GV Newsletter 10-16 web

BUSINESS
BUSINESSspotlight
MARIA EMPANADA
8000 East Belleview Avenue • 303-221-9013 • www.mariaempanada.com
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Closed Sunday
Owning her own restaurant in the United States is a dream
come true for Chef-Owner Lorena Cantarovici. Lorena’s
dream of owning and operating her own restaurant began to
come to fruition when she left her banking position in
Buenos Aires and relocated to Denver 12 years ago. She
worked in several different restaurants located in the Denver
Tech Center and her passion for becoming a restaurateur
took-off as she fell in love with the business. Lorena began
her culinary journey by starting a catering business eight
years ago using her mother’s recipe for authentic, reasonably
priced, Argentinian empanadas.
Since Lorena’s humble beginnings in the catering business,
she has perfected the menu currently being offered at the two
Maria Empanada locations. After opening and enjoying
success at the original location on South Broadway located in
the Platte Park neighborhood of Denver, Maria Empanada
has expanded to Greenwood Village in the Belleview
Promenade Shopping Center. Lorena says “her familiarity
with the restaurant scene in the Denver Tech Center led her
to choose the Greenwood Village location.” She further stated
“that the mix of tenants in the Belleview Promenade
Shopping Center complement each other in attracting the
surrounding business and residential communities of
Greenwood Village.”
Chefs in most every region of the world bake a savory
concoction of either meat and/or vegetables wrapped in
pastry. In Argentina, this is known as an empanada. Maria
Empanada is the original atelier of artisanal empanadas. That
means there is nothing fast about the craftsmanship that goes
in to each empanada. Each one is formed by hand. The
result: A buttery, light and flaky savory pastry that is truly a
work of culinary art. The most popular breakfast offering is
the Italian Sausage empanada, which consist of eggs, potato,
cheese, salsa and Italian sausage. Popular lunch and dinner
empanadas include the Beef Classico and the Chicken
Classico, which include peppers and egg.
On a typical day, 16 varieties of empanadas are stocked in the
glass case of the restaurant. “Traditional” empanadas are the
most popular item on the menu. These can be stuffed with
meat, vegetables or a combination of the two. A “vegan
veggie” empanada is also available. “Specialty” empanadas are
seasonal and are filled with only the freshest ingredients
available. The fillings at Maria Empanada are expertly spiced
and well portioned. The perfect add-on to these empanadas
are home-made salsas available for a nominal price. Several
sweet variations of empanadas are offered. Each variety of
empanada is sealed with a slightly different seam to indicate
what the filling is. Two to three empanadas will satisfy the
hungriest of appetites.
Traditionally, empanadas are eaten by hand. To encourage
this practice, Maria Empanada has installed an automatic
hand washing machine in the serving area of the restaurant.
In a span of less than 20 seconds, your hands are washed,
rinsed and a light moisturizer applied. Give it a swirl on your
visit to Maria Empanada.
In addition to empanadas, Maria Empanada offers two other
specialties, Tartas and Spanish Tortillas. Tartas are savory pies
filled with a variety of vegetables and meats. They are
blended with organic eggs and herbs inside of their own
continued on page 16
PG. 14 GV NEWSLETTER | OCTOBER 2016