Empanadas and the Economy

From the Express:

Rise of the Empanadas: Economy Down, Prices Up
IT'S A SIGN OF THE TIMES. As global food prices continue the rise and U.S. consumers worry about inflation, the price of one reliably low-cost snack has increased locally.

According to signs posted at local chain Julia's Empanadas, as of Monday, the price of the meat- and vegetable-filled pastries jumped by 23 cents, the first such increase in three years. So get ready to dig out some extra change for a saltenas empanada with chicken, potato, green peas, hard-boiled egg, green olives and onion, or a Chilean-style beef empanada with raisins, hard-boiled egg, onion and olives.

Perhaps such a price bump was inevitable as the nation frets about the state of the economy. As MSNBC reported late last month, the price of cheap eats — from pizza to bagels to even the famous "Recession Special" at Gray's Papaya in New York City — has been increasing.
And now, too, the simple empanada. Still, the stuffed pastry remains one of the cheapest options out there.