spicy beef is a close second. Make sure you order the Pebre- Chilean mild salsa- and pour a little in your Empanada with each bite. Wash it down with a classic Coke or San Pellegrino. Follow up with some Alfajores- Sandwich cookie w/ Manjar (Dulce de Leche) in between. Drool. getting hungry now. Paula the owner is an authentic Chilean host, welcoming, super friendly, and fun. Now go there and get me...

They have a few different versions including "pino" (the original /classic), chicken, beef and ham & cheese, but the real kicker is their vegan empanada. It's the same as the "pino" but with vegan meat and it is absolutely delicious and tastes almost identical to the real meat version! The dough is homemade and so crispy on the edges and soft in all the right places. The spices were amazing and the raisins added the perfect sweetness at the end. For anyone complaining it was too sweet, you simply don't like Chilean empanadas as that is the traditional filling. Anyway, I digress.I found these empanadas to be absolutely delicious and I wish the owner of this small, adorable business...

I have been looking for Chilean style empanadas since 1980 when I was there. These are the real deal! They have the classic pino which is the traditional style I knew when it as there as a kid, they also have other variations (which I haven't tried yet).

They also have the torta de mil hojas dessert/cake that is so unique to chile (though I confess that their version looks very different from my memories of that terrific dessert).

I'm now working on finding a way to have them shipped to me since I live out...