Guest blogger: Melissa Yen on Lito’s Empanadas

As winner of the Sweet Cakes Bakery mystery spot post, Vella Cafe co-owner Melissa Yen harps on one of her favorite hidden-gem spots, Lito’s Empanadas. I have never been and can’t wait to check it out for the chalkboard menu, the prices, the report that the empanadas are fried to order but not greasy..oh, and banana chocolate desserts. Her post follows the pic.

“One of my favorite things besides great food is great food served in a tiny space. The tinier the space, the better. Add friendly service and I’ll be raving about the restaurant to all my friends and anyone else who will listen. If it’s off the beaten path, even better. This sums up Lito’s Empanadas.
The restaurant is on a stretch of Clark Street between Diversey and Belmont. Not exactly off the beaten path, but I would never think of going to this area for great food. Once you do find it, you walk into the cleanest 500 square feet of restaurant space that I’ve ever seen. It’s a bright space with a counter along the window and five stools. You order at the counter from the chalkboard of eight empanadas. There’s a classic empanada with beef, olives, potato and raisins. Sounds weird, but it’s so good. There are two chicken empanadas and two veggie options. The vegetarian empanada with green peppers, cilantro, onion, potato and chipotles is amazing, very flavorful. Your empanadas are fried to order, but aren’t greasy at all. The crust is so flaky and tender, the inside steaming and oozing with yummy fillings. Good, hot, fresh food in less than 10 minutes; plus, at about $2.25 a pop, it’s cheap. That’s lunch for under $5. Well, $7 if you add on the banana chocolate dessert empanada, which you should!” 2566 N. Clark St., 773.857.0794