El Guanaco, Hamlin & Diversey

Yesterday, as I was driving out to las islas marias and their very very nice camarones a la plancha, I happened past a place I hadn't seen mention - El Guanaco, with large signs in the window for pupusas etc.

Has anyone had pupusas or other stuff there? and if so how was it?

You know there is also a Salvadorean place that opened at Grand and Naraghansatt that I've been meaning to try. Seems like an upswing in Salvadorean places, no?

Likewise, Sheila and I had lunch the other day at Islas Marias and I meant to write a post extolling the wonderfulness that are the langostinos ala plancha. I mean I was eating the shells they were that savory.

Rob

There are several posts that mention El Guanaco, so I'm simply bumping up the oldest one (posted so long ago by the intrepid zim).

I stopped in the other day and got just two pupusas and was impressed by their fresh made goodness. I was excited to try a new vegetable in mine: loroco, which is an edible flower native to El Salvador that lends a subtle touch of green bitterness to what is otherwise a fairly rich little griddled disk of cheese.



The other pupusa I had contained ayote, which is type of squash, and my only complaint was I would have liked a lot more in it (there were just a few threads in there, and the taste was so mild, it really needed to be added more generously to make an impact).

This little place has lots more stuff I want to try, and I going to use previous explorations by zim, VI, Seth and others as my guide.



Hammond

I ate at El Guanaco almost exactly two years ago and for some reason never posted about it.

Combination plate at El Guanaco

Clockwise from top: tamal, platano #1, crema, frijoles, platano #2, pupusa, empanada, chorizo. Curtido and salsa are in red bowls.

I enjoyed the combination plate but prefer nearly every item, especially the chorizo and curtido, at Pupuseria El Salvador, my clear favorite of the several Salvadoran restaurants I've tried. They have excellent pupusas with loroco or ayote (as well as chicharron).

El Guanaco, June 2005


If you compare this picture from two years ago with David's above you'll see that the signage has changed a bit. I take the elimination of the neon pizza sign as a positive development. Maybe it's time for me to retry El Guanaco.

Jarred fruits and veggies at Pete's


Loroco seems like an interesting ingredient. You can get a huge jar for under five bucks at some Hispanic markets. What other than pupusas is loroco traditionally used for?

We went to visit friends today in LS and after stopping in at El Cubanito and Kurowski's, we randomly headed over to El Guanaco for a final snack . . .


Chips were tasty and pleasantly oily but could have used some more salt.



Salsa was very mild in flavor and heat.



The vinegared cabbage was crunchy and offered a nice balance between tart and sweet; it went nicely atop the pupusas. A second salsa, served with the pupusas, is in the background.



The 6 of us ordered 10 pupusas; 2 each of cheese, bean, loroco, chorizo and chicharron.



A closer look at the made-to-order pupusas.



Interior of a chorizo-filled pupusa.

All in all, I liked what we ate but really have no basis of comparison, as I've only had pupusas one other time and it was several years ago. The pupusas we enjoyed today were tasty but somewhat bland. That could just come with the territory (as the mild nature of the salsa indicated), I'm not really sure.

I joked with my friend that the cheese pupusa would make a wonderful base for a milanesa sandwich. That idea may be a bit over the top but even though there was nothing "wrong" with what we ate at Guanaco today, I felt like it (or I) might have been missing something. I'll make it a point to check out a few other places (Las Delicias, for one) and see how they compare.

=R=

El Guanaco #1
3802 W. Diversey
Chicago, IL 60647
773 394-5470

El Cubanito
2555 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60639
773 235-2555

Kurowski's Sausage Shop
2976 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
773 645-1692

Pupuseria Las Delicias
3300 W Montrose
Chicago, IL 60618
773 267-5346

Whoops, double post

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I'll make it a point to check out a few other places (Las Delicias, for one) and see how they compare.

In case you forgot to mark your calendar, this Tuesday is National Pupusa Day, at least in El Salvador.

I was hoping to make a special trip to Las Delicias to find out what all the fuss is about, but alas, I'll be in Detroit.

Joe

Anyone know if there is a 2008 Dia de las Pupusas coming up soon? Everything I google leads me to the 2005 event...can't find anything more recent. Maybe it was a one-time thing?

Happened to be driving around the other day and snapped a pic...



Looks interesting! A new location?

El Guanaco Restaurant
1703 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago
(773) 489-1174

Panther in the Den wrote:
Looks interesting! A new location?

El Guanaco Restaurant
1703 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago
(773) 489-1174

I believe it's newer than the other location, but to I think it's at least 2 years old.

I recently moved to well within walking distance. Apparently they have large burritos that cost—wait for it—$3.50! They're closed on Tuesdays but tomorrow I'm checking it out for sure.

False alarm. Posting from the restaurant. It's a sizeable burrito for sure, but at $4.50 now it's not an insane deal, just good.