The Empanada Girl — Restaurant in Sarasota

An empanada lover's happy place! We first met the Empanada Girl at the Lakewood Ranch farmer's market at Waterside. Stefania was the kindest food cart person we had met as she worked the orders and also took the time to chat with us and go over how she came to this fantastic gluten free and plant based recipes. We ordered one of each and honestly loved them all! They are each stamped on the crust with the type and come frozen or you can order one on the spot to be heated up. Stefania shared that she sold her items out of her then parent's store Peperonata Pasta Store. Well fast forward to today, we saw her in person working the store with her little one Ari! She chatted with us about taking on the store from her family and carrying on the tradition of their family and her amazing empanadas. Tips for ordering if you want them warm, call ahead! They take about 15 mins to warm but it's always fun to sit in their cute eatery and meet others who come thru the store. So many regulars and newbies like us! They carry an amazing amount of homemade items including pastas, sauces, desserts, and branded items. Definitely stop by this store and support this wonderful family owned business and their growing family! Thank you Stefania and crew...

OMG! Delicious. Stumbled upon this stand at the Farmers Market today. I am a sucker for empanadas. The line was long.....always a good indication that its worth the wait. It was! Got the spinach, meatball and spicy beef. Sooo good. While in the line, the lady in front of us raved about them and even gave us one of her punch cards! Yes punch cards! We will definately be back as we have more flavors on the list to try!

5/8/21 went back for more flavors and again the line was long! Bought a bunch of different flavors. Learned that the type of empanada is initialed on the actual empanada to differentiate between them...

Ok these are technically not sandwiches (what we normally review). However we feel the need to let you all know how much we enjoyed The Empanada Girl at Calusa Brewing taproom. We got the Spicy Beef,4 cheese,Ham &Cheese and the Spinach. These are Baked to perfection by someone who clearly loves what they do. We loved them all. I’d say the Spinach was my favorite but I only got a bite in before the wife got it and didn’t give it back. A perfect snack on a winter’s afternoon. Thank you Empanada Girl, you made our visit just that little more...