• EAT: One of the cheapest, happiest take-home meals we've had in a long time came courtesy of HalfMoon Empanadas, a start-up fast food restaurant a block off Lincoln Road in South Beach.

Owned by a Mexican-Argentine couple, the place has the slickness of a chain. The savory pies come in sturdy, colorful cardboard boxes, and each is smartly stamped with the name of the primary ingredient so there's no confusion when you get home.

But the taste is anything but generic. We've sampled many Miami empanadas over the years and these are among the best, with just the right thickness to the golden crust and fillings that are generous and fresh.

HalfMoon makes more than a dozen varieties, baked and fried. The baked spicy beef (meat, onions, peppers, egg and a combo of spices with a gentle kick) was our favorite. A spinach version and another with creamed corn and bechamel sauce also won praise, surprisingly, from the kids. It was the Americanized pies -- a greasy bacon cheeseburger and a pepperoni that tasted like pizza -- that seemed ho-hum.

Here's the best part: The empanadas are $1.99 each, a typical price here, but six can be had for $10 and a dozen for $17.99. I ordered 12 for my family of four and we reheated leftovers in the toaster oven for breakfast and lunch the next day. That's the farthest my food budget has stretched all year.

For dessert, there are three kinds of Cuban-influenced pasteles that are, unfortunately, only fried. The dough is folded, wonton-style, and filled with batata (sweet potato), membrillo (quince paste) or dulce de leche (caramel).

We'll hope more HalfMoons pop up across South Florida so we don't have to fight South Beach traffic and parking to get our cheap empanada thrills.

• DRINK: ''An Argentine empanada needs an Argentine wine,'' says Miami Herald wine columnist Fred Tasker. ``I'd try a soft, fruity red malbec.''

• WATCH: Eva Peron, Argentina's first lady from 1946 to 1952, would have liked HalfMoon's working class prices, so it's only fitting to watch Evita, the 1996 film starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas.

-- JODI MAILANDER

FARRELL

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