I am crazy about pupusas – it’s no secret! What could be better than a pocket of carbs filled with cheese and other fillings? Nothing, I tell you. When we heard that the pupusas were on point at Brianna’s Restaurant (4911 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) we knew we had to visit! Brianna’s advertises itself as having Salvadoran and a Guatemalan cuisine, with a small selection of Mexican dishes.
I got two pupusas, one with the emblematic Salvadorean loroco flower and one with Guatemalan chipilin ($2.25 each). I could hear the “pat-pat” of pupusas being made fresh and griddled after I placed my order, which is always a sign that you are going to get something good! As predicted, the pupusas came out hot and fresh with melty cheese fillings and a vinegary slaw. The loroco flowers were tasty and subtle and the chipilin leaves, which I had never tried, before tasted like a herby spinach. If Now 2 ‘small” pupusas was really enough to make me feel super full, but if you are well and truly ready to stuff yourself consider a “pupusa loca” a large pupusa with five ingredients. Fortunately, the vinegary slaw helps all those carbs go down.
M went the more substantial route with a main dish. He was torn between several dishes. He ended up going with the hilachas, shredded beef with potatoes simmered in Guatemalan creole sauce, served with a side of rice ($10.95). The runner up was another Guatemalan dish – Pulique – beef rib stew with potatoes and squash ($10.95). The hilacha, the Guatemalan take on ropa vieja, was tasty with a pungent tomato sauce, more akin to Sunday gravy than a salsa.
As a side, M also sampled his first atole, a warm, sweet corn drink. I went with the cooler passion fruit juice. If we were less full we would have sampled the Guatemalan bread pudding, which sounded delicious. The restaurant itself was very simple, but the service was friendly and pleasant. But most importantly, everything we had heard about the pupusas was true. Brianna’s makes a mean pupusa, and the price is right (less than $2.50) for each pupusa, making one of the tastiest and cheapest meals around.
Eating The World 