Pastilitos at the MG Deli

Pastilitos are ubiquitous in Washington Heights, and while they all pretty much look the same, some taste like a stray dog's wire-haired tail while others taste much better. There are a million places to get good pastelitos Uptown, and probably five or six downtown too. Some are crispy and some are almost gummy

And then some, like the ones at the MG on the corner of St. Nick and 158th are just so all around good they make you stop and think about it for a second before you swallow.

Pastilitos are basically Dominican empanadas. They come with chicken in them or cheese or beef or salami, and there are a couple people in the neighborhood that make them with a halved hard boiled egg inside. Those make a guy wish he carried his own salt with him. Thank god I do. Basically you can put whatever the hell you want in them.

Henry de Leon from MG makes his with chicken and beef (like most places) but he adds a little cheese, and it makes all the difference. Whenever we have a party or need to take food to one we always grab ten or fifteen beef and the same number of chicken, and as soon as people try them they always start asking for my phone number and start kissing me and stuff. Crazy, but there it is.

Oh yeah also they cost 0ne buck.