Hot Tamale Rating: 3
(1=worst, 5=best)
From the look of the place from the street, with bars on the windows and next door to mildly dilapidated brick buildings on 14th street north of the Columbia Heights metro station, you'd think Gloria's Pupuseria Restaurant was just a dank hole-in-the-wall. However, the narrow gated entranceway opens into a bright, colorful, cheery interior. Turquoise paint and tropical print tablecloths drape the walls and tables, touristy poster pin-ups of El Salvador and the requisite religious icons proudly adorn the walls, and Selena watches over the patrons from the prominently hung canvas in the middle of the room.
Once situated, we were dismayed to find no chips and salsa put in front of us. However, as Jaime pointed out, chips and salsa are a Mexican restaurant tradition and aren't found in the gastronomical commensalisms of El Salvadorian cuisine. Anna wasn’t buying it. As she sees it, if the place serves tacos, they should also provide complimentary chips and salsa. End of story.
Were there any doubts about the authenticity of Gloria's, the waitress (was she Gloria herself???) spoke only Spanish, which was no problem for the brilliant linguists Alice, Jaime and Anna, but Gloria’s lingau franca (or shall we say lingua spagnola?) did pose a minor challenge for minorly challenged Jason, who was able to order but only give the deer in headlights wide-eye-stare to questions from the waitress.
In addition to a plate of pupusas for the whole table ("when in a pupuseria, eat a pupusa"), Jason ordered Yuca con Chicharronne – rounds of fried yucca and chunks of pork with a salsa-like salad of cabbage and finely diced tomatoes. It wasn't bad. The yucca wasn't yucky, the pork was flavorful but a rather dry, and the salsa salad complemented the rest of the meal nicely. The horchata was tasty, but pretty gritty. In all, Jason was a bit underwhelmed.
Anna had a shredded beef dish cushioned between a healthy portion of beans and rice. The beef, cooked with a mix of tomatoes, green peppers, and egg was good, but a little tough. The egg was an interesting and tasty addition to the beef. Also on the plate was a nice slice of avocado and goat cheese. Overall, Anna enjoyed her meal, but thought it a bit unexciting. It tasted like a pot roast with slight hint of Mexican (well in this case, El Salvadoran) flavors, which, although tasty, did not wow her. And Anna likes to be wowed.
Jaime had the Pollo Guisado (Stewed Chicken) and disappointment doesn’t begin to describe his reaction. The dish consisted of three hefty pieces of bone-in dark meat in a tomato and onion sauce. The sauce, while tasty, could not save the chicken. Surprisingly dry and tough for stewed pieces of meat, the chicken meat took a bit of effort to strip from the bone and wasn’t really worth it. Rice, beans and a hunk of El Salvadoran cheese accompanied the chicken and were adequate. The highlights of his meal were the hearty papusa appetizer and cold Modelo beer.
(1=worst, 5=best)
From the look of the place from the street, with bars on the windows and next door to mildly dilapidated brick buildings on 14th street north of the Columbia Heights metro station, you'd think Gloria's Pupuseria Restaurant was just a dank hole-in-the-wall. However, the narrow gated entranceway opens into a bright, colorful, cheery interior. Turquoise paint and tropical print tablecloths drape the walls and tables, touristy poster pin-ups of El Salvador and the requisite religious icons proudly adorn the walls, and Selena watches over the patrons from the prominently hung canvas in the middle of the room.
Once situated, we were dismayed to find no chips and salsa put in front of us. However, as Jaime pointed out, chips and salsa are a Mexican restaurant tradition and aren't found in the gastronomical commensalisms of El Salvadorian cuisine. Anna wasn’t buying it. As she sees it, if the place serves tacos, they should also provide complimentary chips and salsa. End of story.Were there any doubts about the authenticity of Gloria's, the waitress (was she Gloria herself???) spoke only Spanish, which was no problem for the brilliant linguists Alice, Jaime and Anna, but Gloria’s lingau franca (or shall we say lingua spagnola?) did pose a minor challenge for minorly challenged Jason, who was able to order but only give the deer in headlights wide-eye-stare to questions from the waitress.
In addition to a plate of pupusas for the whole table ("when in a pupuseria, eat a pupusa"), Jason ordered Yuca con Chicharronne – rounds of fried yucca and chunks of pork with a salsa-like salad of cabbage and finely diced tomatoes. It wasn't bad. The yucca wasn't yucky, the pork was flavorful but a rather dry, and the salsa salad complemented the rest of the meal nicely. The horchata was tasty, but pretty gritty. In all, Jason was a bit underwhelmed.
Anna had a shredded beef dish cushioned between a healthy portion of beans and rice. The beef, cooked with a mix of tomatoes, green peppers, and egg was good, but a little tough. The egg was an interesting and tasty addition to the beef. Also on the plate was a nice slice of avocado and goat cheese. Overall, Anna enjoyed her meal, but thought it a bit unexciting. It tasted like a pot roast with slight hint of Mexican (well in this case, El Salvadoran) flavors, which, although tasty, did not wow her. And Anna likes to be wowed.Jaime had the Pollo Guisado (Stewed Chicken) and disappointment doesn’t begin to describe his reaction. The dish consisted of three hefty pieces of bone-in dark meat in a tomato and onion sauce. The sauce, while tasty, could not save the chicken. Surprisingly dry and tough for stewed pieces of meat, the chicken meat took a bit of effort to strip from the bone and wasn’t really worth it. Rice, beans and a hunk of El Salvadoran cheese accompanied the chicken and were adequate. The highlights of his meal were the hearty papusa appetizer and cold Modelo beer.
All agreed that the pupusas were pretty good, but again, not exceptional. It should be noted that prices are low at Gloria's with few entrees over $10, and that you are give a full (Chinese print) plate of food. While the food at Gloria's isn't great, it's certainly not horrible. If you're looking for decent pupusas at the right price and if you don’t mind eating leathered meat, Gloria's is your place!
- Location and Atmosphere: 3
- Service: 3
- Cost and Value: 5
- La Comida: 2
Rating:
Close to metro, some kitsch, not so good people watching.
Solid service, but you better brush up on your Spanish before coming!
Generous portions with most everything around $10.
"Underwhelming," "Unexciting," "Disappointing."
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