Ricas Pupusas Restaurant

This is the 2^nd best papusaria in SF! True, if you get cheese only, they are made with the oily Mexican cheese, which I happen to love. There are options such as the bean & cheese, loroca, and meat ones that are considerably less on the heavy side. It’s all about the cordido here. Also, I cannot leave without stuffing that one extra ¼ inch of my belly with the banana custard empanda. Last time we went there was New Year’s Day and it was the most packed I’ve ever seen. There were families and everyone was happy, the jukebox was playing Another One Bites the Dust and some other random stuff that made me giggle. The décor is seriously your typical mom & pop Latin the-​food-​is-​the-​focus reality. If you want great El Salvadorian fare, I recommend Rica’s.

Sweet greasy Jesus. I had the pupusas (a Salvadorian pancake with meat filling), and I could swear they had used it to sponge up after the Exxon Valdez in Alaska. Yikes. Scary interior, too, complete with TV permanently set to the Spanish channel and overcast with a red tint. Not to mention that all (not some) of the lighting is fluorescent.