With thanks to Gus Vargas from Neruda's in Brunswick. Filmed by

Liam Neal

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¡Bienvenidos, ya has vuelto!

DELIVERY » The Best Empanadas Outside Argentina

“We registered the name Argies in the middle of April. It’s like Argentinians, but in an Aussie way, as Aussies always make everything short,” says Facundo Cabrera, who makes and delivers Melbourne’s best empanadas with his partner, Wanda Rosales.It’s another tale of temporary visa holders side-hustling to make ends meet after COVID-19 left them jobless. Facundo and Wanda worked in the former’s family catering business in Buenos Aires before moving to Melbourne last year. Up until recently, he was a chef at theatre restaurant Witches In Britches, and she a waitress at Italian restaurant Di Palma’s in Kew. Facundo’s boss is lending the kitchen free-of-charge while the theatre restaurant is closed. 

“As we are not permanent residents yet, we don’t get any JobKeeper, JobSeeker, JobAnything. So we said we need to be creative and do something,” says Facundo.The pair started making flaky puff pastry cookies called palmeritas and offering them to sympathetic neighbours in Kew East. When they added empanadas, the neighbours went from sympathisers to advocates, spreading the word about the best empanadas they’ve ever tasted. I stumbled upon the couple, both in their early thirties, on Instagram. Over the next week, three separate strangers forwarded me their account with high praise.“In Argentina we have empanadas almost every day,” says Facundo. “For example, pizza shops always sell pizza and empanadas in Argentina. You can find empanadas in some South American restaurants here, but they have not specialised in empanadas.”

The key, he says, are quality ingredients and “little secrets”, like the onion-to-beef ratio in their classic empanada, which is also filled with spices, capsicum and boiled egg. The humita is worth trying, too – creamed corn and bechamel shaped into a short-crust pastry triangle. It's inspired by humita, a pre-Hispanic South American dish of corn steamed inside its husk. There are vegan options and sweet treats, too, like a range of alfajores (sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche) and pasta frola (a tart made with guava paste).At first Argies was taking orders for 15 to 20 dozen empanadas. Now, during busy weeks, they make 60 dozen. I ask the couple if they plan to continue post-COVID, or even open an Argentinian cafe once their sponsorship contracts end.“That’s all the sorts of question we are asking ourselves,” says Facundo. “We started with this and now we can’t stop it. People are expecting empanadas. We’re really proud of what we’ve created... It’s nice for us to share our culture, our food with our neighbours and with our community.

Argies delivers same-day to Kew, Kew East, Balwyn, Balwyn North, Camberwell and Hawthorn. SMS or WhatsApp 0432 512 946. For deliveries outside these suburbs, contact Facundo for minimum orders.

READ » South Americans are Obsessed with Sandwiches

South Americans can’t get enough of sandwiches. Although the Incas are attributed with making the world’s first peanut butter, locals prefer bigger, better and far meatier versions of what I grew up with in my lunchbox.“Chile has an especially large amount of sandwiches,” says Latin Foods and Wines owner, Maria De La Plaza. “It’s dinner, it’s lunch. It’s the most common thing to say ‘Hey, let’s go eat a churrasco or chacarero.’”

A churrasco is Chile’s version of a steak sandwich, while a chacarero has the addition of green beans. Maria’s husband is Chilean, while she has Uruguayan roots but was born in Melbourne.In Uruguay and Argentina everyone eats sandwiches de miga, a cross between a club sandwich and the crustless squares served on tiered high tea plates. At Latin Foods and Wines, which opened in a new location in Melton three weeks ago, Maria’s team make their own bread from scratch.“People order them to eat at home for dinner. People might order three or four dozen of them for parties. When we have a barbecue for example, we put out sandwiches de miga first, and when people are still here four hours later, we bring them out again!” says Maria.

In Uruguay the national dish is the chivito, which means little goat in Spanish. Legend has it that an Argentinian customer asked for goat in a Uruguayan restaurant. There wasn’t any on hand, so the chef overcompensated by filling a sandwich with churrasco beef and just about everything else: ham, cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion, olives, pickles, fried eggs and condiments.El Chivi, the only dedicated Uruguayan food business in Melbourne, specialises in the chivito. Uruguayan-born Marty Eppel and his wife Anna run it. After a lifetime in hospitality, the pair decided to open something of their own. Marty spent a year of weekends building the food truck with his father, who conveniently builds refrigerated semitrailers for a living. The business built a reputation feeding punters at music festivals, but when COVID-19 came to town, 2020’s events were cancelled. Anna and Marty are now set up in Ringwood East in a garden centre car park.“Everyone eats the chivito no matter what time, what day,” says Marty. “If you go to Chile, they’re called lomitos, but they’re a little bit different. If you want a chivito, you’re getting a chivito in Uruguay.”

All of El Chivi’s chivitos are served on 1.5-sized milk burger buns, which the couple says are as important as the meat. The most traditional are El Suarez (scotch fillet, cheese, bacon, ham, egg, mayo, lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, pickles, jalapenos and hot sauce) and El Presidente (swap the pickles and jalapenos for roast capsicum and green olives).“We’ve had people travel over an hour because they ate our food four years ago at a food truck carnival. We’ve had migrants that follow us on Facebook and Instagram and haven’t had a chivito since they left Uruguay,” says Anna. “In Melbourne there’s Argentinian, Brazilian, Peruvian, Mexican – but there’s not Uruguayan. We’re the first and only option.”

ORDER » 7 Restaurants Delivering South American Sangas in Melbourne

Good news! You don't have to fly to South America to taste a traditional sandwich. Click below for a list of restaurants delivering to your door (the list covers all of Melbourne) and the stories behind them.

La Bohemia Cafe – Chilean This cafe has been in Noble Park for 20 years. Ricardo Rovles grew up visiting for the churrasco, but when he bought it off the original owners four years back, he fell in love with the rest of the menu, too. Ricardo left Chile when he was four years old and arrived in Melbourne in 1992. His mum is in the kitchen, along with a friend who’s a qualified Chilean chef. Together they combine tradition and modern techniques, though the food remains authentic, rustic and generous. Bread for the sandwiches is made in house each morning, and Ricardo does delivery runs himself with minimum spends of $60 (up to 5km for $5, 5-10km for $7, 10km+ POA).La Bohemia Cafe, 497 Princes Highway, Noble Park, 9574 2766

Latin Foods and Wines – Chilean & Uruguayan If you live within five kilometres of Melton, you can partake in one of 11 South American sandwiches on Latin Foods and Wines takeaway menu, which are all made with wagyu steak and come with chips. If you want to try sandwiches de miga, pre-order from the newly-launched, Melbourne-wide delivery service (order Monday to Wednesday for Thursday to Saturday delivery). The box of a dozen technically has twice as many squares given the layers, and it’s only $20. Check out their family-size dishes also, like pastel de choclo (shepherd's pie made with sweet corn), Cuban pulled pork wrapped in milhoja (pastry) and more.Latin Foods and Wines, 47 Unitt Street, Melton, 8746 4676

Neruda’s – Chilean Owner Gus Vargas is very particular about his Chilean food, and that extends to the traditional Chilean sandwiches. He has the bread made especially using his own recipe. On the menu are barros jarpa (ham and cheese) and barros luco (beef and cheese), chacarero (steak and green beans), chemilico (steak and egg), milanesa al pan (schnitzel) and the Uruguayan chivito, but the favourite among local residents and tradesmen remains the churrasco – a steak sandwich with avocado, tomato and mayonnaise.Neruda's, 6/210 Albion Street, Brunswick, 7001 8344

El Chivi – UruguayanSpecialising in the chivito, Uruguay’s national dish, El Chivi has four varieties of the steak sandwich to choose from, plus a vegan option with falafels, chimichurri, hummus, fried green olives, roasted capsicum, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Pick up is available from Thursday to Sunday from 5pm to 8pm, or delivery via Uber Eats and Deliveroo.El Chivi, 2-16 Mt Dandenong Road, Ringwood East, 0403 926 215

Asado, San Telmo and Palermo – ArgentinianYou can still order a lomito (beef steak sandwich), or my personal favourite, the choripan (a chorizo roll with chimichurri and salsa criolla) delivered from these three businesses, or pick up if you live within 5km of the addresses below. Asado also has the addition of a matambre (rolled flank sandwich with pickles and Russian dressing), while Palermo has a slow cooked pork and crackling number dubbed la porchetta.Asado, 6 Riverside Quay, Southbank, 9088 8600San Telmo, 14 Meyers Place, Melbourne, 9650 5525Palermo, 401 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, 9002 1600

Pastuso – PeruvianAlso part of the San Telmo group, Pastuso, offers pan con chicharron (braised pork shoulder with Andean slaw, fermented chilli mayo and pickled onion) and pan con carne asada (smoked and braised brisket with the same slaw and smoked chilli salsa). Pick up or delivery available.Pastuso, 19 AC/DC Lane, Melbourne, 9662 4556

HISTORICAL RECIPES » 3 South American Dishes Sure To Surprise You

Eel chowder so good a Nobel Prize winner wrote a poem about it. A tiny town in Patagonia obsessed with Welsh afternoon tea. Uruguayan gnocchi that could make you rich. Click through to impress during your next Zoom meeting with the stories behind these quirky dishes. Recipes included.

Eel Soup fit for a Chilean Poet“In the storm-tossed Chilean sea lives the rosy conger, giant eel of snowy flesh,” rhapsodises Chilean poet, Neruda Pablo, in Oda al Caldillo de Congrio (Ode to Conger Chowder). The Nobel Prize Winner, communist and bon vivant concludes, "that in this dish you may know heaven." The rest of the poem is as much a recipe as a piece of prose, where the "liquors of the ocean" are combined with "clear water released from the light of the onion". In Chile, caldillo de congrio is served in picadas, local restaurants where the dishes are hefty and affordable.Make it using this recipe, and feel free to substitute any firm white fish for the eel.

Patagonia’s Welsh Afternoon TeacakeChubut, a picturesque province in Patagonian Argentina between the Andes and Atlantic, is known for its dazzling landscapes, wildlife and – wait for it – Welsh fruitcake. Torta negra galesa is dense and black, the antithesis of the province’s namesake river (the South American Indian Tehuelche word “Chubut” means transparent). In 1865, 153 Welsh settlers arrived in Puerto Madryn, a coastal city in Argentina. Food shortages led to women baking these long-lasting, high-calorie cakes with flour, candied fruit, nuts, brown sugar (or molasses) and rum. More than 150 years later, Welsh teahouses are a major attraction in Chubut. The decedents of Welsh settlers consider themselves fiercely Argentinian, but nearly a third of residents are fluent in Welsh, which is a slightly higher proportion than those in Wales.Here’s a recipe via The Spruce Eats. Perfect with a cuppa.

Uruguay’s Superstitious Potato GnocchiIn Uruguay the 29th of every month is national gnocchi day. The country is deeply superstitious when it comes to ñoquis de papa (potato gnocchi), which travelled to Uruguay in the 19th century with Italian immigrants who came to work in agriculture. Payday was the first of the month, so by the 29th people would gather what was left in their cupboards – flour, potatoes – and make gnocchi. Today in Uruguay you’ll find families eating it together at home on the 29th of every month, along with gnocchi specials at restaurants. It’s customary to leave coins for the host under the plate, said to bring good luck and fortune for the coming month.Follow this simple recipe. And yes, it’s exactly the same as Italian gnocchi.

NOTICE BOARD » Beyond South America

If you missed the Raw Hospitality webinar where the ballsiest female restaurant operators I know put all their cards on the table, you can watch it here on YouTube.Read my story about Melbourne’s new jok (Thai rice porridge) delivery service in SBS Food, and learn more about the all-vegan dip delivery service from a Greg Malouf protégée via Broadsheet.Seasoned Traveller Archives: If you’re new here or want to look back past old newsletters, you can access the stories, recipes and videos here.

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