El Majahual Pupuseria

Why do I love this place? It’s not the pupusas– which are heavenly– but the freshness and deliciousness of everything these ladies make! I’ve been here numerous times, and until now I’m writing a review. They have the best antojitos ever– try the pastelitos de pollo (fried empanadas-​type crunchy cake filled with chicken and veggies), and forget about your local Jewish deli for chicken soup– this is the place to come for soup! They’re best soups are: sopa de gallina (hen soup) and the chipilin con puerco soup. Chipilin is a very nutritious and healthy herb that is used a lot in Central American cooking and this soup is made with this herb, veggies, rice, and pork. This or the hen soup are amazing pick me ups when you’re feeling under the weather or just simply craving soup. Their stews are devine– be the beef or chicken– you will be oh so pleased! What more can I say? The place is small– but cute, and the owner/​staff are the sweetest ladies in town! Helps if you speak Spanish, of course.

I just got back from this restaurant and was sorely disappointed because I was really expecting some awesome pupusas. The pupusas at best are ok. I like the texture of the corn, a little soft and mushy, enough so that it actually breaks in some places and the cheese oozes out, which I don’t mind. But the filling of my revueltas were a little bland. It just didn’t have the richness of the other pupusas that I have enjoyed. My pupusas were also rather smaller than most pupusas .
My usual place in silverlake — Los Cobanos — at the corner of Sunset and Parkman just closed down so I was hoping to find another place close by, but unfortunately, this place really doesn’t do it for me.
On top of that the service is extremely slow. There was one order before me and it took more than 20 minutes to get 3 pupusas and 2 tacos. then another guy came and placed a to go order. the guys before me got his order, then the man who came after me got his order before I did as well so they definitely give preferential treatment to folks who either come there a lot or speak Spanish.
One more thing. No AC. Really not a place to visit in the middle of a hot LA summer.
If I was stuck in rut and I was on my way back from DT looking for something to eat, I would stop by again, but I wouldn’t really go there purposely.

I’ve only gotten pupusas from here once or twice… they were pretty good; make sure to eat them with the pickled veggies they give you + sauce.
Instead of the pupusas I usually get the pollo encebollado, which is (slow pan fried?) chicken smothered in onions. It’s flavorful and delicious… it also comes with a small salad, some rice, and some refried beans. The refried beans are delicious for being just that. It takes about 15 – 20 minutes to prepare, so I usually call ahead and get it to go. The salad gets warm when you get this to go, so that’s not great. I like this dish so much I never get anything else (and I’ve probably gotten it 10 times), which sucks because there’s lots of other stuff I should try.
The kitchen is run by a grandma-​type woman who you would expect to have decades of cooking just simple but delicious and flavorful authentic food.

I love this place with all my stomach. The pupusas de loroco are my favorite, by far. If you’ve never had pupusas before (speaking generally here), you absolutely have to top it off with the curtido (pickled cabbage) and hot sauce. I did it wrong the first time around and ended up hating pupusas for five years! The ladies here are awesome and totally refill the curtido bowl if you ask. If you’re a tamarindo fan, they serve a deeeeeelicious tamarindo juice which is way better than the Jarritos soda variety. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Jarritos, but this juice stuff is just better.
This place definitely needs some more love, so try it out the next time you’re in the area! It has a free parking lot and fits the cheap hole-​in-​the-​wall mold. Except there’s no mold. I want that on the record. It just fits the mold, there is no actual mold there.
P. S. PUPUUUU!!!

So far the best pupusas that are as close to the ones I have eaten in El Salvador (Planes de Rendero).
Can’t go wrong with «ensalada» drink, horchata, or kolashampan.
Let’s not forget the «yuca con chicharron»

Pupusas, in my opinion, are one of the best comfort foods known to man. For those who don’t know what they are, it is a corn torilla/​pancake like creation stuffed with different, wonderful fillings. Thanks to the splendid Skylar L. for introducing me El Majahual and their breaded temptations. Of the their lovely offerings, here is what I tried:
Horchata — It was a warm day, and fresh horchata was just what I wanted. I ordered their largest size — 32 ounces — for $ 4.00. It was earthy and delicious, with a strong rice influence. Take my advice and get the large.
Pupusa de Chicharron — Pork spiced and ground to utter perfection and then enveloped in that delicious corn batter and quickly cooked. Absolutely amazing.
Pupusa de Loroco con Queso — Their legendary Cheese Pupusa, joined by the Loroco plant, a flower bud from a South American vine. The Loroco was finely diced, and is of a similar nature to jicama. It gave the pupusa an extra je-​né-​sais-​quoi. I quite enjoyed it.
The pupuseria is in a two-​story shopping center with its own lot. The atmosphere is very casual, and seating can always be found despite its small size. They also have combination plates and soups. I will definitely be back here for more South American morsels.

Before the LA Derby Dolls bout on Saturday, Skylar and I went to El Majahual because it was almost directly across the street from the Doll Factory and we didn’t feel like moving our cars since parking can be difficult in the neighborhood though El Majahual is part of a strip mall so they have their own parking.
Skylar was attracted to the A rating and I was attracted to the idea of pupusas.
We each ordered two. She got the lorroco with cheese ($ 2.25 each) and I got one chicharone and one revuelta, or as I told Skylar, pork and more pork. Mine were $ 2 each.
I also got a tamarindo to drink. $ 6 plus tax and tip? This was the cheapest dinner ever!
And it was very filling. We got our pupusas and I went to town with the curtido and the salsa. I felt the salsa was really mild and the curtido wasn’t very vinegar-​y. Still, I enjoyed the crunch of the veggies with the slightly crisp pupusa and tender fillings. I did prefer one pupusa over the other and I’m pretty sure it was the revuelta. But since I’m no pupusa expert, I guess I’ll have to order both again to be sure. They also have plain cheese pupusas, a ton of different soups, entrees and a couple of other drinks.
It’s a small homey place with beach towels depicting a typical El Savador day and a map of El Salvador in frames. The floor was a really cool mishmash of tiles. The restroom was found after going through a bit of a maze but it was clean.
I may have had better pupusas but considering the proximity of this place to where we wanted to be, A+!
CASH ONLY