The empanadas and ‘chicken and dumplings’ at this Middle Ga. spot are family tradition

In the oldest commercial building in Warner Robins, you’ll find a luncheria offering up homemade empanadas with a true farm-to-table experience.

When you walk into My Grandma’s Empanadas, you’ll find the walls lined with art and graffiti from artists in the area. Rikki Waite, the owner, can be found taking orders while her mother is back behind the counter hand-preparing the empanadas.

Before moving into their current location, they sold the empanadas down at the Farmers Market. It quickly took off to the point that Waite decided to go into the restaurant business.

“I was at the market for about a year and half selling out and I just couldn’t keep up with it,” Waite said. “My husband was helping me set up the tent and there was already a line. … He was like, ‘I think you need a restaurant.’”

They moved into the building but the care that goes into each dish has not changed. The food comes from farmers that Waite trust to put the best product on the table for her customers.

They fry each empanada in a skillet with freshly pressed sunflower seed oil.

One of their standout dishes is their stewed chicken soup with tiny dumplings that is the color of a Brunswick stew. It takes hours to prepare. They used to only have to make one pot but now they have to make five a day to keep up with the demand.

“That is a dish that my mother made growing up. We call it chicken and dumplings,” Waite said. “Since we are in the South, I can’t really call it that. So stewed chicken soup it is and it has been a really big hit.”

For Waite, the restaurant is special because she is able to put her grandmother’s recipes to use and carry on her legacy. Her family is from the Cayman Islands and Panama.

She said her grandmother was critical of her own recipes but Waite has turned them into a successful restaurant that has people flocking to try the food that has been passed down through generations.

“Honestly, I am little speechless about it because I missed her so much that for me it gave me a lot of closure and because it makes me feel like she is being carried on,” Waite said. “I have created a legacy of sorts for her. I think she would be very proud.”

Empanadas:

An empanada is a Panamanian or Latin American pastry turnover filled with ingredients and fried, according to the definition on the wall here.

They offer a variety of these handmade fried pies including beef, chicken, bean, cheese and chorizo. You can order them individually or you can get a combo meal with multiple empanadas.

I opted for the four empanada combo. I got a pair of beef, a spicy chicken and an ATW which features chorizo, bacon and egg.

The beef was well-seasoned and the cheese complimented the taste. The spicy chicken cranked up the heat a bit but it wasn’t overly hot. It had the right amount of kick that really set off the dish.

The chorizo, bacon and egg one felt like breakfast in a pastry. The chorizo itself had a great taste with a little kick but the egg was what brought the dish together as whole and gave it a different feel from the beef one.

Photographer Jenna Eason went with a combo two with a bean as well as a beef empanada. She said that the bean one was a nice vegetarian option; it was seasoned well and was a bit lighter than one filled with meat.

As a whole, these are not a heavy meal and a couple with a side will get you through the day without bogging you down.

They also offer some other entrees like their corn empanadas as well as a carimanola made from yuca.

Sides:

There aren’t a ton of side option but the ones that they do have pack a punch and each feels carefully selected to go well with the empanadas.

I went with a side of stewed chicken soup. This might be the best soup I have ever consumed in my life. It isn’t spicy but it’s very flavorful. It was so good that I got back up and ordered a second bowl to-go for dinner.

Jenna went with a stuffed avocado. It was half of an avocado with beans, corn, peppers and various other toppings. She didn’t expect the combination of flavors to work but was surprised how well the flavors fit together. It was like a twist on what you might get with a loaded baked potato.

Dessert empanadas:

They have a small selection of empanadas for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth. We shared a pair of these. One was the guava and strawberry and the other was peaches and cream. These were the perfect ending to an already great meal.

The peaches and cream one had a very southern feel to it. The peaches tasted fresh and paired well with the cream inside the empanada.

Jenna and I were a bit more skeptical about the guava and strawberry one but it ended up being just as good as the peaches and cream. It had more of a fruity flavor to it.

Cost:

Combo 4: $13.75

Individual empanadas: $3

My Grandma’s Empanadas

Location: 120 S Armed Forces Blvd, Warner Robins

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.- 2.p.m.

Price range: $3-$15

This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM.