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Fresh pupusas at Balompie Cafe in the Mission
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Pupusas are a traditional Salvadorean flatbread made with corn or rice flour, and the dough is similar to a thick and soft tortilla. They are usually stuffed with any number of fillings, including cheese, beans, meat, and vegetables. At Balompie Cafe in the Mission, they are known for their delicious hand-made pupusas, which many consider the best in San Francisco.
Balompie Cafe offers many types of fillings: cheese, beans, chicharrón (pork), loroco (a vine flower bud from Central America that has an intense "green vegetable" flavor to it), spinach, zucchini, jalapeños, shrimp, fish, and basically anything you can think of, provided they have it in their kitchen. The pupusas are all made fresh by hand, they are not pre-made and warmed in a microwave. This does result in a short wait of a few minutes, but that's a small price to pay for good, fresh, cheap food.
The pupusas themselves are very soft and have a nice texture to them, which starts with the thick tortilla and leads to a hot, gooey center stuffed with your choice of filling. I always have cheese, and like the loroco, chicharrón, and jalapeños. Each order comes with a side of cabbage, carrot, and pepper slaw that is crunchy and quite tart, with loads of vinegar and spice, which I like. You also get a side of tortilla chips and a mild red salsa which goes very well with the pupusas.
The pupusas range in price from $2-3 each, but if you order them to go they are only $1.95 each! If you order them to go, the pupusas are piping hot and wrapped in foil, individually labeled for your convenience. The slaw is also interestingly and cost-effectively served in a Ziploc bag! The only drawback with ordering them to go is that you don't get the tortilla chips, but you still get the slaw and salsa! Suffice to say, I usually just grab a couple to go and get out of there spending less than $5 for two pupusas that will please my tastebuds and satisfy my hunger.
If you've never tried a pupusa, you owe it to yourself to swing by Balompie Cafe and enjoy these wonderful Salvadorean treats. They are located in the Mission at 18th and Capp St. and also have another location in Bernal Heights at 3801 Mission St.
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