Where the locals go.
At some point last summer we were rolling around the city and I spied this Peruvian Corner Market in Avondale seen below. The fact that I'd never been along with the sign advertising homemade empanadas got me inside.
A locals favorite on Kimball and Barry
It's a small storefront grocer as seen and inside they have many items of Peruvian descent including spices and colas. It's the type of place each corner in this city used to have. When I was growing up we had a place called 'Bart's' that sat on the corner of Altgeld and Racine. It was always nice being able to take a quick walk down the block and not have to feed the machines (Walgreens, CVS etc...) I like supporting local and would shop for what I could get here if I lived anywhere near there. That includes the star of the show, the housemade Peruvian empanadas.
The display case near the register
On my visit with a buddy of mine they only had two left but the really nice lady behind the counter insisted we wait five minutes so she could fry some fresh ones up. This was a good thing as we each got one that had been sitting around and also one freshly fried. Obviously the ones made fresh were much better but I really liked them either way.
Empanadas Peruanas
Peruvian empanadas are similar to Argentinian ones but tend to be a little bit smaller. According to some folks online they're usually baked but as mentioned these were fried. The fillings in a Peruvian empanada can vary and these here were ground beef, onions, raisins and some hard boiled egg too. I liked these alot, not sure why I haven't been back but most likely because I just remembered about this place today as I browsed thru my food folder looking for a place to post about. Every corner occupied by families of folks in Chicago should have a corner store like this on it. They're a dying breed so support them while you can.
The insides
Peruvian Corner Market
3057 North Kimball ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 463-0510
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