Televisions play a kitschy commercial that shows the Pupusa Man himself delivering pupusas to Angelenos in need. Photos of Lopez’s two cocker spaniels greet customers upon entry. Nicole CarulloĬustomers enjoy these offerings from the restaurant’s well-loved dining room, which is chock-full of aesthetic charms. Pan con gallina, a sandwich Lopez likens to a Salvadoran banh mi, is a sleeper hit, as are the plantains, fried to a deep golden brown and served alongside the restaurant’s seasoned beans and thick sour cream. Salvadoran food is more than its national dish, though, and the restaurant’s menu is a testament to that. Loroco lends the cheesy pupusa a delicate, herbal aroma, which Lopez enjoys simply, filled with beans and topped with salsa. “My absolute favorite is the loroco,” he says, referencing a type of edible flower that grows throughout Central America. For Lopez, the revuelta is only his second-favorite. The pupusa revuelta, stuffed with crisped chicharron and a mix of Monterrey, cotija, and ranch cheese, is the most popular item and comes with a generous helping of salsa and curtido, a fermented cabbage slaw that gives the rich dish a bright, acidic punch. As a one-woman pit crew, she pinches the masa, stuffs it with fillings like beans and cheese, and smacks the disc of dough on the griddle, tending to each one as it transforms into a golden, glimmering orb. In the back of the house, one of Las Cazuelas’ longest-standing employees, Santos Rios, works quickly to make the pupusas. Lopez took over the family business in 2003, though his mother’s Salvadoran recipes, which have been passed down matrilineally for decades, remain on the menu today.
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