As we round the corner onto Pine Street, I swear I can smell the empanadas already. Situated at the end of a row of townhouses just barely into South Philly territory is a modest, painted-yellow-brick corner cafe. Small, round tables hug the walls, all overflowing with locals sipping from matching ceramic coffee cups and families telling their children that no, they cannot have another alfajor. In the window hangs a hand-painted sign, “Hoy será un buen día!” or “Today will be a good day!” This is Jezabel’s Cafe. Inside, a wooden bar stretches across the room, decorated with a glass case of Argentinian delicacies: golden-crusted empanadas and fresh frittatas, scones and pies. Faint latin music overlaps with the hum of conversation. Behind the counter, past the coffees and teas, a young man (who we later learned to be Jezabel’s brother Isra Careaga), sandwiches together sets of soft maicena (cornstarch) cookies using dulce de leche, a caramel spread instrumental to any Argentinian diet. To his side is Jezabel herself. With flour on her hands, she slips the next tray of dough into the oven.
We sit at a table beside the counter, and when our food comes out, we can’t conceal our excitement. My boyfriend, who calls Buenos Aires his home, grins upon biting into the first empanada: “Just like home.” During our visit, we became friendly with Jezabel’s brother Isra. Afterwards, he offered to put me in touch with his sister, who was kind enough to provide me with some history and insight into Jezabel’s humble roots. Can you give me a brief history of Jezabel’s? I opened Jezabel’s in June 2010. Actually, I moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2009 to start the project of opening the cafe in Fitler Square. The Pine Street location sat vacant for 20 years, and when I came along, it was just perfect timing to open an Argentine cafe. Back in 2010, there were not [any] other Argentine cafes or restaurants in Philadelphia. Originally, I started serving coffee shops’ regular offerings such as croissants and bagels, but soon after I opened the cafe, I introduced empanadas and later alfajores. Little by little, they became known in the city, and that is how today we only serve empanadas
and Argentine traditional desserts. It was a very organic evolution, and I’m happy to see where we are and where we are going next. What makes Jezabel’s different from other local spots? We offer a well-designed and comfortable setting just like any confitería in Argentina. We are the only cafe that offers Argentine empanadas, medialunas and alfajores in Philadelphia, and we are well-known in the city for it. What items do you recommend? And do you have anything seasonal now? Well, what I recommend is [to] come into the cafe and ask: What did just come out of the oven? We bake around the clock, and even though we make sure our food is fresh and up to standards, when you bite [into] a beef empanada or a blueberry scone that is just out-of-the-oven, nothing can beat that! Feel free to visit Jezabel and Isra at their primary location at Pine St. or their studio at 45th and Walnut. penn appétit
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