Minneapolis BEST CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANT - El Rincón Salvadoreño - Best Of Minneapolis

Food & Drink

Comments (0) BEST CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANT - 2010

El Rincón Salvadoreño

1515 E. Lake St.

Minneapolis, MN 55407

612-728-5442

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Pupusas are, incomprehensibly, an unsung feature of Central American cuisine, placing somewhere along the lines of a distant fourth—neck-and-neck with tamales—on a list top-heavy with dishes of Mexican origin: quesadillas, burritos, nachos, and of course King Taco. Pupusas are like tacos, but tidier; like quesadillas, but fluffier. Plus they are fried and involve mass quantities of cheese. (Bonus: Like pizza, they're also fantastic cold and left over.) It's time for a pupusa New World Order, and the best bet for implementing it is El Rincón Salvadoreño. Translated to "the Salvadoran Corner," the spot occupies a teeny, tiny corner of Mercado Central. There are several other, namely breakfast, items on the short and sweet menu, but they are just sideshows to the main act. Try the chicharron, bean, and cheese for a comforting, traditional fave, or loroco (an edible flower) and cheese for something a little different. There are similar inventions, like the Mexican gordita and the Venezuelan arepa, but none are as manageable and greasy-good as the pupusa. And if you're still stuck on tacos, roll up your pupusa with some salsa and Salvadoran-style slaw. Here's to the pupusa!

BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT >> << BEST NEIGHBORHOOD CAFÉ (MINNEAPOLIS)

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jack

Special note: they give you a side of salsa and a coleslaw-like vinegar salad on the side of your pupusa. For weeks I just ate this separately with my fork and poured the salsa on top but after observing other, more seasoned pupusa-eaters I have realized there is a method to the madness. You are supposed to put the salad on top of your pupusa, pour the salsa, and then roll it up like a soft taco and shove it in your mouth. Either way it's good but this way you will avoid looking like an idiot who doesn't know a pupusa from flowery poop. Happy eating!

pitter

I don't know how this place hasn't had a review yet! It's in Mercado Central which is awesome to begin with, it's seriously a mecca of delicious Latin foods and candies.

The menu is in Spanish, but it's pretty easy to figure out. I always get the cheese pupusa or the bean and cheese pupusa. They range from 2-3.50 so it's really quite a deal.

martin

Before eating at this restaurant I had no idea what a pupusa WAS and frankly any word that sounds like 'poop' was a little off-putting. Regardless, my boss was always eating here and telling me about her pupusa addiction and so I finally tried it one day...

...and my eyes were opened to the glory that is El Salvadorian cuisine. Pupusas are these pockets of dough filled with pretty much whatever you want. They are so soft and delicious that it's like eating cheesy clouds that melt on your tongue. I am vegetarian so the ones I like are bean, bean & cheese, zucchini & cheese, and they even have one made with edible flowers & cheese. So even though it sounds a little odd like I might be eating flowery poop for lunch, it's a delicious and welcome break from the endless Mexican food in the market.

oved

si, eso es correcto, es la mejor puseria que tenemos en minnesota y pronto abriremos otro......saludes

VVA

I have to disagree on this being "the best" at least for pupusas. These pupusas are not authentic nor are they that great, there are no jalapenos in curtido, that's Mexican food. The place across the street, El Centro (hopefully still open), has pupusas that are SOOO much better.