Off we went to the mentioned restarant in downtown Fresno, Rincon Salvaldoreño, that serves these pupusas. It's at the NE corner of Fresno St and McKenzie. The outside is not much to look at. That does not stop us. We went inside through the kitchen into the dining room.
The dining room was very neat and clean with booths on both ends and tables in the center. Posters of El Salvador are on the walls, including a "hammock" with the words "El Salvador C.A" on it. If you're wondering, as I did, C.A. probably stands for Central America which is where the country of El Salvador is located.
clean dining area
Scanning through the menu, we quickly ordered the Pupusa plate (which was under the Breakfast category) which came with 2 pupusas, plaintain, beans, sour cream and a side dish salad that was like cole-slaw with black pepper and vinegar. It was only $6. I chose a pupusa with pork filling and the other with pork and cheese.
In case you're wondering what a pupusa looks like, here it is:
pupusa
While waiting for the order, we could see the ladies a.k.a pupuserias busy at work in the kitchen making those pupusas. A pupusa is really a fried, thick tortilla filled with either cheese, pork, beans, etc.
There were many other items on the menu we'd like to try such as their Tostadas de ceviche or camaron(shrimp), albondigas (meatball soup)and birria de chivo(lamb in special red sauce). They also have several other seafood items on the menu.
After having the pupusa, I can see why this is considered a national staple in El Salvador. It is simple yet delicious, filling, cheap and easy to eat even on the go. Every country seems to have one of these, maybe more so in the developing countries. A good example is the shrimp tacos at the taco stands in Mexico. Cheap and delicious! We will take these food over the fast food any day...
A note about the restaurant's downtown Fresno location - We know that some people might be hesitant to venture into downtown Fresno. We don't let that stop us from trying new things. We felt very comfortable the whole time we were at Rincon Salvaldoreño. From what we could see, the dining area and the kitchen were very clean. It is located very close to the community medical center and there was a lot of activity in that area.
We drove through Fresno street and saw the downtown Fresno trolley (it's a lunch-time trolley between downtown and the Tower District. The trolley supposedly picks up passengers on M Street near the Fresno County Hall of Records about every 10 minutes).
So, when was the last time you tried a new cuisine?
We have posted this review on Fresnohub.com. To get restaurant location and directions, please go to Fresno Restaurants section.
