I got invited to a Matilda pop-up at ISCO Spirits on Sims Avenue in Providence (if you haven’t been to this women owned and groundbreaking distillery in the Valley neighborhood, I’m urging you to G-O) a while back, but was out of town that weekend.

Well, I caught up with them yesterday at a food truck festival in NPT, and they exceeded all of my expectations.

First of all, the team at the recently-rolled-out Tilda Food Bus looked like they were having THE BEST time! Smiles all around and greattt energy. (They actually got their start via a ghost kitchen set-up in PVD, a concept that really took off here in Rhode Island starting in 2020.)

Secondly, they have vegetarian (their Mrs. Mac, a macaroni and a special made-in-house roasted garlic cheese) and vegan (their TRI-Veg and Spin-us with sautéed spinach, mushrooms, and braised black beans) heart-shaped empanadas.

Also: You can get more traditional ones with meat as well as dessert versions with fruit fillings and a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Pretty sure they changed over to their now signature HEART SHAPE in 2021, another way of letting their customers know that their Dominican inspired creations are “made with love.”

And made to honor and preserve the memory of the owner’s late grandmother or abuelita. (Her recipes are indeed a cornerstone of the biz.)

I got the Spin-us which includes 2 empanadas, housemade plantain chips (a nice change from potato), and a dipping sauce. I didn’t use the sauce (mostly because I ate standing up and was worried about spilling it all over myself), but the spinach and beans turnovers and chips were sooooo yummy.

Everything is made fresh by hand using the best quality ingredients and you know what? You can TASTE all of that.

I mean, as the kids are saying, IYKYK.

Translation? If you know, you know. (I added that comma because I’m a total grammar nerd.)

Keep up with the latest from the Matilda team via their Instagram and most importantly, find out where they’ll be popping up NEXT. See their full menu at MatildaRI.com.

If you seek them out after reading THIS, please do let them know you were inspired by Patty J and PattyJ.com.