Friday, March 23, 2012

Off the bucket list...Balompie Cafe 3: Pupusas

The list known as Big Eat 2012, featured in the March issue of San Francisco's lifestyle magazine, 7x7: http://www.7x7.com/eat-drink/big-eat-2012-list...

quite aptly called, 100 Things To Eat Before You Die. It's a mix of the old faithfuls and new faithfuls: Prime Rib at the historic House of Prime Rib to the Salted Cod Rice at a more recent hotspot Mission Chinese Food.

Being the ambitious foodie that I am, I aim to tackle this list before the year's end. So far, I've made it through 11, 9 of which I had before knowing of the list's existence.

I've known about pupusas. For some reason, I never had and them. Which was stupid. Because they're simply amazing.




At Balompie Cafe 3 in Bernal Heights, on the corner of Mission and Richland, I ordered out two pupusas – Queso, and Chicharrón y Queso ($1.95 each if taken out, $2.50 if dined in). My car was bathed with a pancakey tortilla scent that made me salivate all the way home...

My order, totaling $4.23, came with a side of curtido – a Salvadoran pickled cabbage mix with onions, carrots, and a hint of lemon juice with a dash of cilantro. It also was accompanied by a mild, watery tomato salsa.

The pupusa itself is a thick, hand-made corn tortilla made with masa de maiz (maize flour dough), giving it its density. The cheese is quesillo, a soft white cheese found in South America and can be ordered with ground, paste-like pork, or spinach or zucchini – although Queso and Chicharrón y Queso are the most popular.

One thing I know for sure is that I'll definitely be coming back for more..

Location:

Balompie #3
3801 Mission Street, San Francisco
11am-10pm
Closed Tuesdays
Saturday / Sunday: 9am-10pm

Balompie Cafe
3349 18th Street, San Francisco
8am-9:30pm Everyday





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