Cafe Guanaco

Cafe Guanaco

There are certain countries and regions of the world that have strong associations with certain foods.  If I say Mexican, you may immediately think tacos and burritos.  If I Chinese, you may think fried rice.  If I say Italian, you think spaghetti.  Colombia has arepas, Argentina has milanesa, Japan has sushi.  Every culture has food that is synonymous with their name.  For El Salvador, you ask anyone what they are known for, and the first and foremost answer would have to be pupusas.

Pupusas are basically grilled cakes stuffed with cheese, beans, and various meats or any combination of those.  Traditionally they are also served with a special salsa and cabbage that is placed on top.  I went to Cafe Guanaco with a buddy for lunch about a month ago, and all the tables were already taken in the small dining room.  We initially thought that we would have to take our food to go, but the owner cleared a side table of magazines and brought over some chairs to sit us down.  Turned out to be just perfect.  You will get great service at Cafe Guanaco.

Pupusas

I went with three different types of pupusas.  A bean, cheese and pork “revuelta” pupusa, an all-cheese, and a carne asada pupusa.  All three were delicious, but I would definitely say my favorite was the revuelta.  I ordered a small plate of salpicon with my pupusas, which is basically a diced beef dish with onions and cilantro.

Here is a pic of the cabbage that always comes with your pupusa order.  The American in me wanted to slice open my pupusa and stuff it with salsa and cabbage, but I’ve been told by a Salvadoran family that I know, that the correct method is to just put the cabbage on top.

If you are in the mood for some Central/South American food, then this place is a nice choice.  They have other yummies like fried plantain bananas, soup, steaks, rice, and breakfast dishes.  I didn’t care at all for the horchata, which I normally love, so I would bypass that.   Everything else was awesome!  43 votes on Urbanspoon and 43 likes.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before.