Pupusas pop up downtown at El Cuscatleco

It’s always a good day when you can report new businesses opening, especially when it happens in vacant spaces.

There are new tenants for the 18th Street building that is probably best known as the home of Fishlips that was later split into Centro 18 and Boss Pizza. After those two restaurants closed, Hot Pot Spot, which unfortunately opened right before the pandemic, tried to survive in the smaller spot left by the fast-casual pizza spot but it didn’t make it.

Calling the building home now are El Cuscatleco, a Salvadoran/ Mexican spot that just opened in that space, and Off The Rails, a craft beer tap lounge and bottle shop set to open next month. (We’ll have more on the latter closer to its opening date.)

The shining star of El Cuscatleco’s menu is its pupusas, which

come in 14 varieties and can also be made with rice flour. Do yourself a favor and try the pupusa cuscatleca, which is stuffed with the best options: chorizo, cheese, jalapeño, loroco (a Central American plant), beans and ground pork. The Salvadoran flatbread is filled with just enough of each ingredient for a spicy melange but stays tightly contained.

Along with the pupusas, the server will bring out the curtido (cabbage slaw) and vinegary hot sauce that are the dish’s traditional companions, offering a contrast to the rich pupusa. The

chili oil among the table’s condiments adds great heat to the dish when drizzled on in moderation.

And with a price range of $3.50 to $5.99 (40 cents extra for rice flour), you can fill up on these hearty pupusas without breaking the bank.

El Cuscatleco, which means “the Salvadoran,” also offers regional entrees (ranging from $14.99 to $18.50) like the bistec ami pais (flat steak sauteed with bell pepper, onion and tomato); pechuga encebollada (grilled chicken breast marinated in onion) and pechuga en crema (chicken breast cooked in the restaurant’s special cream sauce); carne deshebrada (shredded beef mixed with bell pepper and onion); and salpicon de res (diced beef mixed with tomato, onion, radish, mint and fresh lemon).

The menu also includes an assortment of seafood dishes and soups as well as typical Mexican fare (even molcajetes) for less-adventurous diners.

Breakfast is also served with options like huevos rancheros and T-bone steak and eggs as well as the desayuno tipico (a cheese and pork pupusa served with plantain, eggs and rice with beans for $12.99) and the desayuno El Cuscatleco (steak, chorizo, rice with beans, plantain with sour cream, cheese, avocado and two tortillas for $17.99). There is also an American breakfast ($12.25) with eggs, hash browns, bacon, ham and bread.

The tortillas, which have the same base as the pupusa, are thick enough to run through the thin refried black beans that are served on the side of many entrees.

Fried plantains, which you can order with those beans and sour cream ($7.50), are a tasty side option if you’re not afraid of a carb overload.

Jamaica ($3), served in a generous cup was a nice sweet contrast to the saltiness of the pupusas.

Service was friendly and efficient.

According to its Instagram page (@el_cuscatleco_), a DJ plays on Fridays and Saturdays to get the party started.

El Cuscatleco (1525 18th St.) is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit elcuscatlecorestaurante.com for more information.