Best restaurant news: Empanada nights and fresh pizzeria moves

Who doesn’t love a nicely filled empanada, pocket of love that it is? Be it inspired by the hand pies of Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain or any other place with a fine empanada rendition, it’s a delicious, portable bite. What more does one need for a chill night than empanadas, music and drinks?

That was the thinking at Palm Beach Meats market and pop-up venue, where co-owner Eric San Pedro and chef Daniel Ramos have dreamed up a new weekend “Empanadas on the Patio” hangout series featuring quite an empanada bar. Or Papi-Nadas, as San Pedro and Ramos have dubbed them.

The series kicks off Friday (Aug. 25) from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. San Pedro plans to repeat it next weekend as well.

On chef Ramos’ empanada menu:

Fried empanadas filled with a choice of wagyu picadillo with pickled onions ($10), guajillo braised wagyu ($11), tomato-braised Kurobuta pork ($8.50), achiote chicken ($7), and for vegetarians, mushrooms ($7). Ramos is making wagyu, ham and cheese croquetas with piquillo pepper vinaigrette and pepper relish as well (two for $7). All empanadas are served with homemade chimichurri.

“Our real inspiration for doing this is that everybody loves empanadas. We all agreed on that,” San Pedro told me this week.

San Pedro, who operates a handful of delivery-only, ghost-kitchen concepts out of his Palm Beach Meats kitchen, hopes to turn the Papi-Nadas idea into one of the ghost brands. “But not just yet,” he says.

As with most of the pop-up events at the market, empanada nights’ drink offerings are put together by veteran local sommelier Brett Hartt. There will be wine, low ABV cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, says San Pedro.

◾ Palm Beach Meats is at 4812 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, 561-623-7471, PalmBeachMeats.com

Pizzeria comings and goings in Jupiter

The sad news for those who appreciate Chicago thin-crust pizza: Jupiter’s Tavern Pi restaurant permanently closed Saturday (Aug. 19) after nearly two years in Abacoa.

But there’s good news for fans of another recently closed pizzeria. The Tavern Pi space soon will be home to Gardens Pizza and Pasta. On July 3, that go-to, neighborhood pizzeria announced it had left Palm Beach Gardens’ Promenade Plaza due to the expansion of its next-door neighbor, Publix.

This week, Gardens Pizza announced it would open next week (Tuesday) in Tavern Pi’s space in Abacoa.

Tavern Pi owner/chef David Schroeder, who finalized the sale last week, says he’s sad to close the place. He had owned Tavern Pi’s predecessor, Costello’s pizza, years ago and tried to make a more chef-driven concept work in the space.

“We really loved what we were doing there and we loved the concept. We wanted to elevate the neighborhood pizzeria, but people didn’t quite get the Chicago thin-crust concept,” he told me this week.

◾ Gardens Pizza Jupiter opens soon in the former Tavern Pi space at 1209 Main St. in Abacoa (561-335-3058).

Speaking of Chicago-style pizza…

Remember Uno Pizzeria, the brand that introduced many of us non-Chicagoans to the decadence of deep-dish pizza? It’s now available at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport. There’s no onsite restaurant but pizza fans can order for takeout or delivery from the brand’s website, Uber Eats or DoorDash.

A large variety of customizable deep-dish and thin-crust pizzas are on the menu as well as wings, cheese breads, salads and dessert.

◾ Uno West Palm Beach is at 150 Australian Ave., 561-472-9333, Unos.com. 

More pizza news...

Pizza Nights at the Bread by Johnny bakery in Jupiter heads into its third week, offering pizza fresh from Johnny VanCora’s bread oven. That’s sourdough-crust pizza from one of the county’s most talented sourdough bakers.

If you missed my recent story on the new Monday night series, here’s the link.

To read more about how the 27-year-old VanCora came to be Jupiter’s most popular bread baker, here’s the story I wrote about him in 2019, just months after he opened the bakery.

◾ Bread by Johnny’s Pizza Nights are Mondays from 5 to 9 p.m. at 1695 W. Indiantown Rd., Suite 6, Jupiter (561-768-9423). How to order: Click on the “Pizza Night” tab on BreadByJohnny.com. Pre-orders accepted until pizza slots sell out. No walk-ins for now.

Speaking of sourdough pizza…

Central county pizza lovers looking for sourdough-crust pies can find them at Pizzaioli, which opened earlier this year in southern West Palm Beach, just steps from its sister bakery Aioli. You can read all about that pizza spot here.

Pizza for the time of Messi…

South county is lucky enough to have pizza-maker Marcelo Rossano, who not only lavishes his pies with inspiration from his native Uruguay and his family’s Italian roots, he does so while paying tribute to his favorite futbol stars, Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona.

Check out my colleague Eddie Ritz’s recent story about Rossanos Pizza.

Have a delicious weekend!

Liz Balmaseda

Hungry for more restaurant news?

Here's how to stay up-to-date with your local dining scene: follow our food & dining writer, Liz Balmaseda on Twitter @LizBalmaseda, Instagram at @silkpalm or sign up for our free weekly foodie newsletter, At the Table.

Read recent columns by Liz Balmaseda

◾ Ticket sales hot as PB Food & Wine Fest returns with star chefs

◾ Buzzy restaurant plans major expansion in north county

◾ All-day brunch café. Farmhouse BBQ. Pizza for a sports star.

◾ New restaurants. Curry classes. Favorite summer bite.

◾ NY restaurants arrive — again. Prix-fixe perks. Saturday brunching.

◾ Finding authentic Mexican food in Palm Beach County

◾ A porchetta sandwich that spirits you to Italy

◾ The joy of new treats at old neighborhood favorites

◾ From ribs to rotis, Black-owned restaurant favorites to savor

Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and on Threads @Silkpalm and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hot pizza restaurant news in Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach