The short version of this review is that you should go there right now, as fast as CHP will legally allow you to travel. I would even suggest going faster than that, but our lawyers tell me that I could be held responsible if you get caught and end up claiming that this blog spun you into some sort of psycho pupusa fervor and that's what made you drive like a maniac.
I am a pupusa addict, and everyone in town has been telling us to hit La Flor de Michoacan for as long as I can remember. So we finally headed there with Designer Girlfriend.
When we got to the strip mall it was in, we couldn't find it. Turns out the sign you can actually see just says MEXICAN RESTAURANT. The sign that says La Flor Pupusas is the small oval thing on top.
Luckily there's a nice green neon sign that clued me in.
We walked in and ran into the owner lady (for the life of me I can't remember what her name is). She is the best restaurant owner EVER. She works the cash register while managing the kitchen. Super friendly, and she was extremely patient as I gave her my extremely long and disjointed order. She gave me suggestions as to what else to get and even steered me away from one combination of ingredients I asked for that wouldn't turn out very delicious. Every customer seemed to be on a first name basis with her, which is a great sign. My kind of place.
Things to note here:
- This place is cash only.
- Ignore most of the menu board. The stuff you want is on the rightmost panel that says "El Salvadoran Specialties" and the paper signs taped all around the order counter.
- The prices are VERY reasonable. The most expensive pupusa on the menu is $2.50. The total cost for everything you will see in this review is $31.
- Everything is cooked to order. You will wait at least 10 minutes for your pupusas. Be happy about this.
- Clean off your table before you leave. Bring the dishes back to the window, throw away your garbage, and use napkins to clean up your crumbs and spills. If you don't, the pupusa lady has to leave the cash register and kitchen to clean up your mess. Don't be a jerk.
So, the food. Oh my goodness, the food.
First up, a plate of fried ripe plantains. These things were perfectly ripe and cooked until they had a great crust outside and tender slightly sweet flesh inside. Most plantain dishes just taste like plain baked potato. Not at La Flor de Michoacan. Comes with beans and crema.
om nom nom
Next up, Salvadoran tamales. Steamed in plantain leaves instead of corn husks. These were filled with pork. Salvadoran tamales also contain fun things like chick peas and potatoes. A lot more fun than Mexican tamales.
Almost to the pupusas. This is our bowl of curtido, which is a pickled cabbage relish served with pupusas. Salty, spicy and a great palate cleaner in between dishes.
First pupusa was a rice flour pupusa with a bean and cheese filling. This was absolutely spectacular, and would hold the record of "best pupusa I ever ate" for about 45 seconds.
We got four corn pupusas: chicken/cheese, pork/cheese, bean/cheese, and jalapeno/cheese.
This is the jalapeno and cheese pupusa. Check out that gooey goodness inside. Just the right amount of jalapenos in there.
And the pork and cheese!
These were the best pupusas I've ever had by far and one of the best things I've ever eaten. On top of that, the price is more than right and it's also the friendliest restaurant I've been to in a while. Just a few days ago I was complaining that I hadn't eaten anywhere blog worthy in a few weeks. Well, that certainly changed.
Run, don't walk to this place. Take a plane if you have to.
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