La Salvadorena (I don't know how to make the little ~ sign...) specializes in pupusas. While I wouldn't recommend you using this term in polite conversation, at a San Salvadorian restaurant, this will get you a corn meal pancake with different fillings. They also serve traditional Mexican food so, for the benefit of my readers, I ordered a ton of food so I could give you a good report on several menu items.
Signage is lacking at the front door but usually the hostess/waitress/cashier is there to greet you and tell you to sit where you want. The walls are decorated with very bright colors and tapestries no doubt made by village women in San Salvador or 12 year olds in China. Either way, I got the impression they were hung partially for ambiance and partly to cover stains on the wall. This place is a dive but well worth it.I don't know what a pupusa SHOULD taste like but these were both comforting and tantalizing. By comforting, think of a bowl of mashed potatoes and by tantalizing, think of the seared edge of a steak. The pupusas come with a red salsa of moderate heat and a giant heap of fermented cabbage. The salsa was light enough in the heat that the tomato flavor came through. The cabbage hit my tongue in a completely different place than the filling of the pupusa so there was no competition for flavor, just accompanying or dare I say, friendship? I asked my waitress (in nearly perfect Spanish) which one I should try. She told me (in perfect English) to get the traditional pupusa with pork, potato, and spices. I also tried one with cheese and one with carne asada. All were delicious and perfectly browned.
I ordered a torta as well. This Latin twist on a sandwich isn't usually layered with delicate flavors. It should be served warm, bread soft and easy to chew, and some kind of mayo traditionally accompanies the filling. The problem with most tortas is that it's over laden with lettuce and the mayo covers up any flavor the meat may give. Depending on the quality of the meat, this might be preferable. This torta was warm, soft, had more meat than veggies, and just enough mayo to give it that signature taste. I'm not a fan of mayo, usually, but this was well balanced and did not offend my taste buds.
The gorditas were out of this world. Gorditas are little pockets of tortilla stuffed with meat, lettuce, some times tomato, and queso fresco. Most gorditas I've had were mostly tortilla. This was all about the filling. The meat was a bit salty and the queso fresco is, by nature, salty but when I added the red salsa from the pupusas, it cut the salt and the heat provided seemed to mask the salt. But, again, I am more sensitive to salt than most so I'm going to guess that most other people would think it's perfection.Finally, the horchata. Again, not a word to use in polite conversation but this was amazing. Not homemade but still mixed well. Rice milk with cinnamon and other ingredients make this little liquid treat worth ordering. It reminds me of drinking the milk after you've eaten a couple bowls of cinnamon toast crunch. Ahhhh, child hood and possible diabetes. I've since had several of their agua frescas and they are all terrific.
I made a quick pit stop in the bathroom... yikes. You should probably go before you leave. It was an afterthought. And it has a certain, how do you say, Norman Bates quality. The choice of dish soap as hand soap is fun, I guess. Some may say quaint. I just want to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, or at least be tricked beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the bathroom is clean.
Last item of note... I snapped a photo of the kitchen. This is the reason the food is so good. Small, unassuming cook top and these ladies are making everything from scratch and by hand. I'm a fan of this food. No fuss here. Just good, honest, food. Next time you go out to eat, tell your significant other that you would like to eat pupusas. If they don't slap your face and leave, take them here. You won't be sorry.
I give La Salvadorena an 8 out of 10. Clean the bathroom and wipe the tables down but don't mess with the food.
Happy eating, y'all.
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