RESTAURANTS : Salvadoran Cuisine: Trickle Has Become a Flood

The first few Salvadoran restaurants in Los Angeles were easy to miss. Most were hidden behind store fronts in neglected corners of the city. But that’s gastronomic history. It has been seven years since the trickle of Salvadorans immigrating here turned into a flood. And now we’re witnessing a sudden flood of new pupuserias-- restaurants serving El Salvador’s national specialty , pupusas , and other Salvadoran dishes at extremely reasonable prices. They currently number about 90, clustered mostly along the Alvarado-Western corridor. They’re also edging into Koreatown and mushrooming along certain stretches of Pico Boulevard.

El Salvador is the only Central American country to make pupusas-- ground corn pancakes delectably stuffed with melting cheese or meat. Their quality can vary tremendously, but all Salvadoran cooks insist on patting them out by hand and grilling them to order.

The local pupusa competition is intense. But asked to describe the ideal pupusa , I would select the ones from La Cocinita. Their corn dough ( masa ) crust is delicate and thin; it’s neither greasy nor too dry and crumbly. A good pupusa ‘s filling is ample yet doesn’t seep through its fragile exterior. La Cocinita’s choice of fillings is typical of the ones you’ll see in most pupuserias : queso , chicharron (crispy pork rind), revueltas (mixed cheese and meat) and cheese flavored with loroco (a mild-tasting flower used as an herb). All pupusas come with curtido , a spicy coleslaw-like salad. La Cocinita’s gets top ratings. In fact, everything I’ve eaten at the cheery blue-and-white-tiled restaurant was carefully prepared and full of bright clean flavors.

One night, a sopa de camarones (shrimp soup) was brimming with lightly cooked vegetables and large shrimp. Its rich annatto-flavored broth was not too salty (many are). A little bowl of condiments--cilantro, onions, hot peppers and fresh lemon were served on the side to sprinkle on at the last moment. Another time, the osso buco- like sopa de pata (beef shin soup), the favorite soup of the region, was prepared with equal finesse.

La Cocinita, 4367 W. Pico Blvd. (near Crenshaw), Los Angeles, (213) 937-1249. Hours: noon-midnight daily.

“So is this food kind of like Mexican?” my mother asked, glancing over the antojitos Salvadorenos menu at Papaturro, a pleasant red-tablecloth dining room. It’s easy to think that this is the case, for many of the dishes have familiar names. You’ll find enchiladas and empanadas and quesadillas . All, however, are different than the Mexican dishes of the same name. Salvadoran quesadilla , for example, is not a cheese turnover but a sweet cheesecake. Empanadas are not little meat turnovers but creamy milk pudding covered with a layer of mashed tropical bananas.

Even tamales are different; unlike the Mexican dish, Salvadoran tamales are made with masa that has been ground very finely and then flavored with meat stock to make a smooth covering. Inside are large chunks of meat that have been marinated, but not sauced. And the whole thing is wrapped up in banana leaves, not cornhusks. The result is a far cry from the Mexican dish.

But our favorite antojito was the pastelito . These resemble empanadas; the little ground corn envelopes are filled with savory minced meat.

Papaturro Restaurant, 4109 W. Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 660-4363. Hours: noon-10:30 p.m. Wednesday-Monday.

La Plancha is well-known for its outstanding grilled Nicaraguan dishes. But now its ebullient owner, Milton Molina, has opened a pupuseria next door, and it lives up to La Plancha’s reputation. Yuca con chicharron , a staple Salvadoran dish, can be wonderful or devastatingly wretched. At La Plancha, it is uptown fare. For a start, Molina “cheats a little.” In place of crispy pork rind, he uses lean grilled pork shoulder. The yuca root strips, deep fried in vegetable oil, turn out like tropical French fries. All this is balanced with a palate-cleansing cabbage-and-tomato salad--different from the curtido that comes with pupusas .

La Plancha’s pupusas are also top drawer. The same grilled pork that’s served with the yuca fills the “ chicharron “ pupusas . No one seems to mind this little bit of inauthenticity--hundreds are sold daily. Popular carne desmenuzada , a stewed and shredded beef, is made here with chicken, cooked to perfection in an elusive sauce, then shredded. You can roll it into warm tortillas or sprinkle it with squeezes of lemon and eat it with the accompanying rice and beans.

La Plancha, 2818 W. 9th St., Los Angeles, (213) 383-2009. Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

El Izalqueno is named for Izalco volcano, one of El Salvador’s most famous landmarks. The bright room is decorated with stuffed tropical birds; on weekend nights, it is standing room only. El Izalqueno’s exceptional food displays the same creative touches found in the restaurant’s decor.

Our waitress didn’t speak English, so using our misconjugated verbs we ordered pupusas de loroco , chile relleno , salpicon and, for dessert, tamal de elote con crema . Those wanting a translation can rely on the owners, who can usually be found working behind the counter in the open kitchen. Pupusas rated a 10; our salpicon was moist and well-balanced, and the mildly sauced chili filled with meat, rice and potato was grand. What must be one of the city’s best fresh corn tamales, almost as light as a souffle, came smothered in a sea of that wonderful thick Salvadoran cream. El Izalqueno, 1830 W. Pico Blvd., Suite C (east of Vermont), Los Angeles, (213) 387-2467. Hours: Sun.-Tue., 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

Compared to the many dreary Salvadoran diners lit by fluorescent tubes, Anayas, with its high-tech, pastel dining room, is a delight. So is its food.

The huge menu lists Mexican items and such things as cheeseburgers and hot dogs. But turn to the center page where the Salvadoran foods are listed. Arroz a la Valenciana , the house specialty, was the best dish we tried. Its paella roots were evident, but this version had less rice, lots of lightly cooked shrimp and vegetables all flecked with dark bits of ham and topped with shredded cheese.

We agreed to put these pupusas on the 10 Best list while devouring the plato el pobre --three plump and savory sausages served with thick cream and tortillas.

Pacaya relleno is an item not seen on many menus. A palm tree flower is dipped in egg batter, which both fills and covers it, and then deep fried until it puffs up. But for the slightly bitter tasting fronds at its center, the dish is delicious. Pollo guisado --braised pieces of chicken in a mellifluous Spanish sauce--was another good choice.

Anayas, 1101 S. Vermont Ave., No. 102, Los Angeles, (213) 381-7582. Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

You wouldn’t normally associate Salvadoran food with a place called El Pollo Grande. But this sign also says “ restaurante Salvadoreno “ and in case you miss the point, a neon-pink banner hanging under that announces “ pupuseria “ in huge letters.

The menu offers free delivery (Downtown and Area West). It lists the usual pollo combos, plus tacos, burritos, pizza pequena, ensalada de macaroni and the like. But look under “ comida Salvadorena “ for the pupusas, which are huge as a platter and very good; sopa de pata, also commendable, and a very respectable fried banana with cream and beans. Wall signs promise comida del domicillio (home cooking) and suggest additional items: the sweet plantain turnovers, for example.

There is good food to take out, but if you want to eat here, the restaurant is clean and bright with comfortable green booths and a wonderful map of El Salvador’s provinces.

El Pollo Grande Restaurante Salvadoreno, 1600 S. Hoover St. (at Venice), Los Angeles, (213) 749-4573 or (213) 749-5474. Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m; Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

When you don’t know quite what you’re in the mood to eat, try either branch of La Adelita. Here you can browse through the huge bakery section looking at rows and rows of Central American and Mexican sweets and breads. Maybe you’ll want to take home a big slab of quesadilla or ojos , little egg-shaped cakes glazed with marmalade and topped with raisins. Both La Semita , a coffee cake with pineapple or fruit jam in the center, or huge light squares of nutmeg-flavored marquesote-- Salvadoran sponge cake--are good choices to have with your morning coffee.

Early in the day, the automatic tortilla machine rolls out the daily supply of fresh tortillas and on weekends women pat out handmade fat tortillas (called gorditas ) and grill them while you wait. And it’s fascinating to watch while huge vats of corn are boiled in the open bakery and then ground for the day’s supply of masa .

Over in the hot-food section, whole turkeys that have been roasted Central American-style in a mild chili sauce are carved to order for gigantic sandwiches. And if you want tamales, be specific when ordering: La Adelita sells both the Mexican and Central American kind.

In addition to special entrees like carne guisada (beef stew), salpicon or yuca con chicharron try some of the delightful plantain preparations. For tajadas , plantains are thinly-sliced lengthwise and deep fried like potato chip ribbons. When served with cheese, they’re called costilla y tajada. Maduro means ripe --only ripe plantains are used for the empanadas de maduro with creamy filling. And La Adelita makes excellent pupusas .

Though the dishes at both branches are the same, I prefer the original store on Pico. The food somehow seems a little better there. But at the newer, more polished branch on Santa Monica Boulevard, you’ll find a menu translated into English.

La Adelita No. 1, 1287 S. Union Ave. (at Pico), (213) 487-0176; La Adelita No. 2, 5812 Santa Monica Blvd., (213) 465-6526. Hours: 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

For years, Ilopango No. 1 has been hidden away behind Burrito King, sharing the parking lot of El Rancho Market at Sunset and Alvarado. Now there’s a newer, more comfortable, branch on Vermont--one with a menu with informative English translations.

Even after weeks of a steady pupusa diet, the ones here brilliantly passed my test. Ilopango’s tamales rank with La Adelita’s as the best I’ve sampled. Well-flavored, almost fluffy masa surrounded a lean chunk of marinated pork, potatoes, olives and a lone caper. And right by the cash register you’ll find quesadilla to rival that served at Cafeteria Jaltepec-- renowned in El Salvador for the best quesadilla in the country.

I advise skipping atol e , chilate or chuco. All are porridges of corn or beans. No matter where I’ve tried them, they remind me of something Oliver Twist would get on a bad day.

Ilopango No. 2, 900 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 666-9178. Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.