Pupusas & Empenadas (wow!) at La Pupusa Guanaca, JP

[MB fka MB]

Not sure if it's good news or bad news that it took me nearly 9 months of living in JP before I tried this place because now I'm an addict.

I am a big Tacos Lupita fan, but let me share this: Lupita's pupusas don't even come close to these treats! Seriously. I'm not sure how best to describe why - the flavors seem so much more vibrant - the fillings really shine through. I've tried cheese and pork & cheese, they also have bean & cheese. Anyway, I could guess that it's the made-to-order thing, but I'm pretty sure that these are made to order at Lupitas as well (at least in Somerville). I do like the flavor of the sauce at Lupita's better, but they are very different. Lupitas sauce is thin, more like a stock, and really tastes of meat. La Pupusa Guanaca has sauce that has more tomato and spice, and a lot thicker.

Your to-go order at LPG will come packaged up like this: pupusas in foil, one plastic baggie of slaw and one plastic baggie of sauce. It's fun for assembly when you get home.

Oh, and then there's the empenadas. I cannot believe a chicken empenada can taste so good. It's finely ground like a sausage and so flavorful. I went back and tried a beef one, and while it was good, it didn't compare. I still might like the beef filling of the empenadas/pastellitos at Estrella better, but overall, I prefer these fried delights over Estrella and Madrego's.

[bostonbroad]

I love this place. The pupusas are very tasty, the tacos (thinly rolled, filled, deep fried) are good, the fried yuca - all delicious. Tamales are ok. Best thing - get your order to go and eat it at the Behan with a tasty beverage. That's my definition of a good weekend lunch.

[scavdog]

Bump for a nice little niche!

Great papusa's and tasty burrito's as well. It seems like a fairly clean establishment and the woman behind the counter was cordial. I will be adding this my list of lunch take-out spots!

[limster]

The tostada there is also good. How's their tamales these days? I remember not liking the one I had, but it was a few years ago, wondering if they've gotten better.

[autopi]

i've liked the ones i've had there, but i don't recall them being particularly special.

[yumyum]

You're screwed. Yep, they are very good at LPG, but I'm surprised you think they are *that* much better than at Tacos Lupita. I favor the TL ones, but this may be a case of what's closest to home. I will give it to you that the curdito (sp?) is superior at LPG but the sauce at Lupita's makes it for me.

[autopi]

I also adore LPG. The pupusas & empanadas are great. We tried their Salvadoran tacos (tortillas stuffed and rolled into a cigar shape & fried, served I think w/a sauce and boiled egg) at our JP crawl, and while others were on the fence about it, I like them. The burritos are also more than decent, and I've heard good things about the pollo asado plate. I do think the flavoring could pack a bit more punch, heat & salt-wise, but I sort of think that about every place I go to. And on top of it all, the people are really friendly.

On a different note, I recently tried the pastellitos at Madego's stand again--cheese, chicken and beef, and in my opinion, the chicken was clearly the best and most flavorful. I'll have to compare at Estrella sometime soon--though first I need to try Cafeteria Tropical...

[veeva]

Yes, they're very tasty... I enjoyed the bean & cheese and the pork & cheese papusas yesterday. The pork & cheese is out of this world, the bean is good, but a little dryer and not as flavorful as the pork. It takes forever to get them though, but you can't complain when they're made to order like that.