Pupuseria y Restaurante Cuscatleco - 3125 W. Lawrence

It was lunchtime on Saturday afternoon and the better half and I were driving down Lawrence Ave looking for a taqueria to get a snack. All at once I saw a Pupusa sign. Being that the better half is from Central America, I've learned to be observant for these indicators. A sign in the window advertised Pupusas as well as comida mexicana or Mexican food. We decided to give Pupuseria y Restaurante Cuscatleco, 3125 W. Lawrence Ave. a try.

I'm assuming because it's new, the interior was clean and bright. We reviewed the menu and she decided on an order of Pasteles de Carne and Pupusas Revueltas (corncakes with Frijol, Chicharrón y Queso).

I ordered Sopa de Pata also known as Mondongo. This is the Central American version of Mexican style menudo (beef tripe).



The better half ordered two Pupusas Revueltas and an order of Pasteles de Carnes (meat pies—3 to an order). The pupusas were a bit larger than normally found in other places in Chicago such as Maxwell Street Market and the now defunct Izalco Restaurant. Their “corncake” is much larger than its cousin, the Mexican gordita, and the masa or the flour that is used to make the “corncake is smoother. The aforementioned ingredients inside are nicely distributed and can be accented with the accompanying two salsas—a milder tomato-based salsa and a spicer salsa verde. Each table is also give a larger bowl of delicious “encurtido”, the typical Central American salad found in Salavadorean, Honduran and Nicaraguan cuisines. It is made primarily with shredded cabbage and carrots and has a vinegar base, and Cuscatleco’s had the right amount of pepper.

The real winners were the Pasteles de Carnes. These meat pies were deep fried just right with little to no greasiness on the plate. Again, the “masa” was smooth. The filling was seasoned ground beef that had small pieces of onion and peas. Each bite was buttery and smooth. At $3.50 for an order of 3, this was a great deal, and the size of the meat pies were on the medium side. With an order of Pasteles de Carne and another item, you have a full meal.

The sopa de pata was served in a big bowl and had a very flavorful broth, probably because of the beef hoof. For those unfamiliar with Mondongo the broth is similar to chicken soup, as it lacks the red pepper typically found in Mexican menudo. There were plenty of vegetables (carrots, cabbage, zucchini, chayote) that accompanied the tripe and foot. Corn tortillas and a plate of chopped onion, cilantro and lime were also served. The only complaint I had was that the tripe should have been boiled longer so that it was softer. I am used to eating the tripe that is buttery soft (like the menudo at Atotonilco) but perhaps it's prepared and served differently in Central America. A bowl costs $7.50 which is reasonable. I would go back and order it again. Oh, it's served only on weekends.

The owners are quiet and gracious, their two little girls might be there coloring in coloring books, and at present, it seems that they have many carry outs from what we observed. A great alternative to Pupusas Delicias/Western Ave for north side pupusa fans.


Pupusas and Pasteles de carne

Sopa de Pata (Mondongo)

The Menu

OdM,

Many thanks for that report. Those pasteles look great and there are a number of things on the menu that sound good and interesting -- great idea to post the menu (but could you downsize the image a little?).

Muchas gracias!
Antonius

Orgulloso,

Thanks for the heads up and the menu. (Some reformatting might be in order.) I have mentioned this place and passed by several times, but it has never been open. Another great option in a stretch that is dense with them.

PS, I love a nice, gluey caldo de pata, which my Guatemalan inlaws make very well. But I'm not sure menudo is the closest Mexican equivalent. Indeed, I've had caldo de pata in Mexican restaurants before. I guess Slavadoran mondongo is like a combination of menudo and caldo de pata. Also, I am assuming the pupusas are griddled, like arepas, and not fried, like gorditas, though I can see the comparison to gorditas. I have not had a ton of experience with Salvadoran food because of its relative scarceness (until recently) in Chicago (though there is plenty in LA and FL). Do you know if these Salvadoran pupusas include rice flour in the masa -- the ingredient that makes many of the masa based foods of C. America smoother (and some might say blander) than most Mexican antojitos?

Thanks agin. Looks really good.

Orgullo, thanks for the nice writeup. The sopa de pata looks very interesting!

JeffB, is the rice flour for its specific taste - or more to provide crispness? The pupusas I've enjoyed at Pupuseria El Salvador didn't seem to have any rice flour mixed in - at least there was no discernible taste. The ladies there just brought a tub of masa and had another tub with the filings, handformed the 'patties' and set them on the gridlle (pic in ReneG's post) - all right in front of you.

JeffB wrote:Orgulloso,

Do you know if these Salvadoran pupusas include rice flour in the masa -- the ingredient that makes many of the masa based foods of C. America smoother (and some might say blander) than most Mexican antojitos?

Thanks agin. Looks really good.

I checked out this place last week as well, and thought the pupusas (loroco and chicharron) very good, better than las delicias, though to my taste not as good as rinconcito hispano in des plaines. I didn't taste any rice flour in the pupusa mixture. In fact the only palce I have seen rice flour pupusas was at the now departed izalco.

They were having stove problems when I visited so I couldn't check out more of the menu, the baked items (they had some fruit pasteles by the register) seemed really very good, nice texture to them. Seems like a nice little place

Zim, funny that you should mention Riconcito Hispano. I went to the new place tonight with kerensa - excellent pupusas, and a great sweet tamal with rich guatemalan crema. I got to talking with the owner - turns out he used to Riconcito Hispano on broadway, then sold it, and opened Riconcito Hispano in Des Plaines, then sold it, then went to Central America, and came back and opened up the new incarnation. I was very taken with him and with the place - the coleslaw was extremely salty, but the pupusas were great, especially with loroco, a little "flower"-like veggie & cheese. We also tried a chicken tamal (de gallina) which was the rice flour version that I've seen at guatemalan bakeries, but not as good as those at the late Delicias Guatemalteco on Kedzie (soon to be La Bomba, a Puerto Rican eatery). Anyhoo, at the end of our meal the guy says to me, he says, "you want to know where to get the best pupusas in the state of IL?" and before he can get to the punchline, his 10 year old daughter pipes in "RIGHT HERE!!!!". Very cute. I'll be back for sure.

Pupuseria y Restaurante Custcatleco
3125 W. Lawrence
Sun.-Thurs.: 10:30 a.m.- 10 p.m.
Fri.-Sat.: 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

Very nice pupusas, pasteles de carne, and rellenitas (empanadas). I have to get there on the weekend for the soup.

It's been open a couple of months, according to the very gracious husband-and-wife team. Business has been O.K., but they are looking foward to warm weather and the return of Albany Park's pedestrian traffic. They're just up from the Brown Line Kedzie stop, and I hope that the station closing doesn't cause them (along with Kedzie's other great food locations) too much grief.

Try the Atole de Elote, a delicious and creamy hot corn-milk beverage. It's a perfect antidote to this Spring's temperatures.

Cheers,
Wade

Has any one had the beans here yet? One of the things I really like at rinconcito hispano was their black beans. In fact one of my favorite little side dishes anywhere is the order of fried plaintain with great crema and the bottom the pot little charred bits of crunchiness black beans at rinconcito hispano in des plaines

Zim,

Kerensa and I had the platanos fritos with beans and crema and they were very tasty, mashed up with some beans still intact. Could've been a little more lardy, but totally delicious with that superrich crema and crunchy not-too-sweet fried plantain.

Seth

So get a load of this - I did a little more exploring of the Cuscateclo menu last night - panes con gallina or hen bread - they take a bollillo, split it open, load it up with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radich, onion, pickled cabbage. Then they take a couple of hunks of stewed chicken - in my case a drumstick and half a thigh - and lightly bread and deep fry em. Then then put the chicken in the sammie - bones and all (this sandwich is even more unwieldy than the pork chop sandwich) - and pour a mayo / mustard / vinegar / broth sauce all over the top. If you prefer they'll side step the step of frying the chicken, but the John Waters look alike that runs the place recommends the frying highly. Eerily reminiscent of a bic mac - all that sweaty iceberg with mayonnaisey sauce - but also eerily delicious. Also on the menu last night was a home made fruit punch - sugared lemony water with finely dices chunks of apple, mango, cilantro and grapes floating about. I like this place, and it's very convenient!

dude, I need some photos of this thing, and of someone trying to eat it.