New to the scene, Empanadas Rosario dishes up killer appetizers
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
The three-month-old Empanadas Rosario is a Dominican snack mecca. Sure, there are juicy, whole-roasted pollos a la brasa to take home for dinner with pints of white rice and red beans, but Rosario’s real draw is a selection of killer apps.
There are blisteringly crisp empanadas filled with beef, chicken and cheese and hot dogs served on hoagie rolls with spiced ground beef, corn kernels, slaw and a sweet mayonnaisey dressing. And then there is yaroa, a heaping takeout box piled high with the Dominican version of poutine -— think French fries or sweet plantains finished with meat and cheese and crisscrossed with a psychedelic swirl of ketchup, mustard, mayo and Rosario’s secret sauce; Dominican burgers with cabbage and salsa rosa; and juices in exotic flavors like soursop, green banana and sapote.
With a bulletproof Plexiglas divider at the counter, Empanadas Rosario doesn’t come across as the friendliest of neighborhood joints but the owners do a brisk takeout business, giving their steady stream of customers a familiar back and forth.
Empanadas Rosario | 4649 N. Fifth St., 267-331-6319. Hours: 9 a.m.–10 p.m. daily. Recommended dishes: Empanadas, yaroa, roast chicken, Dominican hot dogs and burgers.
