Queens has a wealth of South American food, but, as far as I can tell, only one Bolivian restaurant. Bolivian Llama Party’s specialty is a variety of empanada from Bolivia called a salteña. A salteña is to a standard empanada as a xiao long bao soup dumpling is to a standard dumpling: that is, filled with a soupy sauce in addition to the standard filling. Salteñas are also larger than standard empanadas; two salteñas are a full meal. Eating salteñas, like eating xiao long bao, requires a special process: you bite a hole in one of the pointy ends and eat some of the stew inside with a spoon, then eat some of the exterior, repeating until you’ve eaten the whole salteña.
Recently, we also tried a creamy corn and potato soup there, which was wonderful as well. They also make traditional Bolivian sandwiches called cholas and various other Bolivian specialties. Bolivian cuisine is quite closely related to the cuisines of the indigenous Aymara and Quechua peoples, even more so than other South American cuisines I’ve had. And, if you anticipate that you’ll have sudden cravings for salteñas, they are available from Bolivian Llama Party frozen in bulk.
Bolivian Llama Party
44-14 48th Ave
Queens, NY 11377