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| - This is quite the gem and I found this place near my parent's house on the west side. I never expected something quite this delicious to be found near in the suburbs. Bare in mind this review has been long awaited and my last visit was over a month ago.
The El Salvadorian delight is quaint with a slightly divey appeal to it, which typically will tell it- it's good and run by true El Salvadorians. The TV will play Telemundo on in the background with Spanish soap operas running. The service was fairly good, but slightly hindered by the English barrier. It's much easier to just point to the item on the menu than try to tell them what you want (unless you speak decent Spanish, but I'm a Frenchie).
The papusas were on the spot with the right of amount of filing and thickness like a delicious papusa should. The pork, cheese and beans hit the spot. The empandas were delicious. I ordered 2 more after the first fried little delight. The papusas and empandas are AMAZING WITH THEIR SALSA, SPICY CABBAGE SLAW AND DIPPING SAUCE. I got extra sides of all three, it was soo soo good with them both.
For entrees we got the Bandeja Paisa (Chorizo, Chicharrones, Rice/ Beans, Plantains, a Fried Egg and Avocado). The Bandeja Paisa was really delicious and the rice/beans were fairly delish (seasoned and creamy)! The fried plantains added a nice light sweetness to it. The Chorizo provided the savory and spicy protein. I was a bit disappointed with the chicharrones (fried pork belly)- the pork belly was a little hairy for my taste and the it was very chewy and overdone. It was unfortunate since I love fried pork belly.
We also got the Carne Asada Steak, which was decent, not the best we ever had. I found the beef to be slightly bland and chewy. The flavor is there, it just needs a touch more seasoning. It came with plantains, lettuce, rice and beans.
Lastly, we got my favorite thing of the night, fried fish. It was a FRIED WHOLE FISH, bone and all. It was crispy light fried smelts and nice amount of salty with a mix of moist and flaky fish meat. The limes they provided help cut some of the heaviness to the fish and rounded it out nicely. The fish was super fresh and oh so tasty
The menu is moderately priced and definitely worth a drive / try, especially the empandas and papusas!!
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