The drive from my apartment to this restaurant along Southern Avenue is an interesting 5 mile stretch. We start near a retirement community, replete with 70-80 year olds who have absolutely no shame in flaunting themselves in speedos on a hot summer day on thereafter desecrated sidewalks. Continuing on, a veritable gauntlet of strip malls appear offering all types of wares, services, in a strictly lower middle income suburbia. The next area is a heavily hispanic area with nary an English sign in sight, besides Massage brazenly displayed along shaded glass storefronts. Finally, our destination appears, and it is truly in an imposing corner, flanked by a Big Lots, great america, and a pawn shop, complete with a watchful security guard along the storefront. In this truly welcoming environment, we damn near sprinted from the Red Dragon ( also known as my car ) into Salvadoreno.
And this is where the magic begins.
The legend of pupusa has been ringing in my soul for nearly an hour, and I was not about to leave without satisfying that call. Never having had it before didn't prevent me from ordering 3 varieties, with the steak being my girlfriend's favorite, mine being the pork and beans, and the simple cheese coming in at a comfortable third. Pressed pockets of incredible goodness inside a expertly pressed tortilla, was served with a mild salsa and curtido- spicy, peppery pickled vegetables. Combining all of these components, I have abandoned my long-standing vow to hate all those who use bumper stickers and have been inspired to promote the cause, I love (heart symbol) pupusas.
As this was my first foray into Salvadorian food, I also ordered Lengua Guisada, which came as 3 slabs of stewed beef tongue, covered in a slightly sour tomato based sauce. The sourness combined with the beef tongue's gamey texture I found very pleasing, but this was slightly below room temperature, and definitely marred my enjoyment of this dish.
Both of our entrees also came with pedestrian rice and watery black beans, with the latter being flavorful but far too liquidy. I also had a cup of Sopa de Res con Chipilin with my entree, which tasted like countless other Sopa de Res elsewhere.
Pupusas were absolutely wonderful, but the full experience was marred by my weaker entree and the side dishes. With that said, I will gladly challenge the land of hispanic / lower income / scary gun-wielding-guard-outside-a-pawn-shop again if only I can have once again the sublime experience of pupusa once more.