Big E Cafe

Came here on a Saturday morning around 10 am. It was bustling, lots of business, people grabbing a quick bite, others sitting down for a relaxing morning.
I ordered a coffee and a breakfast empanada with egg, sausage and cheese.
Positives:
–Fast service
–Clean and nice interior
–Nice servers, owner is super nice
–Loved the packaging on the empanada, double wrapped up.
–Yes, they reheat them, but they are ready in a few minutes
–Good location right off 85, lots of parking
–Good crunch, just enough flake, excellent texture on the dough.
Negatives:
–No specialty drinks, I was hoping for some Peruvian tea or other specialty drink from some latin country. They have a full stocked Italian style café, so you can still get your default café drinks there.
–Coffee was ok, watery, good quality otherwise.
–The sausage they use in the breakfast empanada? It was pizza style sausage, with anise, really thew off the whole breakfast vibe. I’m sure it works on the pizza empanada, but really throws everything off. Get breakfast sausage for the breakfast empanada! Doesn’t have to be the american style morning sausage even, but not the pizza type…
–The sausage was really low quality, like Totino’s frozen pizza quality. I didn’t finish it, as highly processed stuff like that really wrecks my stomach.
–We ordered a coffee and an empanada. AFTER we noticed they have a combo meal with the same thing, which they rang up each item separately. How about tell us, «Hey, we have a combo that’s a better deal, and you get a side for X amount?» Yeah, no, that did not happen. :/​
I wanted to like this place more, and was hoping for a new café for Saturday mornings. I’ll give it another try with a different empanada and a latte. I’ll adjust my score after.

Great coffee, fast service, friendly lady at the cashier. 4 stars because the empanada (got the chorizo, egg and the lomo) were a little dry and not as flavorful as I wanted (i.e. I needed to use the hot sauce liberally). But overall good Sat morning breakfast.

We finally went to Big E Café for lunch after having it bookmarked for awhile. We ordered the Beef, Mediterranean, and Panzerotto empanadas, artichoke salad, and hot chocolates for the kids. Everything was very flavorful and reasonably priced. Ernie came by our table and we had a nice conversation. He let us know they’ve been in business for 11 years. Overall a very pleasant experience and we plan to come back for breakfast.

Not bad empanadas. Some better than others. Almost all of them were better with a bit of hot sauce.

Called in for an order of 40 breakfast empanadas at about 530 pm the day before pickup. I asked to pick them up between 620 – 630 am.
I arrived at around 625 and they were finishing up organizing the order. I got 10 sausage, 10 chorizo, 10 ham, 5 potato, and 5 apple. They even threw in 2 extra ham empanadas for good measure.
The staff was very friendly and I really respected them for being on time, as I was taking them to an office meeting that started at 7 am. I would say I left the café at around 635, plenty of time to get to work on time.
As for the actual food: it was fantastic! Definitely a hit. We have regular morning meetings, so people get bored with bagels, and breakfast burritos, so this was definitely a welcomed sense of change. They are a great size and were perfect for feeding a group of people. The crust is very soft, but has a good crunch on the edges. Overall, very tasty and had a great reception from all who had some. Definitely would recommend this place and their breakfast empanadas!

Delicious! This spot is at the very corner of a shopping plaza and has all sorts of folks walking in and out. Ranging from families taking their orders of paper-​wrapped goodness and hot chocolates to regulars sipping coffee on outdoor seating and nibbling these scrumptious empanadas. They’ve got a little display case of what they’ve got ready to go but they’re always dishing out fresh baked delights.
They seem to have something for everyone. Got a hankering for breffus? Hit up their egg-​filled empanadas! Never had an empanada before and wanna try but not go too crazy? Don’t worry, they have a pizza one that is like a familiar calzone. Or go all in and get the Thai flavor (it’s super tasty with a small kick — you won’t regret it!).

Delicious coffee
Amazing Empanadas!
I’m new to town and very happy to have found this place, we come every day with out 2 year old son
The Spinach, Spicy Thia, and Apple Cranberry are my favorite.

First time here. This place has a family oriented atmosphere. Working staff is friendly and chill. I came in to try the breakfast empanadas, and I must say they are delicious. I bought the potato, egg, and cheese along with the bacon, egg, and cheese empanadas. For a fast breakfast you can’t beat that.

The staff has been consistently friendly each time I’ve visited. It’s a popular place, but the line moves quickly, thankfully. I had a chicken cilantro empanada as well as a spinach and cheese empanada. Both were fresh. Didn’t feel like they had been sitting out there all day, which is always a plus! I’ll be back.

Decided to try this place with my cousin. We came in and ordered these empanadas:
–sausage, egg, and cheese
–ham, egg, and cheese
–chorizo, egg, and cheese
–spinach
–thai curry
My cousin and I thought the breakfast empanadas okay. Needed more cheese and salt in my opinion. Felt like they tasted a little plain. Both the sausage and ham were piping hot, but for some reason the chorizo was hot on the outside and kind of lukewarm with a cold spot. Not sure how they reheat stuff here but I thought it was funny. That specific empanada was my cousins.
The thai curry one was a little of a let down. It had all the components, but the flavor wasn’t fully there. I think it needed more of a kick.
Favorite one, my cousin and I both agree was the spinach empanada. It was rich and creamy. Get this!
Service was nice, came on a Saturday morning and it was busy! We managed to nab a seat in the back side. There’s self-​serve water off to the side. I barely finished one empanada and a half. Cousin ate two. I tried getting someone attention for a to-​go box but it was hard. It was busy. Went back and sent my cousin to get it. He came back with a bag, they didn’t offer boxes, which was okay.

Sincere, delicious, and a family favorite.
This is our favorite fast food. We stop in for breakfast and lunch during the week and on the weekends. I find that the coffee is strong, hot, and fresh. I would rather have a latte here than at Starbucks. When I order, I am hard-​pressed to decide upon which empanada to eat. My favorites are the potato cheese, chicken cilantro, and chicken mushroom.
I am also a fan of sitting in the shop with my meal, my laptop, and their wifi. I have gotten much work done while sitting in the small, yet comfortable shop.
This is a family run business. Please go and enjoy!

I had such high hopes for this place with its 4.5 stars… But I have to admit that Big E’s was just okay…
The pictures made the empanadas look overly filled with goodness, but when I received my philly cheesesteak and spicy thai chicken empanadas they were more flat. less saucy, less cheesy, and less savory than I had imagined. They were piping hot from the reheat, but it was just BLAH and alright. There’s not really much more that I can say. other than there is a high probability that I will not be back. I’d rather have a hot pocket.

Ernie just came out with a new empanada
that is probably the best YET!, these are going to be the biggest seller.
Just try one and I promise you’ll want
another! (Ok, the name of this pie is called a barbeque pulled pork empanda)
Cheers, Santa John

I happened to bump into this place while doing some volunteer work nearby. I love empanada’s and wanted to try this as soon as I spotted it.
They have lot of different kinds of empanada’s. I got the breakfast empanada with chorizo and my husband got the one with bacon.
The empanada’s were good but the outer covering seemed thicker than usual. This is a family owned business and everyone working there were very friendly which I loved.

For a few dollars you can get yourself a really good, really quick, really big lunch.
Stopped by (after having already eaten lunch) and ordered a philly empanada. They popped that sucker into the toaster and off we went with that yummy pocket of delicious.

These are so good. Am now finally able to take this off my bookmark list…
…and add it to my regular rotation. Or at least make a habit of stopping by when I’m in the area. Definitely gonna grab a few to take to the next party I attend – Empanadas make friends. Plus they have a Unilocal Check-​In Offer for 15% off a dozen-​plus Empanadas.
This time we only grabbed one. We had just finished lunch, so there was little real estate left in the belly. The Philly Cheesesteak caught my attention b/​c it always does. They re-​toasted it up for us, packaged it up neatly, and we were on our way, only to dive into it before we had even left the parking lot. The pastry is perfectly cooked and there was a good amount of filling without it being over the top – gotta allow the pastry to continue to shine throughout, IMO.
Look forward to returning and trying all the other flavors. There are plenty!

This place has been on my bookmarks for awhile. My friend and I came in around noon. It was my first time here and I asked one of the ladies behind the counter for recommendations. My friend and I ended up ordering the beef empanada and the chicken and cilantro.
I thought the empanadas were flavorful. Both were good. I wasn’t a big fan of the raisins in the beef empanada. However, I have to agree with some of the Unilocalers. I wished the crust was buttery and flaky.
The employees were very friendly and attentive. Great customer service!

I was in the area and after a stellar foodie experience at Big E’s competitor, Milohas, a couple weeks back, I decided to check out Big E’s empanadas!
The café is not as well decorated as Milohas, it’s a lot simpler, coffee shop feels but service was quick and friendly. We ordered the beef empanada and spicy Thai chicken empanada to eat in and 2 each chicken cilantro and chicken mushroom empanadas to go. Each empanada costs almost $ 4 with tax, certainly not dirt cheap but they are pretty filling.
Among all the 4 flavors that we got, my favorite was the chicken mushroom and spicy Thai chicken. The Thai chicken is not spicy but has that rich curry flavor. My fiancé prefers the beef but I thought the marinade olive that is mixed in with the beef was a bit offputting with the fermented smell. All the empanadas are filled generously, lots of chicken, lots of beef and not too thick of the dough. The chicken cilantro was in my opinion disappointing as I don’t really taste the cilantro at all, so it was just filled with chicken and flavored like chicken pie.
Now, comparing the two empanadas, between Milohas and Big E, both my fiancé and I agreed that Milohas makes better empanadas. Both stores don’t sell empanadas with identical fillings, so I’m not really comparing the fillings. and both stores actually are generous with the filling of the pies! However, milohas won because the crust/​dough of the pie taste significantly more superior than Big E. Milohas’ crust/​pastry/​dough is flakier, more buttery, has richer flavor… it makes the eating experience yummier!
Overall, I’m happy with my purchase but if I have to choose, I’ll go back for Milohas for empanadas.

My new boss wanted empanadas for a meeting with 3 days notice. One day for procrastination and one day to search for something local. Um … Yikes!!! Thank goodness for my faithful Unilocalers cuz you all led me to Big E’s! With hours to spare I called to see if we could make thi work.
It was a little hit and miss to connect with Ernesto (I’m guessing he’s the Big «E») but once I did, he couldn’t have been nicer. They don’t generally do deliveries but Ernesto was gracious enough to work with me since our offices are down town.
Since I’ve never tried Big E Café, I took
Ernesto’s suggestions on which empanadas to order. We choose the Celantro chicken, the traditional beef and the spinach and cheese. Ernesto delivered our order (40 empanadas) right at 11:30, exactly when he say he would.
Displayed on plastic round catering trays, these bad boys were fantastic ! My co-​workers all agreed that these were yummy!

El sitio realmente es muy bueno las personas que atienden de verdad se esmeran por atender muy bien pero hay una persona que me imagino que es el Manager, muy grosero a la hora de escuchar mi comentario de hoy, que revisará su Internet porque estaba muy lento, se que es algo gratuito pero el servicio es muy malo, la persona se molesto y se puso a la defensiva, muy grosera su actitud, lamentable tener una persona así y que tenga esa actitud defensiva cuando sólo le estoy dando un comentario.

Absolutely wowed by the flavors in these empanadas. My boyfriend and I ordered the spicy Thai chicken, the Mediterranean, and the apple empanadas. The spicy Thai chicken tasted like a spiced up version of a chicken pot pie. The Mediterranean empanada had an authentic Greek taste and would be good for those looking for a good vegetarian option. The apple empanada was like a McDonalds apple pie (don’t be hatin’ McDonald apple pies). All the empanadas came out hot and fresh. The moment I bit into each empanada, I experienced bliss.
The staff here are super friendly and knowledgeable. The combination options, which come with side orders and a coffee of your choosing, make me want to try everything on the menu.
Also, there’s a Unilocal check-​in offer going on: If you order a dozen empanadas (too few in my opinion!), you get 15% off your order.
Needless to say, I’ll be back for more.