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Pupuseria serves authentic Salvadorean food By Cloe Cabrera
PUPUSERIA SALVADORENO
WHAT: Authentic Salvadorean pupusas and other treatsWHERE: 1510 Lakeview Road, Clearwater
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Monday
CREDIT CARDS: Cash and checks only
CALL: (727) 461-5904
R E V I E W
CLEARWATER - Whether you long for a different taste or a reminder of your homeland, Pupuseria y Salvadoren~o Restaurant satisfies.Pupusas - stuffed griddle cakes - define El Salvadorean cuisine, explains Jesus Portillo, who owns the 4-month-old restaurant with his wife, Carmen. The couple moved to the United State 13 years ago from Aguilers, El Salvador.
``This is the food that is most eaten all over El Salvador,'' says Jesus Portillo. ``You eat pupusas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, as an appetizer, any time. Seeing there was no pupuseria here, we decided to bring something new to the area.''
The restaurant business is new to the Portillos, but cooking authentic Salvadorean food is not. An expert pupusamaker, Carmen sold her delicacies as a street vendor. Her dream was to open a restaurant here.
Salvadorean pride is evident throughout the spacious restaurant. You know you have arrived when you see the blue and white colors of the flag hand-painted on the building. Inside, overhead lights beam in flag colors. There are blue tablecloths and eclectic decorations, from old posters to T-shirts, on the walls.
Now back to the pupusas.
The hand-shaped cakes, about 3 inches in diameter, are made of corn flour and served plain, stuffed with cheese or revuelta (spiced meat, cheese and beans). Each is $1.50 and served steaming hot and delicious.
Pupusas are particularly tasty topped with curtido, another Salvadorean treat made with cabbage, carrots and onion pickled in vinegar and seasoned with pimiento, oregano and chilies. There's a jar of curtido at each table.
We also enjoyed the chicken tamale, with plenty of meat and a few vegetables in a tomato sauce for $1.50.
The yuca frita appetizer is topped with curtido and not a bit greasy. They come six to a plate for $1.50.
The menu includes a variety of dishes from the Central American country, such as carnitas (little simmered meats), chiles rellenos (stuffed chilies), pescado frito (fried fish) and pollo encebollado (chicken seasoned with onions). Prices range from $1.50 to $9.95. A hearty seafood soup is served on Sundays.
Choose from nuegos (cooked yuca in a heavy syrup), arroz de leche (rice pudding) or empanadas (turnovers) to finish your meal.
Takeout orders are available.
All meals come with a complimentary basket of piping hot, thick-fried tortilla chips - the best I've ever had - served with salsa.
Pupuseria y Salvadoren~o Restaurant
