353914 Sat Dec 23 01:42:28 -0800 2006 4 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2123918 If you ever wondered what loroco tastes like, Pupuseria San Salvador (PSS) is the place to go. The pupusa had the most assertive loroco flavor I’ve ever tasted ... even the curtido (slaw) didn’t mask the almost tea-leaf flavored Central American flower. http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Loroco.cfm There are both corn and rice pupusas. The fillings (cheese, loroco, beans, pork, chicken, zucchini) are generous. The coarsely-shredded curtido was flavored with lots of oregano. There were whole pickled white onion rings mixed into the cabbage/carrot slaw. It was the right texture, slightly wilted yet with a little crunch. The red sauce was thicker than most with lots of tomato sauce flavor and pieces of fresh onion and cilantro. It was a little too close to canned tomato sauce flavor for me though. I preferred the rice pupusa that was filled with buttery cheese and loroco, but the revueltos corn pupusa with beans, ground pork and cheese was good too. There is no way to be euphemistic about this. These are some of the most flavorful pupusas I’ve had, but they are also the greasiest. There is really no other word I can use. In this case, grease was good ... it worked with the cheese and I think I’m now a fan of greasy pupusas. As I read elsewhere these pupusas are “seriously tasty” ... and greasy. This carried over to the fried taco. Yeah, this was good but two paper napkins holding the taco were totally saturated with the taco juices ... I give up ... grease ... grease is good. The taco was lovely. Any meat can be selected. Mine had generous pieces of chicken topped with cheese, crema and shredded lettuce. Not quite a taco durado, but the same idea. Both taco and pupusa need to be eaten at the restaurant as soon as they hit the table. These would not hold up well to take-out. I wish I had ordered the chicharron. A batch was being fished out of a pot of hot lard and it really looked good. For aqua frescas they just had tamarind and maranon. The maranon had a delicate pineapple/pear type of flavor. It is the fruit that surrounds cashew nuts ... also called caju. It is ok, but not my favorite tropical fruit drink. http://www.cupotico.com/info/General/Maranon_an_unusual_fruit..html The menu listed chan (dragonfruit) but it was not available today. Other drinks when available: horchata, cebada(barley?), tamarindo and arrayan (variety of guava?). http://www.hawaiifruit.net/fruitdata/_arrayan-guava.html They also listed Atol de elote. This is real-deal Salvadoran with the requisite Salvadoran currency decorating the walls ... in this case mounted on wood and laquored. There are 6 three-top tables in the tiny restaurant. For the season, there were red and green plastic Christmas tablecloths covering the tables. The tiny kitchen is in the back with pots bubbling on the stove. The three ladies working the kitchen were very nice. There’s a parking lot for PSS. The decorating statement is Mission St, SF. There are Mexican plates, but the menu is mainly Salvadoran. The specials white board had: - Sopa Gallina (chicken soup) - Cangrejo relleno (uh, stuffed crab?) - Langosta relleno en salsa marisco (uh, stuffed langosta with seafood sauce?) - coktel de conchas negras (uh, I’m getting translations of either black clams, scallops or snails) Searching around it seems those black clams, possibly snails are Nicaraguan or Peruvian (from Tumbas). There was also another Peruvian dish – lomo saltado on the menu and one Nicaraguan dish – Churrasco Nicaraguenese (carne asada, casamiento (rice & beans fried together?), tostones, repollo curtido (well, repollo means cabbage, so seems redundant)). There was also - Churrasco Salvaderno (Carne asada, casamiento, shrimp, enchilada Salvaderno) - Churrasco Chapin (Carne asada, casamiento, papa, planteno, queso fresca) PSS doesn’t bother to translate much of the Salvadoran food liked the blow-out $45 parrillada, a mixed grill of langosta, camarones, carne asada, chorizo, salchica, arroz & fruta. Now isn’t a parrillada an Argentinean thing? PSS seems to be hitting more than El Salvador. They serve Mexican chile rellenos (with cheese) and Salvadoran chile rellenos (with beef, rice & beans). They even have Salvadoran paella. Other Salvadoran dishes - Pacayos (flowers/blossoms of date palm trees?) - Salpicon (cold chopped beef with vegetable) - crema de cangrejo (cream of crab bisque?) I do know that pickled pacayos are a Guatamalan thing, but I haven't tasted them yet. They remind me a little of a mop with long strands. Here's a picture of a dish I found http://www.dallasfood.org/photos/mexonmaple/mexonmapletwo/mexonmapthree/elcamaronpacayadetailtwo.jpg Here's the article that the picture came from. It is about a Dallas restaurant, but right below the picture is a lot of good info about pacayos including how they taste. http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36 There were the more mundane dishes like - Pastelitas (corn turnovers filled with beef) - Salvadoran tamales (corn, beef or chicken) - Empanadas (turnovers filled with custard or beans) - Fried yucca - Plantanos with beans and crema All of the above and a pupusa are included in the Plato Tipico There is also a Plato Salvadoreno that had a torta de camarones There are a number of beef and fish dishes and about 1⁄2 dozen soups. Also there’s the Mexican dishes which includes chimichangas. The menu has pan con pavo or Salvadoran turkey sandwich. Given this is the only mention of turkey on the menu, I personally wouldn’t rush to order it. I was shopping at the Friday Oakland farmers market and remembered someone mentioned this place recently and thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did. I would definitely try some of the other items when I’m in that area ... gotta find out about those black clams. Pupuseria San Salvador 1498 7th St Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 763-1467 Hours: Daily: 10 am - 8 pm Sat Dec 23 01:42:28 -0800 2006 10264 rworange 1 2123965 Langosta = rock lobster. Sat Dec 23 02:13:12 -0800 2006 2123918 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 2131508 Hey RW, "Arrayan" I am not sure if in El Salvador Arrayan is a Guava, I am pretty sure it is a tropical forest berry such as this one (but red instead of purple): http://www.forecos.net/floradechile/Niv_tax/Angiospermas/Ordenes/Lamiales/Verbenaceae/Rhaphithamnus/ES_Arrayanmacho_flrutos.jpg "Curtido" Curtido just means pickled... it could be anything like Chiles en Curtido (pickled Chiles), and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cabbage. "Cebada" Yes its barley... my dad use to sell this Agua at the Jugeria he owned in Mexico City in the '70s along with Chia... two popular drinks there (I am surprised you didn't have it there) "Langosta" Yup Lobster (although it could also be Crawfish which is often a misnomer) "Conchas Negras" Most likely Sea Conch which is quite common in cocktails from Oaxaca & Campeche down to Panama. "Parrillada" Parrillads are common throughout Latin America, although they are sometimes called Asados. I am surprised you didn't have that in Mexico City... they are an entire restaurant genre... with the little grills brought to your table etc., Overall this place, if it executes well, is quite a find. Even in the Salvadoran neighborhoods south of Hollywood (that are home to the bulk of the 1 Million Salvadorans that call L.A. home) you cannot find a single restaurant that offers the breadth or depth of what you describe. Wed Dec 27 17:59:45 -0800 2006 2123918 42572 Eat_Nopal 2 2131621 I am wondering how many of these dishes they actually make. I am guessing they have the items on the white board as a special that day along with the standards ... sort of like the aqua frescas ... they list a bunch of them, but only had two that day. Thanks for the info ... especially the translation of curtido. I was a little surprised at the menu too. They had a pretty steady Latino customer base, maybe Central American. Also had locals & truckers stopping by ... tho that doesn't say alot since it is one of the few restaurants in that area. Yeah, Mexico was in the late 90's and I wasn't as adventurous. Also, I had to work and had a hysterical boss who was sure we were going to die if we ate anything risky ... he wouldn't drink the water from the hotel mini bar for fear the bottles were filled with tap water ... this was at the Nikko for heaven's sake. Did get to eat at alot of nice upscale Mexico City restaurants though. Didn't do aqua frescas tho due to being scared to death about the water. I really couldn't risk getting sick or people weren't going to get paid. Wed Dec 27 18:43:30 -0800 2006 2131508 10264 rworange 3 2131664 No problem... About the big menu... it is common in Latin America for restaurants with big menus to purchase individual dishes daily from a network of home cooks. That practice is most commonly replicated here with desserts. Its too bad you missed out on the Aguas... my parents had a significant volume of business from U.S. hippies during the early 70's 'shroom & peyote pilgrimmages. I guess when you are high it doesn't matter what water you drink! Wed Dec 27 19:03:23 -0800 2006 2131621 42572 Eat_Nopal