Cover Story Issue 23 Pupusas in the IE

Pupusas in the IE

Story John C. Welsh/ Inland Empire Central




Photography by Carlos Puma/Inland Empire Central

A Mexican and a gringo walk into a Salvadoran restaurant.

There should be a punch line at the end of that. Unfortunately, there is only an argument.

Well, change that. It's more like debate over descriptions. The Mexican keeps trying to come up with a way to describe a "pupusa," a delicious treat that hails from El Salvador. The white boy keeps rolling his eyes. You would too.

"The pupusa is like a cousin to the taco," the Mexican says.

Seriously? That's how you're going to treat this pancake-shaped delight? No disrespect to the taco, but can the pupusa be described in such a manner?

The Mexican of this story is Carlos Puma, editor and publisher of the start-up story Web portal, Inland Empire Central, the site you are hopefully checking out at least a couple of times every week.

The gringo in this anecdote is me, the writer of this piece.

Carlos and I strolled into Pupuseria Miguelenas Restaurant this week to try a new joint. Carlos, whose wife is from El Salvador, knows a thing or two about Salvadoran cuisine. I grew up in Southeast L.A. and know nothing about food from Salvadoran. What I do know is that I love ethnic food.

The reason I'm cringing at Carlos' commentary is because Carlos thinks there's a pupusa craze happening in the Inland Empire. Carlos could be on to something. Within the past 10 years, there does appear to be a trend. Salvadoran restaurants popping up throughout the region. Sure, there has been one in the western pocket of Riverside -- Pupuseria La Sierra -- for more than a decade. But a simple Google search will also produce locations in Colton, Fontana, Rialto and San Bernardino.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Pupusas
• El Salvador
• Salvadorean
• food
• Pupuserias
• Pupuseria
• handmande
• Carlos Puma
• John Welsh
• Inland Empire Central
• IE