A Flaky Identity Crisis

According to Google, it's Southwestern but also Pacific Coast-inspired.  Yelp claims it's Latin American.  The restaurant's own website states Pacific Islands and Latin American street vendor inspiration.  A few posts, even inside the restaurant, claim Caribbean.  Yet, several histories reported origins in Spain, Argentina, ancient Mayan Mexico, and Portugal.  But that's history.  Right now, according to Yelp and Foursquare, Johnny Pacific is rated top ten best empanadas in Los Angeles, and K-ABC reported Johnny's as number one out of the top five Latin American eateries around L.A..  I mentioned to a couple friends that a friend of mine took me out for empanadas and they all knew exactly where I'd gone and proceeded to go on about how they loved Johnny's.  I was shocked.  It's about a mile from my mom's house and I drive passed it to go home at night from work, down Winnetka Avenue, so how have I never heard of this legendary eatery?  

A friend of mine and I hadn't seen each other since last Christmas.  She's worked with me every holiday season for the last several years and having her on the same team means I don't have to even think or give direction, as she is already two steps ahead of me.  She's the holiday gift I look forward to receiving every year at the Disney Store.  Another thing I love about her is that her and her little sister share a great relationship like myself and Little One.  Even calls her Kiddo too.  I originally met her through her younger brother who worked with me as well, as a permanent Cast Member until a few years ago when he moved to Oregon.  Her little sister recommended the place and it was a good halfway point for each of us to meet.  My first thought at the idea of crispy, flaky, sweet pastries was how well it would go with a cup of coffee.  Upon seeing the menu, I knew I wasn't walking away with just dessert.  

As it would turn out, where empanadas originated had zero to do with Johnny's unique fusion of Pacific Island style skewers and fish, Cajun spiced fries, and multinational sweet and savory turnovers.   I approached the counter to ask the question I felt I already knew the answer to, "Do you serve coffee?"  "No.", as I figured.  Not to be defeated, I knew two doors down was a donut shop, which would of course have the cheese to its macaroni, coffee.  I zipped by the adjacent "greenery" stop, or as my dad would say in his outdated lingo, "the head shop", to the corner occupant.  Run of the mill, strip mall donut shop.  The large parking lot sign called it something completely different than what was above its door so I can't give you an accurate name but the window advertised freshly brewed coffee.  That might have been true earlier in the day but for fewer than 2 dollars, I received about 6 pumps from an all-day thermos with a postcard sized label that just said Colombian.  I added my creamer and sugar and reunited with my friend at a table for two by the window under an AC vent blowing like a Hawaiian breeze.  Was this atmosphere or a Fry shop keeping cool in 90 degree Southern California?  

The options were separated into categories:  How many, type of savory, type of meat, dessert style, and a list of sauces at the bottom.  As my friend and I have been known to do, we made a plan in our own heads and it basically matched the other persons without much discussion or fuss.  Sold in one, four, or dozen, we picked four empanadas, 3 savory and one dessert, to half and share, with a side of fries.  The busy boy behind the counter gave us 4 sauces without charge.  Mushroom, chicken al pastor, Kailua pig, and banana Nutella.  Our sauces: chimichurri, chipotle, sweet-sour Thai, and caramel.  I drank my coffee as we waited for the freshly prepared food to come to the table.  It was neither fresh, nor stale; Luke warm and quickly cooling with the indoor breeze.  As we sat and played catch up, I noticed that there was sizable diversity of ethnicities and ages for Johnny Pacific's customer base.  Two older white men seemed to be also playing catch up over dinner, college aged Asian and Hispanic boys came in and placed to-go orders.  I only saw one other woman come in as someone's date that became a take-out order.  The clientele was just as ubiquitous as the past of the empanada itself among the hand painted beachy paintings on the walls. 

Our food arrived in to-go containers, Styrofoam, which was points off in my opinion.  Upon opening, the steamy, fried goodness didn't give off the usual deep fried thick air that usually comes in a fish 'n' chips fry up shop.  Nothing dripped of oil and only a tiny bit of grease stuck to our fingers as we dipped and bit.  Our favorites from our choices were identical.  The meaty but meatless mushroom pie was the best savory, followed closely by the pig, which is just smoked, shredded pork, and in last place was the chicken al pastor.  I had to try it based on the rave reviews it received online.  Good, but not a top contender.  Options we didn't order were ham and cheese, and chorizo with potatoes, which I know certain readers would have chosen over our picks.  The banana Nutella pie was leagues ahead of my coffee which just means I'll have to bring my own brew next time.  Chunky banana pieces in a slurry of Nutella and banana pudding: Amazing!  As for the fries, never order a side of the fries alone.  Be sure to bring three or four friends as the portion overfilled the box it came in and so did the flavor.  They weren't spicy but the added spices complemented the In n Out style starchy, common fry taste.  The choice for my next visit will be to try the caramel apple dessert.  

My friend and I promised to not wait until another holiday hiring event to see each other again.  We could get the Kiddos together and discover another secret food treasure together.