EL PATIO**'

My Salvadorean friend brought me to El Patio a while ago for some pupusas which he said are good, of course not as good as his mom makes. I thought they were pretty good, the outer shell not too thick and doughy with a good ratio of cheese to beans or meat. Made fresh. This time I had the loroco pupusa which was very fragrant, but a little heavy on the cheese for my tastes. Still one of the best I've had.

The sopa de menudo was another story. I should've stuck with something from the Salvadorean section of the menu, but I was distracted by the extensive list of other items. Though packed with tripe and tendon the broth was flat, with the look color and taste of powder based soup. I'm sure it's used in restaurants more than I know, but this time it made for a very flat and somewhat salty soup.






I enjoyed the neighborhood atmosphere of the place. The service is very attentive and friendly. I sat at the tiny bar counter. Soon a handful of spanish speaking locals came in and joined me there -- for dinner or a drink and watch soccer or tv novellas. If the place was smaller, it would have an even cozier feel. Will be back for pupusas and to try more of the Salvadorean items.

Mission at Fair

BALOMPIE**'

The pupusas at Balompie's come in several varieties, unable to remember which ones I liked best I ordered the revueltas, a mix of chicharrones (fried pork) and cheese; and the nopales (cactus) and cheese. Both were tasty, but the nopales was very aromatic worked nicely with the cheese and was all around more flavorful. The curtido (pickled cabbage slaw) accompanying the pupusas was crisp and fresh and had the right amount of spicy kick. The whole dish was much better than Panchita's which was my last pupusa stop, but probably on par with those at that place in the outer Mission next to the church.



To accompany the pupusas and soothe my neverending cold, I sampled the mondongo. After having mondongo at Popul Vuh, I was curious to see if there was a difference between the Salvadorean and Yucatecan styles. The mondongo at Balompie had cabbage, yucca, carrots, corn, tripe and tendon. It had more tendon and less tripe and the vegetables made it more aromatic than the PV version. Despite the addition of the vegetables, I preferred the more meaty tasting broth at PV. In any case, I'd definitely order this again at either place.




18th and Capp