You have probably seen the empanada by now. Deep orange, blistered, cracked open on camera to a cloud of steam, it has been quietly taking over the feeds of anyone who follows South Florida food. It is an Ilocos-style empanada, a rice-flour shell fried until it shatters, the kind you hit with a splash of vinegar before the first bite. It lives at Kanto Asian Street Food, a counter at 720 Lake Ave in downtown Lake Worth Beach, and it is very much worth leaving your zip code for.

The Experience

Kanto is the Lutong Pinoy team's street-food spinoff, and it plays like Filipino street food should: bold, a little messy, and built for a table that likes to share. The Ilocos empanada is the headliner, but the wider menu rewards a group that wants to graze. The street snacks are where the fun starts. Lumpia, the crispy Filipino spring rolls, run about $7, the marinated pork and chicken skewers land around the same, and the signature lechon bao buns, roasted pork belly with a sweet and sour pate sauce, are $12. From there the plates get heartier. The crispy pata, a deep-fried pork hock with shattering skin, is $24 and made for sharing, and the kare-kare, a peanut stew they braise for over two hours, runs about $22. Save room for halo-halo, the shaved-ice sundae layered with jellies and ube. There is also a mural running along one wall that walks you through moments in Filipino history while you eat, which most people do not expect.

The Insider Move

Get the Ilocos empanada first, before you fill up on anything else, so you taste it at its best. Come Thursday through Tuesday, because Kanto is closed Wednesdays, and there is nothing worse than driving to Lake Ave for a dark window. Weekends run late, with the kitchen open until 10PM on Friday and Saturday, so an early-evening visit beats the rush. Downtown Lake Worth Beach has easy parking a short walk from the door, and plenty of pretty blocks to walk off dinner afterward.

The Buzz

The empanada clips are how most people find the place, and the reviews back up the hype rather than deflate it. What keeps locals coming, though, is scarcity: there are not many Filipino restaurants in Palm Beach County, and regulars will tell you this is one of the best. It has become one of those spots people use to prove that Lake Worth Beach has quietly turned into one of the better eating streets in the county. Go once and you will understand the camera roll full of empanada videos.

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