Second Helpings

The Mexican Alternative

    For those of us who only bother with breakfast on special occasions, a croissant and coffee often hits the spot around 11 a.m. While on a “c and c” quest on such a morning in Rockridge recently, before I could get to the bakery, Cactus Taqueria and the memory of my last chicken empanadillas ($2.95 for three) got a Mariachi moment going on my taste buds.
    Soon I was sitting at a table in the sunshine, looking out on the spirited College Avenue scene, happily swigging on watermelon juice and waiting, fork poised, to attack my trio of half-moon-shaped chicken-filled pastry turnovers. Briefly I held off to admire them, an artistic collage upon the turquoise plate, settled as they were in their bed of red mole sauce and white sour cream.
    That Cactus calls them empanadillas must relate to their size. The empanada is the larger version—smaller, however, than the empanada gallega, which can be huge. When they’re tiny and close to bite-size, you have the diminutive empanaditas.
    While mine were plump with pieces of grilled chicken, the empanada is often filled with fruit and served as a dessert.
    I think the reason I prefer to stick to the savory version, with its lightly crunchy melt-in-your-mouth pastry, is because it reminds me of the English-style chicken pie or meat pie; something one rarely finds in the Bay Area. A serving from the salad and salsa bar of the smoky tomatillo, chipotle, roasted onion, garlic and cilantro salsa added the final dash of yummy delight to this late-morning treat. I reckon the coffee and croissant fix has been seriously challenged.
    Cactus Taqueria, 5642 College Ave., (510) 658-6180. Open 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily, www.cactustaqueria.com.

—By Wanda Hennig