- My name is Prez, and I work at Thrillist.
Around these parts, I'm know as
the 5 Dollar Lunch Guy.
Every episode, I'm going to put you guys
on to the very finest New York grub
for $5 or less.
- Yo Prez, what's wrong?
- I miss my mom.
She used to make me beef patties.
- What's a beef patty?
- It's like a Jamaican pastry with
meat and seasoning all over New York.
- So it's basically an empanada?
- I guess.
- Well in that case, bro, here's your mission.
- Thanks?
OK, I see where this is going.
Empanada.
All right, let's do it.
I'm Jamaican, so I grew up on beef patties,
which is why I'm dying to try meat-stuffed dough
from other cultures. I mean, think about it:
the Italians have calzones, the Indians have samosas,
the Irish have patsies, and most Midwestern kids
that I knew grew up eating Hot Pockets.
So I know that there's thousands of comparable
dishes, and everybody's gonna say that theirs is the best,
but today, we're gonna try something
that most New Yorkers know about.
Today, we're headed uptown to try the empanadas
from Empanadas Monumental, rain or shine.
It's five bucks somewhere -- vamos!
(lively music)
- Have you ever had an empanada before?
- Of course, I have 'em all the time.
- Empanada, it's got like a flaky kinda crust to it
with meat and maybe like potato or rice inside of it.
- It's kind of like a calzone, but a little bit crispier,
and it's more filled with meat and the cheese inside.
- There's different type of empanadas.
- OK, so which one is your favorite?
- Guatemalan.
They put like carrots and like potatoes in theirs.
- Oh my God, if you go to the Dominican Republic,
they come like as big as your face.
- Jesus.
Whether it's beef or it's chicken, or even if you
rather a calzone, a patty, or samosa.
It's clear that anyone, from pretty much anywhere,
can get behind dough filled with stuff.
(lively music)
Here we are, 125 & Amsterdam, Empanadas Monumental,
you can't miss the thing: I mean, yellow, pink, orange,
awning. But I mean, we're not here for the decor.
We're here for the food, and I'm freezing,
and it's raining, so let's get inside and eat, man.
What do people need to know about Empanadas Monumental?
- We sell the best empanadas in New York City.
We have 19 different flavors. This is the Dominican
empanada, originated in DR.
- What is the top seller?
- The top seller, you have cheese, you have chicken;
you know, those are the ones people usually get.
- What is the special sauce?
- Oh all I can say about this sauce it has mayo, ketchup,
and secret ingredients.
- Oh man.
- It goes very well with the empanadas.
- I think I'm gonna go the eggplant and cheese
and a chicken [and] cheese empanada please.
- OK.
- Thank you so much.
- It's $4.
- Bam, set.
- There you go.
- Thank you, $1 back.
Next episode, roll over.
And I'm just gonna take this with me.
- Yeah, enjoy.
- Thank you.
All right look at that: We have our two empanadas,
and I am super-hyped, also super-hungry.
Let's get into it.
Ah, look at that, look at that -- that is beautiful.
I hope you guys can replay that in slow motion,
because that only happens once.
Straight away, the chicken- cheese combo, I'm feeling it.
The ratio's fantastic.
Now listen, this isn't like something super-complex, but
what I can appreciate is the attention to detail,
because, I mean, look at this thing.
The meat, the chicken is like pulled.
I thought it was gonna be cubed, and because it's pulled,
the cheese can seep into every single nook and cranny,
which I can appreciate man, 'cause I mean,
more cheese the better, right?
This is fantastic, I gotta say.
I don't miss my mom anymore, is that kinda messed up?
Nineteen empanadas, every single one of them is different,
every single one of them is homemade,
like this is incredible you know, so like
why wouldn't you come here and get this?
Let's try this magical sauce
that they were telling us about.
Wow, so I mean he said that there's mayo and ketchup
in it, but like I can't really decipher what else
is in it. It's just really, really sweet.
Maybe the sweetness comes from the ketchup --
I can't tell. Maybe there's sugar in here -- I don't know.
So this one is the eggplant and cheese and look at that,
I mean ho, ho.
Wow, I was expecting maybe like, maybe cubed eggplantm
but this is kinda like thinly sliced, so
this thing is stuffed to the brim
with every single ingredient.
When I think about how many empanadas I could eat,
off the top of my head, I would have said maybe
like five or six, but maybe my eyes were too big
for my stomach, because really, like, this is huge.
I can probably, this is probably gonna be it for me.
Hey listen guys, did you see that GIF with MC Hammer
with an empanada for a head?
Send that GIF to @5DollarLunchGuy. I mean,
you could meet up with your boy, that way I'll know
it's empanada time.
I'm stuffed, so I'm gonna go back home,
let's take this outside.
Forgot my coat.
Today's mission was empanada, which brought us
back to West Harlem for a completely different
cultural experience than what we had at Harlem Shakes.
Now, Empanadas Monumental, this is a place I would
definitely co-sign for anybody, and like with
so much variety, there's something here for everybody,
now with that being said, today's mission was
an absolute success: it's in budget,
not a big chain, and it's damn good.
It's freezing, I'm headed back downtown -- peace.
(camera clicking)
Hey what's going on guys, thank you so much
for watching my show.
If you have any suggestions on where we should
go next time, leave them in the comments below.
Also follow me on Instagram @5DollarLunchGuy.
I repeat, @5DollarLunchGuy, send me DMs,
do whatever, maybe we'll repost you,
maybe we'll take your suggestions -- you never know.
(speaks foreign language)
See you guys next time -- bye.