The Salteña Scene: Bolivian Llama Party's Costly Feast

Bolivian Llama Party is a Bolivian-American pop-up turned sit-down restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, run by the Bolivian-American Oropeza brothers. They serve up a variety of Latin American dishes, including their signature salteñas, which are thick, handheld pastries with a soupy, stew-like filling. The salteña is similar to an empanada but differs in that it has a gelatin-based consommé that melts as it cooks, resulting in a sweetish pastry with a stewy centre. The Bolivian Llama Party offers salteñas with various fillings, including beef, chicken, and vegetarian options, and they are priced at around $5 to $9 each.

Bolivian Llama Party's signature salteña

The salteña is a type of dumpling native to Bolivia. It is a handheld, thick pastry filled with a soupy, stew-like filling. Bolivian Llama Party's signature salteñas are filled with either beef or chicken stew, and they also offer a vegetarian option with quinoa, smoked mushrooms, and squash.

History

The Bolivian Llama Party was started by the Oropeza brothers, Patrick, David, and Alex, who are of Bolivian-American descent. They began as a pop-up stand selling roasted corn and salteñas at street fairs. The brothers wanted to bring Bolivian cuisine to the masses and put it on the map in New York.

Preparation

The salteña is not to be confused with an empanada. It is a savoury pastry filled with sliced beef or chicken, mixed in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce, and also containing a hard-boiled egg. The pastry is thick and chewy, and the bottom doesn't get soggy despite the soupy filling.

Eating Instructions

Bolivian Llama Party provides printed instructions on how to eat a salteña without spilling the juice. First, you nibble off the top of the shell, which is sweet from cane sugar. Then, you slurp up the soupy interior, taking care not to burn yourself. Finally, you bite and slurp the rest of the salteña, enjoying the juicy goodness.

Price

The signature salteñas at Bolivian Llama Party are priced at $5.45 each, or $29.70 for a half dozen if you want to bake them at home.

The price of a salteña

The price of a Bolivian Llama Party salteña varies depending on the filling. Their chicken salteñas and beef salteñas are priced at $5.45 each, while their vegetarian salteñas are $5.75. You can also buy frozen bake-at-home salteñas at $29.70 for a half dozen.

Salteñas are thick, handheld pastries filled with a slurpable stew. They are similar to empanadas and Taiwanese soup dumplings, but each region of Bolivia has its own variation. For example, the salteñas in La Paz are less juicy than those in Cochabamba, while Potosi's salteñas are flaky.

Bolivian Llama Party's vegetarian salteñas are filled with quinoa, smoked mushrooms, and squash. Their chicken salteñas contain a thick and chewy pastry filled with a perfect balance of beef or chicken stew, with just enough salsa to add a kick without being overpowering. The bottom of the pastry doesn't get soggy, which is a common issue with this type of dish.

The salteña is a unique and delicious treat, and at only $5.45, it's a bargain. The brothers behind Bolivian Llama Party, Patrick, David, and Alex Oropeza, are passionate about bringing the Bolivian experience to the masses and putting Bolivian cuisine on the map in New York. They started by selling roasted corn and salteñas at street fairs, and now they have a permanent location in Sunnyside, Queens, as well as a stall at Turnstyle Underground Market in Columbus Circle.

The salteña is a must-try dish, and Bolivian Llama Party is the perfect place to try it. The restaurant offers a unique and fun dining experience, with a walk-up window and picnic tables out front, often with a DJ, dancers, and people passing around water ice. It's a real party atmosphere, and the food is delicious and authentic.

How to eat a salteña

Salteñas are Bolivian dumplings—savory pastries filled with meat or vegetables in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce. They are similar to empanadas and Taiwanese soup dumplings.

• Bite the tip: Use your teeth to break off the corner point of the salteña, where the braided dough comes together. This will create an opening for you to enjoy the filling.
• Release the steam: After taking your first bite, allow any built-up steam to escape. Be careful, as the contents are likely to be very hot!
• Enjoy in small bites: As you work your way through the salteña, take small bites and savor the combination of flavors and textures. The pastry should be thick and chewy, and the filling should be soupy and stew-like.
• Slurp and chew: Eating a salteña is a combination of slurping and chewing. Don't be afraid to get a little messy! It's all part of the experience.
• Use your hands: Salteñas are meant to be eaten with your hands, so don't be afraid to dig in. Just be prepared for some drippings, as the filling can be juicy.
• Dipping: Salteñas are often served with a salsa or sauce on the side. Feel free to dip your salteña into the sauce for an extra kick of flavor.
• Sip a beverage: Pair your salteña with a refreshing drink. A cold beer or a glass of water will help to wash down the delicious flavors and balance the spices.

Remember, eating a salteña is meant to be a fun and enjoyable experience! Don't worry too much about the mess, and focus on the taste sensation.

Other dishes served at Bolivian Llama Party

The Bolivian Llama Party offers a variety of dishes beyond their signature salteñas. One of their specialities is the Chola sandwich, a typical Bolivian street food. The sandwich features pulled meat—either triple pork and brisket, or pulled pork—and is topped with pickled vegetables, aioli, and crumbly white cheese on a toasted roll.

The restaurant also offers a range of sandwiches, including the trancapecho beef sandwich, which features breaded and fried steak with a creamy llajua mayo, and the diablada broster, a fried chicken sandwich coated in Bolivian locoto chile powder and served with a vinegary locoto-scotch bonnet fire sauce.

For those looking for something other than sandwiches, Bolivian Llama Party offers a variety of soups, including a creamy peanut soup made with beef broth and potatoes, and fricasé, a blend of chile, pig parts, and field corn with a licorice-y sting from the addition of anise. They also offer a unique take on mac 'n' queso, artichoke mac n' queso, which, despite the queso sauce on top, is described as dry.

For dessert, the restaurant offers a sweet and salty rice pudding called huminta arroz con leche, made with white corn and anise and topped with cheese. They also have a range of ice creams, including birthday cake ice cream and api morada ice cream, a gourmet take on the traditional thick, purple, corn-based breakfast drink.

The history of the pop-up

The pop-up has become a popular way for food entrepreneurs to test their concepts, build a following, and eventually open a permanent restaurant. This was the trajectory of the Bolivian Llama Party, a food pop-up turned restaurant specialising in Bolivian food, particularly the salteña.

The Bolivian Llama Party was started by Bolivian-American brothers Patrick, David, and Alex Oropeza, who aimed to bring the salteña—a type of Latin American turnover—to the forefront of Latin American food in the US, where it is overshadowed by the empanada. The brothers first started selling Bolivian food at street fairs, then moved on to pop-ups and food stalls, including at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn.

The Oropeza brothers' pop-up strategy allowed them to test their concept and build a following before opening their first permanent location. Their pop-up at the Turnstyle Underground Market in Columbus Circle was particularly successful, and they were able to open two more brick-and-mortar locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. However, due to the pandemic, they had to close these locations and focus on their Sunnyside, Queens, location, which was previously their prep kitchen.

The pop-up strategy has been employed by many food entrepreneurs as a way to test the market, build a customer base, and eventually open a permanent restaurant. It allows for more flexibility and lower costs compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant, and it can also create a sense of exclusivity and urgency that can drive sales.

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