Rika's Empanadas: A Glendoran Dream

Thanks to a tip from a reader who saw ofa few weeks ago, I discovered Rika’s. Brand spanking new, Rika’s has only been open for about a month. 

The restaurant has come about because of a shared dream held by the Rico family.  Natives of Argentina, Gustavo and Maria Rico owned a similar shop in their homeland.  When the economy began to falter, they applied for visas to come to the US with their daughter, Laura and son, Juan. 

They waited patiently for 10 years for their papers to come through, and then, after their arrival, they labored another 11 years to put their children through college and to raise the capital to open Rika’s. “This is the American Dream for us,” explained their son Juan.

Their perseverance is a boon for Glendora. They make more than a dozen different kinds of empanadas, each with a light pastry crust that is just the slightest bit crunchy on the outside, but tender on the inside. 

The beef empanada ($1.79) had a lean ground beef filling with onions, bell peppers, boiled eggs and green olives.  Unlike other beef empanadas, it was not greasy, but I found it on the salty side.  Although tasty, it was the least favorite of my choices, partly because of my personal inability to enjoy the apparent ubiquity of boiled eggs in Argentinian cuisine, but mostly because the other fillings were so delicious.

Next up was the ham and cheese empanada ($1.79).  Simple and tasty, the velvety mozzarella cheese was a perfect foil for the ham, which was not overly salty.  The blue cheese empanada with onion ($1.99) might be more aptly named “three cheese empanada” because it is blended with mozzarella and fontina cheeses, which mellow the pungency of the blue cheese.

My two favorites were the bacon & prunes and chicken & mushrooms empanadas (both $1.99 each).  I am not a fan of prunes, but I was in an adventurous mood. The crunchy, chewy saltiness of the bacon contrasted delightfully with the sweet, soft fleshiness of the prunes, much like bacon wrapped figs.

The chicken and mushroom empanada sounded relatively straightforward, but besides parmesan, leeks and green onions, surprised me with chopped almonds.

Laura’s husband, Jose, who also works at the family’s business, informed me that pizza is a favorite Argentinian food.  An Argentinian classic is ham and red pepper pizza, which is not yet on the menu ($4.99 for a personal size). The crust is medium thick and the tomato sauce is robust, perhaps due to extra tomato paste or a roasted tomato element.  It is topped with mozzarella, succulent slices of roasted red pepper and piquant whole green olives. Wonderfully unusual, I highly recommend it if you enjoy red peppers and olives.

Although Rika’s offers a variety of desserts, from mousse cakes to the traditional dulce de leche filled cookie called alfajores de maiona, I opted for the chocolate crepe ($5.25).  Filled with melted dark chocolate and finished with chantilly cream and powdered sugar, it was not as thin as I prefer, but I will never turn away anything filled with rich dark chocolate.

I am nowhere close to being an expert on Argentinian cuisine, but if Rika’s will be my teacher, I am a willing student.  This may be the Ricos’ American dream, but I may soon be dreaming of their empanadas.

Rika’s Empanadas

Address: 150 S. Grand Ave., Glendora, CA  91741
Business Hours: Monday – Saturday, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m; Sunday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.           
Phone Number: (626) 914-3472

Website: http://www.rikasempanadas.com/
Price Range: $1.79 - $19.99
Type of Cuisine: Argentinian
Standout Dish:  Chicken & mushroom empanada, Ham & red pepper pizza