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Global Grilled Cheese: El Salvadorean Pupusas

pupusa de queso

Like salsa ousting ketchup from the number one spot amongst condiments in the U.S., quesadillas just might do the same to grilled cheese sandwiches. That’s because quesadillas have become so...common. Except for the name, there’s nothing exotic about quesadillas anymore.

 
But now we have pupusas from El Salvador. The pupusa was something that I only ever knew about from a song that my junior high Spanish teacher made us sing to practice pronunciation. La pupusera junto al comal, hace pupusas de chicharron... It always made us chuckle because “pupusa” is such a nasty sounding name, and without knowing what a pupusa was, well, teenage minds could only wander.

 
The El Salvadorean pupusa is similar in concept to the Mexican quesadilla, but executed differently. For quesadillas, cheese is placed on tortillas that have already been baked. The tortilla is either folded over, or a second tortilla is placed on top. Then the whole quesadilla is grilled to melt the cheese and toast the already cooked tortilla. The sides are open. Pupusas, on the other hand, are made by building raw masa (corn flour) dough around cheese or other fillings, flattened, then cooked all at once together. The cheese is enclosed within the pupusa.

 
The recipe for pupusas is not complicated, but it’s so much more fun to go to Con Sabor Club Tropical in LA, an El Salvadorean restaurant in West L.A. where you can refresh your energy with drinks from the full bar and pupusas autenticas when you’re taking a break from the dance floor that’s pulsating with Latin music.


Con Sabor Club Tropical
8641 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90323

(310) 559-1127 www.consaborclubtropical.com 


Note: Don't forget to DIGG grilled cheese day!

 

Filed Under: Ingredients, Methods
Tags: cheese, dairy, dinner, grains, grill, lunch, west coast

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

Alex G.

8-29-2005 @8:05PM Alex G. said... I am so glad you have done an article on Pupusas. I have discovered them last year, living in San Francisco, and since have brought all my friends to my favorite El Salvadorean restaurant. If you are ever in the area, check out this soccer hang out, by the name of Balompie. It's located on 18th Street and Capp, in the Mission district. Their pupusas are unbeatable!
Can anyone share good pupuserias around the U.S.?
Reply

Sir Not Appearing in this Blog

8-29-2005 @8:27PM Sir Not Appearing in this Blog said... Heck, all you have to do is drive down Pico blvd in LA and you'll see a pupuseria on almost every block. I've always wondered what they were, too. Now I know. I think I should stop in sometime and get one and see what the fuss is about.
Reply

sarah

8-29-2005 @8:55PM sarah said... In LA, here are some more recommendations:

Atlacatl Restaurant
301 N. Berendo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 663-1404

Delmy's (food stand)
Hollywood Farmers' Market
Ivar and Selma
Hollywood, CA
Sunday 9 am - 1 pm

El Rincon Salvadoreno
3827 W. Sunset Blvd. (near Cirxa)
Silverlake, CA 90026
(323) 912-1909

La Pupusa Loca
5716 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Reply

Liz

8-30-2005 @12:16PM Liz said... Yum-I sense an outing veeeeeeeery soon!
Reply

Eve

8-31-2005 @2:57AM Eve said... I have never tried a pupusa before. Can anyone recommend any good places to get pupusas in Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley?
Reply

5 Comments / 1 Pages

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