Experiencing something again for the first time

Everyone has had the experience of coming across a food item that they never quite understood appeal of. For example: for many years on Thanksgiving, my mother would put together a cornucopia with some not great Concord grapes. When I got to LA and had Kyoho grapes at a farmers market which was then at the Santa Monica airport I go holy $&!+, that’s where Welch’s got their grape flavor from.

It was an experience I ended up having tonight at a place called Paseo San Miguel on Western Ave. I have always thought of Salvadoran tortillas as dry leaden and unappetizing. However when we went there for dinner tonight and a stack of tortillas came to us we realized they were different. Apparently the trick to having great Salvadoran tortillas is to make sure that they are molten hot off the grill. Then they are moist light and fluffy despite their outward appearance. Of the four that were in the basket I ate 3.

And that’s not even mentioning how our entrées were. Dommy! got shrimp with garlic sauce and I had a chicken breast with mushrooms and the garlic sauce. Dommy! said the garlic sauce was not what one would consider traditional however it was really really tasty. Plus my entrée came with small chunks of fried yucca. I have never had yucca so creamy in my entire life.

This restaurant has a sister restaurant a few blocks east on MLK which has been noted in the LA Times for having a really really good the pupusas. Having been to that place as well Dommy! and I would note that their pupusa grill seems to have wok hei.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood both are worth checking out. Also note they used a low resolution camera to take pictures of the food for both menus. Unfortunately it makes the food look unappetizing. However our experience is that is not the case.

3874 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90062

1560 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90062

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The best tortillas are made to order from fresh masa and served hot off the comal or griddle.

Salvadorean places often make tortillas to order because they’re making pupusas that way anyway.

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Here’s the LA Times review of the place on MLK. They use an older name Comedor Bella Vista, but it’s the same place.

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I’ve tried half a dozen Salvadoran restaurants in this neighborhood. These are by far the best Salvadoran tortillas I’ve had.

Not all masas are created equal.

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Not to worry about the pics, your description was more than sufficient. :slight_smile:

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