Jumbo Hairpanada
Location:
245 Augusta Ave., Toronto
Cost: under $15 for two empanadas, a drink and a pastry.
What is that hairy toy you smack around to get the candy out? Piñata! That's right!
But I digress.
Perhaps Jumbo Empanada should be renamed Jumbo Hairpanada.
We started with lunch at Jumbo Empanada and ordered the chicken and veggie empanadas and an alfajor. We wanted the chilean salad too, but Irene (owner) was busy and she said she was low on staff that day. Disappointment numero uno.
What was numero two-o? Yes, yes, numero dos? Discovering a hair baked into the alfajor. Irene was "good" enough to exchange it.
The replaced alfajor. Made out of condensed milk and biscuits/pastry (correct me if I am wrong).
The empanadas were tasty as was the salsa (although not hot enough for my taste - we asked for extra hot sauce and were told that the salsa was it).
Sorry foodies, this salsa isn't that good. Wait till you read about the salsa at Eggs n' Things in Oahu, Hawaii....now, THAT'S salsa!
The VEGGIE Jumbo Empanada...pretty JUMBO, wouldn't you say?
The inside of the VEGGIE Jumbo Empanada.
The CHICKEN Jumbo Empanada.
The inside of the CHICKEN Jumbo Empanada.
Then I discovered another hair baked into my chicken empanada crust. Yum.
Disappoinment numero tres.
That was the end of that.
That's TWO hairs.
I wasn't aware hair was an ingredient!
On the way back to work, we passed by Miss Cora's Kitchen and saw the desserts in the window and the pesto chicken pizza scribbled on the blackboard inside and since I was still hungry, we went in......let's just say it was so good that I have to save the FULL review for next time!
8 Comments
Reader Comments (8)
Mmmm curly.
ya if those hairs are a regular thing (an ingredient as you call it), you'd think they'd be shut down by now or get warnings from health inspectors at the very least. but who knows how many unnoticed hairs we've eaten in our life time. you were just lucky, or unlucky, this time to have found 2!!
[...] love story began when lunch at Jumbo Empanada went “hair“wire (yes, that’s right, I went there) and we left disappointed and [...]
I LOVE Jumbo's!!! It's delicious and crazy cheap. I noticed all the ladies in the kitchen were wearing hair nets today, so hopefully things will improve on that front (though I've never noticed a hair problem there).
The place is a hole in the wall and you're paying 4 bucks for a delicous, hearty, well cooked treat. Suck it up if the salsa wasn't hot enough. This is not a full service restaurant.
I'm glad you've found a place you love, Jessica.
I, however, would prefer not to suck anything up that's been made there. Hair in your food is still hair in your food regardless if it's $4 or a full service restaurant.
So sorry to hear about this:( I go there for meetings and even family gatherings for the last 6years , I have never heard of this Hair situation before . I hope this was an isolated incident .I have total trust that the owner has and will do everything to prevent this situation. About the Salsa plz remember it's Chilean food so the salsa has to be Chilean or else it would not make sense . you can't go around tasting food that you have no expertise on ... Plz try to be more careful with your comments you maybe liable for them :)
Hi Mari, thanks for your comment!
You can't really tell someone to not go around tasting food he/she has no expertise on, because that is, in fact, what eating food is all about: trying different things.
I happen to know good taste and that salsa was blaaaand.
But to each his/her own so thanks for clarifying to me that it was CHILEAN SALSA.
I guess you could say I've now tried CHILEAN SALSA and the CHILEAN SALSA at Jumbo Empanadas was bland.
To the person that put the nasty comments about Jumbo Empanadas, I must tell you something, do you think that this is the only place you would have found a hair in your food? I do not think so, if you do not like the place do not go there, but just don't put these comments because you been ignorant, as the other persons reply, do you think that Health department would not do something if they get many complains as yours?.
With regard to the sauce I think the owner is just giving a complimentary sauce, this is not part of how the empanadas is
served in Chile this is just something that chileans call pebre.
Perhaps you should educate yourself about a specific country dishes before given or generalize your opinion.