Sift through them for the Salvadoran chicken tamales. And as with most other Oakland Salvadoran restaurants, the menu is cluttered with Mexican dishes as well. Of course, a Salvadoran restaurant is much more than pupusas.
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I also appreciated how the restaurant drops off a giant plastic tub of the curtido and also stuffs plastic ziplock bags full of curtido for to-go orders. While some Salvadoran eateries make their slaw and salsa fiery to please Mexican and American palates, the cuisine is actually rooted in mild spice levels. The flavor combination is traditional as well. It delivered beautiful crunch and sharp tang, heightened by the red, tomato-based, and vinegar-forward salsa.
What most impressed me, though, was the curtido, the lightly fermented cabbage, carrot, onion, and oregano slaw that’s absolutely required for pupusa enjoyment.
There’s also a rice flour variation, which arrives a bit paler, firmer, and less sweet than the usual corn. The itty-bitty flecks of fish melt into the cheese so the flavor is imperceptible, but the juicy hunks of shrimp work well. Fish and shrimp are other, more unusual options. If you order one with cheese, you will get those satisfying cheese pulls - add loroco, small, green unopened flower buds, for a bit of lightness and freshness, or pork for double the unctuousness. You’ll find the staple fillings of cheese, zucchini, refried beans, and pork, as well as combinations of them. These are pupusas sized for picking up with your hands, as you should. They’re traditional in size - a bit smaller, thinner, and more delicate than those you’ll find at some other Bay Area eateries, which often serve thick, heavy pucks with too much masa and not enough filling. With few windows, it’s dark and a bit stuffy inside.īut those pupusas. A colorful map of El Salvador proudly hangs on the back wall, right above a stretch of mirrored tiles and vinyl booths that give off the vibe of a dive bar trapped in a time warp.
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It’s a bright-blue, brick building with barred windows in deep East Oakland, located on Foothill Boulevard just past Lena’s Soul Food. And, of course, it’s a shame because pupusas are so delicious.Īt two years old, El Salvador Taqueria y Pupuseria is a relative newcomer among Oakland’s Salvadoran eateries. It’s a shame given the 91,000-or-so Salvadorans living in the Bay Area - the second highest Hispanic population behind Mexicans, according to a 2014 report by the Pew Research Center. But we’ve lost several others, and only a couple of new brick-and-mortars have arrived in the meantime. There’s Los Cocos in the Fruitvale, Comalapa in West Oakland, and a handful of stands and trucks like the revered Tamales Mi Lupita. That’s the good stuff.įew stalwart Salvadoran restaurants have survived Oakland’s changes over the years. She fans a few onto a plate, their edges browned with pockets of crispy cheese that oozed out onto the griddle. Pupusas come with a big tub of curtido, the vibrant and tangy cabbage slaw.įew kitchen noises sound as reassuring as the patting of a pupusa.Īt El Salvador Taqueria y Pupuseria, the lone woman in the hot kitchen sculpts each pupusa by hand to order, gently but firmly patting each disk into submission.
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