My guy and I were headed back from Orange County, and I insisted that we stop by a restaurant that I had been eyeing for a while.  Unfortunately, it was a Sunday and closed!  However, I was ravenous, so we stopped at the nearby Izalco because it was the only open restaurant around and was busy even though it was a really odd hour.

What a nice surprise!

First of all, I love that sign out front.  If you are wondering what that triangle is under the word Pupuseria (more on that later), it is actually the Izalco volcano located in El Salvador.  Of course!

The interior is decorated semi-traditionally, with bright paintings, wooden tables and chairs, and musical instruments all around.  The chickens are a cute touch!

Here is a quick peek at the menu, which only made me even hungrier.  🙂

First of all, if you are wondering what a pupusa is, here is a quick definition according to Wikipedia

A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese, cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency, refried beans, or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America).

I ordered two varieties:

Here is a close-up of all of that delicious filling!

Next, I topped it with a delicious cabbage slaw and spicy sauce, because you know I love it spicy!

Salvadoran style chicken stew

My guy ordered this, and I was not sure about the orange-colored sauce.  However, it was totally great!  We would recommend it for sure.

Corn deep fried or steamed

I ordered one of the Tamales Salvadoreños and decided to order corn, and I received something unexpected.  The entire thing was made of the outer masa!  I assumed (incorrectly) that there would be a roasted corn, onion, and spice mixture inside.  Silly me!  Instead it was like a corn cake, which was still good!

Salvadoran cassava cakes

I am very familiar with cassava, but I have never had it fried as a dessert.  It was so interesting, and the syrup was a sweet contrast to the fried cake.  Yum!

By the way, I learned while writing this post that it should be Salvadoran versus Salvadorian or Salvadorean.  Who know!

Izalco Restaurant
300 West 5th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 973-0554
izalco-restaurant.com