Salvadoran Restaurants – Page 3

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas 1: Yuma

April 24, 2008 ed fromyuma Salvadoran Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk is back with pics and stories about Vietnam and Cambodia. Cathy and others are out eating and snapping photos, but today ed (from Yuma) wants to share a recent find.

*** I am saddened to write that Pupuseria Cabanas is no more. One of the few cases of a restaurant doomed by its success. At least as I have heard it, the landlord was getting complaints from the towing/repair shop next door that there was no place to park during the day because the pupuseria had too many customers. Lucia was not allowed to be open weekdays, and then on Nov. 1, the restaurant was empty with no sign about another location etc. I will update if (I hope, when) she has relocated *** :-(

At the end of last month, a friend and I were exploring Calle Ocho (8th St) in Yuma looking for interesting taco stands and such. After a campechana at Juanita's and some empanadas from Mariscos el Nayarita, I spotted a lit-up open sign in the window of this new pupuseria:

After finding a parking place, Tina and I walked into the small family restaurant (3 booths, one bench and table set, and one larger table that could hold maybe 8 people), and as soon as I started speaking the little bit of horribly gringofied restaurant Spanish that I know, every head in the place turned to look at us as if we were los Migras. I suspect we may have been the first native English speakers to come in looking for a meal.

Since there is no menu and no white board, some conversation is required to find out what is available and to place an order. Fortunately for us on this visit, a friendly young man who spoke perfect English instantly switched the conversation into a language that both of us could understand. He seems to be there on weekends. During the week, ordering becomes more problematic since my poquito español de comida Mexicana is only marginally useful, and the nice ladies' English is only slightly better than my Spanish. Nonetheless, crossing that language barrier is worth it to me.

On our first visit, I ordered pupuses, and soon the two women in the back of the kitchen started patting out thick corn tortillas, much like the woman on one of the wallhangings that decorated the spare restaurant:

Pupusas are two corn tortillas grilled together with a thin layer of filling between them. We ordered bean and cheese, cheese and some Salvadoran green veggie, and pork. They are served with a tomato flavored, marginally spicy red sauce and a large jar of Salvadoran coleslaw, mildly tangy shredded cabbage with shredded carrot and an occasional slice of jalapeno. My first efforts at decorating the pupusas led to things that looked like these:

It's hard to beat hand-made corn tortillas, and they are the primary element in a pupusa. The thin smear of filling inside adds a flavor note, rather than a dominant taste. At first, I luxuriated in the honest flavor of the tortillas, and I used the sauce and coleslaw as accents. Since then, however, I have learned that I like my pupusas more heavily dressed. Starting with a plain pupusa, I cover it with sauce, and then I pile on the coleslaw:

This way, the pupusa is salad, filling, and starch all together. Also, at $1.75 apiece, two properly decorated pupusas make a good $3.50 lunch.

While the pupusas at Cabañas are what first got me hooked on the restaurant, other things keep me coming back over and over. For example, they serve very interesting – in fact downright amazing – Salvadoran agua frescas ($1.50). The first one I ordered contained mango, pineapple, and some mystery Salvadoran fruit:

Unlike any Mexican Agua Fresca that I have drunk, this place serves a handful of diced fruit in each glass. Although I believe I am served a straw each time, these are meant to be drunk without one. That way, each gulp is a mouthful of sweet liquid and chopped fruit.

I have no idea what this critter that looks like a yellow cherry is called, but it does contain a pit somewhat like a cherry:

On another occasion, apple was the primary flavor, and I felt like I'd eaten half an apple by the time I finished the drink:

I have two small concerns about this place. It calls itself a pupuseria y taqueria, yet I have seen no evidence of any taco on the premises. Certainly no one has offered to make me one. In addition, the last time I was eating there, it was over 90 degrees outside, and the tiny wall-mounted 1960s AC in the restaurant was having no perceptible effect on the internal temperature. I may not want to hang out at Cabañas when Yuma gets to 115.

Nevertheless, this little place has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Yuma – and I will keep coming back, at least until I can't stand the heat and have to keep away from their kitchen. It is not just that the pupusas and the homemade drinks are outstanding, but the place also has served me some of the tastiest and most unusual soups of any place in town. The soups and other treats will have to wait for part two. Consider yourselves properly teased.

Pupuseria y Taqueria Cabañas, 3405 8th St, Yuma AZ. Phone #? If they don't have a menu, maybe they don't have a phone either.

The Revised Rotation

July 25, 2007 mmm-yoso Bakery, Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Plate Lunch, Salvadoran Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

I’ve been blessed by blogging. Through our humble little food blog, I’ve gotten to know so many wonderful, kind, and generous people. It’s also great to know that I’m not the only (slightly…) food obsessed person out there. I’m very happy to call Howie, who does the Foodieview, a friend.

Case in point, over the last year (yes, year…) I’ve received a few emails and comment, asking me when I’m going to update "My Rotation". Those would be the restaurants the Missus and I think about when we make plans to eat, whether it’s the two of us, or dinner with friends, or something similar in nature. I had thought that a post was in order, but didn’t quite know how to approach the whole thing. Suddenly it came to me(though it could have been gas….but we’ll never know), I remembered Howie’s post on embedding restaurant maps in posts. I thought it was pretty neat, and Howie was nice enough to demo what mmm-yoso’s map would look like…..it did look like 300 map links stacked on one another….it seemed like I’ve been eating in the same place like a couple of hundred times! Now, I know Howie’s a really busy guy, but I mentioned updating my rotation to Him, and sent him a list of places on our revised rotation, and to my surprise a short itme later I received a response. And there was a map! You can see a more detailed map with info here. So without further ado, here’s Howie’s work:

Pretty cool, huh?

(Rail)Road Trip: Los Angeles

December 11, 2006 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Salvadoran Restaurants, Sisig

Over the last 5 months or so, I've been juggling a few ideas in my head. The ideas had come from a variety of sources; on my trip to Portland I truly enjoyed the walking and public transit, so I kept thinking about doing this in large sprawling LA. After all Angelinos always joke, "nobody walks in LA…are you kidding?" Then, there's Andy, the ABC, who will often catch the train down to San Diego to visit his sister. There is a third part, to be revealed at the end of the post. And finally, the fourth part, which was The Missus telling me, "why don't you just get off your butt and do it?"

And so I started doing a bit of planning back in September, and here I was at Santa Fe Depot catching a ride to Union Station on the Surfliner.

I enjoy traveling by train, the Missus and I really enjoyed taking the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Oakland a few years back.

This trip from San Diego to Union Station took about two hours and forty-five minutes, and here I was in LA:

I arrived pretty early, at about 9 am, left Union Station, and headed off in the direction of the hotel I was staying at, the New Otani. Once there, even though it was too early for check-in, I checked my bag with the Bell desk, and started on my way.

You see, I hadn't had breakfast, and my belly was starting to protest.

Unencumbered, I headed up first, and eventually arrived at the Grand Central Market on Broadway.

This bustling public market has about 40 vendors selling a variety of items.

Everything from meat to produce are sold at the various stalls.

You do see an interesting cross section of people at the market, though most of the clientele are of modest means.

I've always enjoyed all the neon signs……and of course, nowhere do the signs shine brighter than over the various food stalls.

The variety is also pretty stunning.

Though I did have something already in mind.

Yes, I'm finally getting around to the food. I decided on a Pork and Cheese Pupusa($2.00), and you could watch your pupusa being formed than made.

I had a seat at the "badly in need of a wiping" counter, and a container of Curtido, that pickled spiced cabbage "slaw". And in a few minutes my Pupusa arrived, which I quickly garnished with a nice amount of curtido and a touch of hot sauce.

First thing I noticed was that the masa(dough) was much lighter and not as dense as the versions I've eaten in San Diego. The filling was fine, though a little light on the cheese, and though the pupusa seemed very light, it was very hard to cut with the plastic knife…in fact I snapped the first one in half! The curtido was on the mild side, crisp, and did not have a strong pickled flavor, though it was quite refreshing.

Now properly invigorated, I stepped back out on gritty, noisy Broadway, and was on my way….

Grand Central Market
317 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Open Daily 9am to 6pm

I decided that since it was still rather early, I'd walk back down to Mitsuwa Market and check out what was going on. There is one building located in that "dead area" between Broadway and Little Tokyo on Main Street.

On every trip into the area, the Linda Lea Theatre has a strange pull on me. I've always passed by, thinking that it might be gone, but it's always been there. From what I've read, the building was built in the 1920's, and in the 60's became a Japanese movie house. It has been closed since the 1980's, and reminds me of one of those sad scenes of sentimental, aged disrepair we often see in movies. After I arrived home, I found this article, and it seems things are looking up. I hope so.

I walked past the Higashi Honganji on Third Street:

I crossed the street and into the monolithic Little Tokyo Shopping Center.

And was quite surprised at how quite and almost empty the entire shopping center was, at 11am in the morning!

I decided to walk on over to Chinatown, on the way through Honda Plaza I saw a long line of people. Geez, it was like they were waiting for the second coming of Elvis or somethin'.

But no, they were in line waiting to get into Sushi Gen, at 11am!

As I was walking through El Pueblo Park, I took a short side trip to the Chinese American Museum, located in the historic Garnier Building in El Pueblo Park.

This used to be the "center" of old Chinatown in Los Angeles. Chinatown was moved to make way for Union Station and the 101 Freeway.

Here's a photo of the Nativity Scene in Plaza de Los Angeles.

I wandered up Spring Street…

And than over to Broadway. Here's the obligatory photo of the Chinese Gateway.

About this time I started getting a bit hungry, so I started through all the usual suspects Empress Pavillion, Mandarin Deli……..but decided on something else. A few weeks ago Peter from Sandwich Emporium, mentioned a Filipino Restaurant, Asian Noodles, so I thought I'd give them a try.

Located on the far South end of Chinatown on Spring Street, Asian Noodles is a clean, well lit, and very modern in appearance. Signatures of Brian Viloria, Jasmine Trias, and many others decorate one of the walls in the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed that the portions looked to be pretty large, and since I was on my own I needed something I could finish, and really didn't want any Mami – the Filipino Noodle soup. Now added to this was that Creen's posts on Tribu Grill, had sent me over the deep end, I decided to order the Sisig($9.95):

First thing I noticed was that this wasn't like most of the Sisig in San Diego, which tends to use left over Lechon Kawali(stewed than fried pork belly). This was without a doubt pork head, and ummm "parts". The meat was chopped and stir fried with vinegar, chilies, garlic, and other spices, onions are added, and it's served on a sizzling plate with some lemon. The flavor was on the gamier side, but not bitter, and there are a few "crunchies", but the flavor is not bad. I could've used a stronger vinegar flavor, but this dish wasn't as oily or salty as Sisig tends to be. I'd eat here again, and though the Manager is quite rude and a bit surly, the Wait Staff were very nice, especially after they saw me plow through this and a full order of rice($1.50), in about 15 minutes.

On the menu the Asian Noodles in National City was mentioned, but the menus share only a few similarities. The menu at Asian Noodles also contains a few dishes like Bicol Express that are not commonly served at the Filipino restaurants that I've been to.

Asian Noodles
643 N Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Open Mon-Wed 11am-930pm
Thurs-Sun 11am-10pm

While finishing up lunch, my partner in crime for this trip, Captain Jack of San Diego Restaurant Reviews called me on my cell. You see I had made reservations for dinner at a tiny little restaurant called:

I did take a few photos, but I don't know if anyone's interested…….

Saturday “Stuffs”

December 10, 2005 mmm-yoso Plate Lunch, Salvadoran Restaurants

Here are a few follow-ups of places (new and old) from our rotation.

We finally made it back to El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante on a weekend and had a chance to try the "weekend soups". There are two Salvadoran Beef soups features on the weekend.

The Sopa De Res(Sabado y Domingo – $6.95):

A nice rich semi clear broth, featured squash, yuca, a huge hunk of cabbage, and beef still on the bones. This soup tasted very "clean" and soothing, with bay and cilantro overtones, though the meat was rather tough.

I ordered the Sopa De Pata($6.95):

This soup was a direct opposite of the other soup. Thick and tomato based, with bay and black pepper flavor. There was a reason this soup was so thick. You see this is a "gelatin" lovers dream. There was really no "meat", just bone and lots of gelatin – which I happened to enjoy. as with the previous soup, there was a piece of squash, yuca, and cabbage. There was one item in each soup that we didn’t enjoy; the piece of corn was really tough, and almost broke my teeth! These soups are served with Salvadoran Tortillas, which were just like pupusas without filling. A very filling meal.

Of course we’ve been going back to Da’ Kitchen. Here’s the Chicken Cutlet I had today:

It was the "triple-decker" Chicken Katsu, with a brown gravy, topped with mushrooms and onions. I bought it with "all rice" today; and there were 3 scoops of rice, with one scoop hidden underneath! Delici-yoso!!! (And the Missus finished a whole Fish Tempura Plate by herself!).

Finally, I guess there comes a time that we all have to face our fears. This year the Missus wanted one of these(but I’ll be the one using it):

Yep, that’s a Pressure Cooker; for some reason I’m terrified of pressure cookers, and have never used one in my life. I’ve got those stories of exploding pressure cookers, although I’ve been assured that newer models are extremely safe. So we’ll soon see how I handle the "pressure".

Dum-te-de-dum-de-dum-dum..Under Pressure….

Saturday Desserts and Other Silliness

December 3, 2005 mmm-yoso Desserts, Filipino Restaurants, Salvadoran Restaurants, yoso-silly

Lately, one of the Missus’s obsessions have been Filipino Desserts, like Bibingka(sweet rice cake), Biko(rice cake), Puto(steamed cakes), Leche Flan(egg custard), and other merienda (afternoon snack) type snacks. Let me just explain that one does not trivialize the cravings of the Missus. To do so could mean an "ugly death"! Also, unless you can do the "tricks" that Sammy does, don’t even try stealing a bite!

Since I don’t really have a sweet tooth, I thought I’d just share the locations, and a few pictures of the Missus’s Filipino Dessert places.

Bread Deluxe Bakery:

Located next to Seafood City in both National City and Mira Mesa; we’ll never leave here without a few snacks.

And many times, a good portion of what is purchased will not even make it to the car.

Bread Deluxe Bakery
1420 E Plaza Blvd Ste E
National City, CA 91950

Filipino Desserts Plus

With locations both in National City and Mira Mesa, they make the Missus’s favorite Biko. Good luck with finding parking in the National City location with Red Ribbon Bakery, ChowKing, and Popeye’s in the same mall.

Most desserts are prices between $1.50 to $4.00, and are a bargain. I’ll refer any questions on flavor and taste to the ~~Boss~~ Missus for comment. But this place is quite popular. There are times when the lines are out the door.

Filipino Desserts Plus
2220 E Plaza Blvd Ste Q
National City, CA 91950

There are many other locations where one can pick-up snacks in National City; Manila Sunset is known for their Bibinka, and Valerio’s is also very popular. But for the Missus, these are part of her rotation.

We were able to attend the annual "Jingle Ball" concert last night at the Sports Arena after a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant, Ba Ren. We try to attend every year; and this year was a must see for us. The Missus’s favorite group, Train, was one of the performers:

This annual concert is a benefit for "Becky’s House" a transitional home for victims of domestic violence and their children in San Diego. This years line-up included Los Lonely Boys, Hootie and the Blowfish, Switchfoot, Alanis Morrisette, and The B-52’s. What a blast!

All the Missus needed was "something sweet to end the evening", looks like another dessert run is in order!

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante

September 18, 2005 mmm-yoso Salvadoran Restaurants

*** A short update can be found here. And another post with updated prices can be found here.

One evening while driving on University we noticed this Salvadoran Restaurant, occupying the shell of what probably was a Pizza Hut, or some similar business:

So this morning instead of heading down to El Salvadoreno we decided to give El Salvador a shot. It really didn't look very promising at first, the windows of the restaurant noted items like Nachos and taco's, not quite what I thought of as Salvadoran food. After a brief discussion we entered the Restaurant.

The first thing I noticed was that the menu consisted of two parts; the left side listed typical Mexican fare, such as burrito's, taco's, and chips. The right side listed the Salvadoran items, which is what we came here for. The dining room was a bit odd, especially since 5-6 arcade games lined one wall, the plastic parrots and such gave the place a bit of a kitchsy flavor. After speaking to the very helpful Young Lady, the Missus started ordering, and didn't stop for a while. The Waitress kept giving me looks, sort of indicating if we were sure we wanted all of this. I know better than to stop my Wife when she's on an "ordering tear".

As is the usual the curtido and hot sauce was delivered, along with some "blah" chips. It really didn't look like a good start.

Within minutes the Pupusas were delivered. I'd ordered 2 combination pupusas; pork, cheese, and bean($1.75/ea), and the Missus ordered a potato pupusa ($1.50).

The pupusas were very good, with a pretty large amount of filling. The Missus really enjoyed her potato pupusa. The curtido was nice and fresh, though not as "pickled" as the curtido at El Salvadoreno, the salsa roja was routine, and nothing special. I like the filling here at El Salvador better than Salvadoreno, though the exterior of these were not as good and crunchy as those at El Salvadoreno. These were also a bit smaller, but still delicious!

Our Tamal de Elote Frito con Crema (Corn tamale with cream $1.95) was delivered next:

This was semi dense sweet corn tamale. A bit too sweet for me, but with a nice gritty texture, it was served with Mexican sour cream. I kinda wished that this was served after our meal, because it seemed more of a dessert. Think sweet cornbread, without butter, and you've got the taste.

Our Empanadas de Leche ($2.95) was served next:

Three lovely fried pastries were served, they were, without a doubt delici-yoso! The crispy and golden brown exterior guarded the creamy custard-like interior just waiting to ooze out! To me the pastry had a very familiar banana-like taste. I found out later that plantains were used in the dough. These were a very nice treat.

Up last we were served the Tamales de Gallina ($1.75):

This chicken tamale was served in a banana leaf. The reason this was served last was that it took about 15 minutes to prepare. I really don't care much for tamales, but my tamale loving wife had ordered, so we got this. And let me just say, this was wonderful! The flavor and fragrance of the banana leaf had permeated the masa and chicken, giving it a wonderful "green" taste. Much like collard greens or the luau leaf in lau lau, the slightly bitter and sweet richness made this a very revelatory dish. The tamale was very moist and the chicken was tasty and beyond fork tender. I could eat this quite often.

So all of this with a glass of Horchata (watered down) and a Passion fruit drink (refreshing), came out to about 18 bucks! Talk about a bargain. I can't wait to come back and have another tamale and maybe the Sopa De Pata (Beef Shank Soup) which looked very delici-yoso!

Some notes; nobody, but nobody ordered any Mexican food while we were here, so I'm guessing that it's probably better to stay with the Salvadoran food. The timing of our dishes were kind of strange, the sweet dishes were served before the savory, probably due to the amount of time it takes to prepare the tamale. The Gal who took our order and was our Waitress was very, very nice and helpful. She was also very funny; when she delivered our Chicken Tamale, she told us "I'll have your last two dishes ready in a few minutes", when we looked up jaws agape, she laughed and said "just kidding…." After our meal, I mentioned to the Missus that the Pork Tamale might taste a bit like lau lau, she went up and spoke to this same Gal, who described the taste and texture to her, so it looks like I'm trying that next time as well.

El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante
3824 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

El Salvadoreno

August 24, 2005 mmm-yoso Latin American Cuisine, Salvadoran Restaurants

*** An updated post can be found here. El Salvadoreno has moved one building over.

I originally heard of this little establishment from fellow Ex-Pat Kama’aina Howard, who mentioned the chicken here. He was kind enough to email me the address, and I ended up taking a drive down here on a recent Sunday.

Located on Imperial Avenue in Logan Heights, it’s not a neighborhood that I’m very familiar with. Needless to say, trying to find this place was a bit of an adventure. I’m so thankful for Mapquest. I decided to come here on a Sunday morning to avoid crowds. I entered the bright and clean interior. This little establishment has but 7 tables.

You see, I know next to nothing about Salvadoran food, so please excuse any inaccuracies, and I welcome any corrections. The only thing I’ve ever had that was called a pupusa was in a little "Latin American" restaurant in Atlanta, it was like a little tortilla sandwich. So I was in for a big surprise. Instead of the recommended Chicken dish, I ordered some pupusas, the Gentleman running the place (Erasmo?) was invaluable in helping me make some decisions.

I asked him how many I should order, and he said "big guy like you, need probably four." Big guy like me???? But I ordered 2 chicken and cheese($1.75) and 2 combination($2.00). I could immediately hear a pat-pat-pat, pat-pat-pat. I could see the Lady behind the counter making my pupusas. About that time this arrived at my table:

So soon it looked my pupusa lesson was about to start. When they arrived, hot, fragrant, tortilla shaped, looking almost like a Da-Bing (Chinese flatbread). So my first lesson was to place the refreshing slaw (sort of like a refreshing coleslaw) called curtido on top of the pupusa and then sprinkling some of the hot sauce on top.

Oh talk about tasty, with a crusty exterior, nice soft chicken and gooey cheese, with the nice refreshing slaw, and hot sauce. This was such a new experience to me! Delici-yoso!!!! The four pupusas were much too filling for me, a family having breakfast had a really good laugh at my leaning back in my chair and letting out a "sigh…". Everybody here was so friendly, and the food so good, I knew that I’d be back. I had brought back the two leftover pupusas, and the Missus chowed them like there was no tomorrow! She even forgot about the slaw and hot sauce.

So this evening we decided to make our way back down to El Salvadoreno. And the same Gentleman was again running the place, and he greeted me with a handshake, and a "welcome back". I guess I stand out in this crowd! Again I timed our visit with the early evening, because I knew that we’d need some help, and again it was gladly given. The Missus went down the menu asking question after question, and getting descriptions of almost all the dishes. We ended up ordering a Jalapeno Pupusa and a chicken tamale, among other things. While waiting the above mentioned "condiments" arrived, and the Missus couldn’t wait; she was taking portions of the slaw, placing them on a napkin, and starting to "chow".

The tamale was alot different from those I’ve had before, the masa was soooo soft and almost sponge-like, and the chicken very moist and tender. The pupusa, was good, though I’d recommend the squash blossom, or another, there was just too much cheese in the jalapeno-cheese pupusa. I had asked about the "chicken" dish and was told that maybe I’d like the special "soup and chicken"($8.99).

First of all a nice Chicken Soup and a bowl of onions, cliantro, and lime was delivered. A basket of hand made corn tortillas was also delivered. The corn tortillas were great, I’ve never had anything like this, really great stuff. The chicken soup was smooth and very "clean" tasting, with nice pieces of vegetables. The pieces of squash in the soup were especially delicious. The next part of the dish consisted of the Fried Chicken.

The fried chicken leg was the closest I’ve had to "broasted" in taste here in San Diego. Nice and crunchy skin, moist and flavorful. Delici-yoso!!! The rice was almost like "pilaf", and the salad was well dressed. All this for $8.99! We also ordered the Shrimp combination ($8.99):

This plate was not as good as the chicken. The shrimp were over cooked and rubbery, and the rice, while very flavorful (I believe cooked in seafood stock) was on the salty side. What was really good here were the beans. Now both the Missus and I pretty much, well let me say, we hate most(all) refried beans. Mushy, gloppy, sometimes watery, yuck! But we couldn’t get enough of these! With a piece of the tortilla, oh man, this was awesome. In fact, I’d go back for the hand made tortilla, a piece of chicken, and beans! We devoured everything, no leftovers! The price, about 24 bucks, in total.

So the "skinny" on El Salvadorena? Good food and great service (if you’re not familiar try to time for slower periods). Don’t be afraid of the neighborhood. Only street parking is available and is limited. The restaurant is moving to the larger building next door next month. I guess demand is increasing, good for them!

We’ll add this to our rotation after a few more visits. This was a great change of pace from the usual Mexican food for us! Howard I owe you one.

El Salvadoreno
2851 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102

Open 9am to 9pm Daily – Our main man here, I believe his name is Erasmo handles everything from Monday to Friday eves, and all day on Sat/Sunday .