Love Those Empanadas!

Last stop on the summer tour - Saveur Creole for Creole/Caribbean food. Lovely little restaurant on Grove Street in Montclair with dining in and outside on the sidewalk in front. Takeout also available, along with a market of Caribbean spices and sauces. It was especially nice to share the last stop with my brother, Al, and his wife, Sue. They started with us at Pandan and it was fun to share a different dining experience with them again.

Best part of the dinner were the empanadas. For appetizers, Susan and I had crab empanadas and Alan had one with pork and raisins. For dessert, I had empanadas filled with mango and pineapple. The empanadas are very different - light and flaky, almost like phyllo pastry used in Greek spinach pie. Very delicious and flavorful. Al had a gumbo of crab and sausage, which he enjoyed.

The appetizer empanadas came on top of a salad of greens and creamy cheese in a sweet and tangy dressing, with a side of what appeared to be red cabbage. Beware the red cabbage! We had already tried it with the bread brought to the table at the begining of the meal. As Susan said when I frantically gulped my water after my first small (really miniscule) taste - "I TOLD you it was hot!" That proved to be an understatement!

For dinner, Sue and Al had a spicy shrimp dish, Alan had pork creole and I had beef stew creole. All three dishes were very good, with unique, but not overwheming flavors. For Alan the summer tour has been new ways to cook pork and lamb. The side dishes were great - I had a corn meal cake over black beans, Alan had creamy macaroni and cheese, Sue and Al had rice and beans. The side dishes were mild and a great compliment to the spiciness of the entrees.

Our one complaint - the service was somewhat slow and disorganized. It was fine until the air conditioning went off. We were really enjoying the leisurely pace until it got a little hot - too hot for Alan.

So was this really the last stop? Stayed tuned!