Las Delicias

Mean while back at tha’ ranch…
1 Asada Taco – Very, Very Good. Bangin’ even. Flavorful, tender, lots of meat. For a carnivore like me… perfect.
1 Tongue Taco – Good. However, I’ve come to realize that there’s somethin’ bout tongue ‘taycos’ that just starts tastin’…strange to me after a few chews.
Thats my mind though not this place. Let me be clear bout that part.
Its just gets all ‘weirded out like that. It starts sayin stuff like…“ughhh you DO know… that’s a Bovines TONGUE you snackin’ on… right? He’s been chewing… CUD…wit dat. CUD. I mean you do know… that…(stomach flip)…right”?? Nope… no more T. T’s for me.
Something bout turnin’ 50… makes you reconsider things.
2 Revueletas Papusas (pork, beans & cheese mixed which also happen to be the MOST important part of what I ordered) — -ummmmmmm…NO.
NNNNNNN…O. NO.
Unboxing:
Appearance: overly charred with some burnt edges even. NO.
Size: Huge but… smashed too thin. NO.
Smell: Bad charred smell. NO
Taste: Charred. Which when you think about it, thats to be expected when they where errrrrr… charred…NO.
What’s inside: Not much if they thin… yep y’all know… NO.
Every place does and definitely has a right– to prepare and do things differently. And definitely, I respect that.
But that’s where Unilocal and rating comes in at. Unfortunately.
This here has made me vow to NEEEEVVVVER and I do mean… NEEEEVVVER — -EVER… stray away from El Pulgarcito aka tha’ Papusa Heaven — –again.
Back to that ‘inside’ that turned me completely OFF.
There was hardly ANY cheese inside. EL Pulgarcito.
That pork… something wrong that besides tha fact it looked ‘white’ and it was chopped? EL Pulgarcito
Chopped is not a large issue. However put chopped + color + texture… for me… that’s a tummy flipper.
White-​tish’ and kinda creamy lookin’…with bits of something red… maybe red bell pepper or tomato… WAS NOT appetizing to look at. It looked like… yep…
I ordered two… tore a piece off, put in my mouth… EL PULGARCITO. I tried to finish but ended up discarding both of them. For me it-just-didn’t — -work.
I seriously will never try another El Sal after that (unless it’s another ‘new’ EL PULGARCITO location) – again. Seriously. Something’s are better left as is.
There’s just no need. If you HAVE NOT had a Papusa or just haven’t had a good one, or you don’t know if you’ve had a good one (because the one you had was ok) — I IMPLORE YOU TO GO TO … EL PULGARCITO. The difference is there.
Golden & beautiful on the outside. Weighty. A little crusty.
Um, um… um. Yum… Yum…click!
Nice and CHEESY on the inside, with nice seasoned, SHREDDED pork on the inside (with or without the black beans… either way you… cannot… LOSE. Note*** Cept form that flower bud one called ‘Loroco’ or whatever… don’t get that. Don’t. That thing (and it’s the ‘flower bud thingy’ ingredient NOT them… just a culture ingredient) smells like bad socks. Very pungent… to me. But everything else they serve Papusa or not, is BOMB.
I put that on everything I love. Trust… me.
I went today… to EL Pulgarcitos. And yep… it was just what I expected from them. Perfection.
****I updated this exactly the same Cuz my rating meter at bottom is missing. Oh well. Doesn’t change anything. Still will never go here… again.

It’s one of the better places that sell pupusas, it doesn’t compare to homemade pupusas my Tia’s make but it’ll do.

What a wonderful new «South of the Border» addition to Tacoma that goes beyond the usual «Tex-​Mex» stuff in a pretty big way, bringing authentic Salvadoran (with some Mexican as well) food to us in a bright, friendly little place on East 72^nd Street.
It’s clearly obvious that cuisine from El Salvador is the main feature, with some Mexican influences as well for those perhaps not wanting to venture in the realm of Tacos de Lengua or Tacos de Cabeza. I’ll leave it to the reader to figure out what those are — but let’s just say they not coming to a Taco Time near you any time soon!
The menu opens with a small but interesting selection of pupusas — wonderful HAND MADE corn tortillas — these are NOT what you find in Mexican places (Gordita maybe comes close) and certainly not Safeway :-) These are wonderful, thick tortillas — topped with a reasonable, if small (I’m sure will expand) choice of fillings. You can also order the Arroz dough — rice-​based instead of the (Oh So Yummy) Masa Harina corn pupusas — and you can so easily tell these are hand made, right there in the back I’m sure.
There are a few choices that will be very familiar, but why not stray a bit and go for the specialties from WAY «South of the Border»? That’s what we chose to do, and we were not disappointed.
We started however with a familiar name but prepared in the most wonderful way ever — the Salvadoran Style Tamales — nothing like any tamale I’ve ever had — the delicate masa dough was just awesome — with green beans, seasoned chicken, garbanzo beans… all cooked to perfection and blended perfectly. I could have dinner with just one of these and be happy — and for $ 2.50 each? What an amazing bargain.
For our main courses, Anne orderd the Carne Guisada (Salvadoran beef stew) and when spread on the pupusas with a little sauce, rice and beans, it was simply yummy. Delicate flavors, perfectly cooked — not over-​cooked. It came with Salvadoran-​styled rice (nothing like American Tex-​Mex rice) and pureed red beans, along with a delicately chopped salad that was added to the pupusas for «crunch».
I ordered the Mojarra Frita — lightly fried tilapia fish served on a bed of Salvadoran rice, with pureed red beans and the same salad. Perfectly cooked — delicate slightly salty seasoning (in a good way) on the outside of the whole fish, with delicate juicy meat and a truly wonderful flavor.
In Spanish, «Las Delicias» translates in English as «The Delights» or simply «Delights»
So to us, the name is quite fitting! Pleasant little place with pleasant people running it, and quite simply serving up «Las Delicias» with every plate it would seem.
Dave & Anne