The energetic salsa music blasting out of the speakers into Kensington Market is at odds with the cold slush slathered on Augusta Avenue. In a fit of nostalgia for my student years, I stop by the Patty King for Jamaican hardo bread, Global Cheese, recently renovated and less cramped than I remember, and two quaint spice shops for walnuts and plantain chips.
Encumbered by my groceries, I gingerly step over the snowbank and carefully make my way up the steps into a small shop called Jumbo Empanadas. They’ve been around since my University days, but I’ve never visited until now. Inside, I take off my fogged-up glasses to find Chilean curios adorning the red-brick wall.
My friends arrive and we order (what else?) empanadas. Empanadas are baked pastries stuffed with meat and vegetables. I get the beef one, which is savoury but contains olives and raisins. Not an obvious flavour combination but a tasty one nonetheless. It comes with a small cup of homemade, very spicy salsa. The lady behind the counter makes the empanadas from scratch and it shows – yum!
