Costa del Sol
4454 S 84th St, NE 68127
(402) 551-2176
El Salvadoreño/Mexican
Homer: Hello readers and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Glorious Festivus and so on and so forth!
Jordan: Special thanks go out to the few brave souls out there that sent us some food adventure suggestions. Right now you guys have a 50% chance of winning our current contest. For the rest of you busters... send us some restaurant suggestions. If we pick your suggestion, Homer and I will make you dinner. Homer, did you air any grievances this Festivus?
Homer: Yes I did. It turns out that in my search for food Nirvana, all I had to do was go home. Makes the struggle seem less important. Mom food is so Brown it doesn't have a brown label.
Jordan: Mom food is pretty sweet. So for this episode of Brown on the Towne we hit up Costa del Sol, an El Salvadorian eatery.
Homer: WHOA... we have a problem. Does this blog support the tilde? I only ask because when we talk about El Salvadorian food, the food is called El Salvadoreno. But with a tilde
~~~~~~~~~~N
#%%^&*$&^#$!
Jordan: El Salvadoreño!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Booyah!
Homer: All hail the power of Mac.
Geography quiz: without looking at a map, how many of you know where El Salvador is located? Here's is a hint, it is not in Australia.
Jordan: There it is! Now where in the world is Carmen San Diego???
Homer: I got to this restaurant first, and I had a little hesitation because the menu boasts a lot of Mexican cuisine. But knowing where the country is located, it makes sense that they have Mexican food.
Jordan: True, Brown on the Towne Rule #8 states that if non-native food is present on the menu, without good reason, then exit the establishment with much haste.
Homer: For example. Romeo's Mexican Food and Pizza. If you are ever presented with this opportunity, run. Immediately. They are not kidding when they say, "Nacho typical restaurant."
Anyway, back to Costa del Sol. Which means Costa of the Sol for you non-Spanish speakers.
Jordan: I was excited to check this place out in order to experience an El Salvadoreño specialty: pupusas! I have read favorable reviews and descriptions of pupusas since last year and have been curious to see if they were all they were cracked up to be.
Homer: And what exactly is a pupusa?
Jordan: Pupusas consist of a thick, hand-made corn tortilla that can be stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese, refried beans, squash, loroco (a Central American flower bud), squash or fried pork rinds.
Homer: I had a cheese and loroco pupusa. To be honest, I could not taste the loroco. It honestly felt like I was eating a flower.
Jordan: I had a pupusa with everything. Pretty damn tasty. The pupusa has the potential to be the next great street food. They are pretty easy to make and can be made to order, plus they are cheap. Good news for working class chumps like me. The only danger is if the original intent of the pupusa becomes bastardized by some enterprising business major. Ham and Cheese pupusas? Pepperoni Pizza pupusa?? We cannot allow this to happen.
Homer: Wait, hasn't that already happened? Isn't that just a Hot Pocket?
Jordan: DAMN YOU HOT POCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I am shaking my fist in disgust...)
Homer: The pupusa is made from the tortilla Salvadoreña, which is the main staple in Salvadorean food. It seems like all cultures have their signature bread, the go to bread everyone uses as a mainstay of the cuisine. In Mexican food, it is the tortilla. In French food, it is the baguette.
Why is it do you think that American (I mean the Americas here) staple breads are quick breads, and European breads are risen breads?
Jordan: That is an interesting question... My initial feeling is that cultures making use of quick breads are less industrialized than the cultures with risen breads.
Homer: Just something to ponder. So what did you have to eat here?
Jordan: I ordered the Bistec Ranchero, basically skirt steak served with tomatoes, onions and peppers. On the side were rice, refried beans and a couple extra Salvadoreño tortillas.
Homer: No man. The modifier goes after the noun.
Jordan: Lo siento. Tortillas Salvadoreñas...
I admit, I was less impressed with my main dish than I was with the pupusas. The rice and beans were tasty, but there was nothing that stood out about the Bistec Ranchero.
Homer: The beans you had seemed different. I didn't try them but they looked like refried black beans. That idea alone is delicious. I had the "Combination."
This was a combination of grilled meats. I had chicken, beef, shrimp, and chorizo. It was good, but I concur with my fellow "taste" bud that there was nothing that made me salivate from 5 miles away.
The rice was interesting, but it did not have the star power I was looking for in a cuisine.
Jordan: You did have a beverage with some star power.
Homer: YES!!!!
Homer: Kolashampan!
An authentic beverage straight from El Salvador. It tasted like Big Red Soda, but with a Latin flair. No clue how to describe the difference. But it was delicious.
In light of the "troubling economic times" we have been hearing about, I think we should create an economic rating system for these restaurants. What say you?
Jordan: I like this idea... How many times could we eat there until we're broke??
Homer: Good. Good. Look for this feature on our short list.
Jordan: Excellent. Overall I liked the pupusas, and may stop in sometime to get some of those babies to go. Pupusas can be vegetarian friendly for you veggie types out there!!
But not much stood out besides that.
Homer: What do you say? Are we done here? Cause I have a hankering for some falafel.
Jordan: Works for me. Catch you later readers. Remember to send some restaurant suggestions to brownonthetowne@gmail.com or leave us a comment after the post. Keep an eye out for more episodes shortly!
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