Pupuseria y Cafeteria is a small restaurant and grocery on the side of Cedar Grove Road in Greenville, about a seven-minute drive from Furman. The place is distinctive in that it’s Salvadorian, so if you are looking for authenticity and some pupusas, it’s the place to go.
You should probably brush up on Spanish if you decide to visit. It’s the primary language spoken there, and the workers only knew a bit of English. Although there are a few English menus, the Spanish one give much more detailed descriptions of the food.
While you wait for your food, you can explore the grocery section of the restaurant, which features a variety of Latin American sodas and beverages. The most unique were probably guava soda and aloe vera, and they also sell water in flavors like horchata, flaxseed, passionfruit, and tamarind.
The English menu is deceptively simple, using one word descriptions such as “pork” or “seafood.” Although the menu is not very descriptive, it’s worth taking a risk to order something you know little about. Some of the more interesting items on the menu are the types of soups, while include oxtail, tripe, and tongue. My roommates and I decided to be adventurous and all order different things to share. We ordered the pork, cheese, and bean pupusa; the Costa Rica; and shrimp.
Pupusas are almost like pancakes with filling. The ones I ordered at the restaurant were bland and smaller than I expected, but it came with homemade slaw and salsa to add flavor. Overall, the pupusa alone wasn’t very filling since it didn’t come with beans or rice, but it only cost $3.
The rest of the items on the menu cost between $5 and $10. The Costa Rica is an egg cooked to order over rice. There are a few different varieties which include meat and cheese, but my roommate went with the simplest version: white rice mixed with cilantro and black beans, two eggs, and half an avocado. It was very good, and you really can’t go wrong with this meal. You get a reasonable serving, and it’s certainly filling enough for lunch or dinner.
The shrimp came with black beans and a small salad. The type of salad you can get varies; you can order a regular salad with lettuce and tomatoes, a cabbage salad with basil, or a potato and beets salad. My roommate ordered the cabbage with basil and was overwhelmed by the amount of basil they put on the salad. The shrimp was grilled normally, and, although good, there was nothing special about the way it tasted.
Pupuseria y Cafeteria is a deceptively simple restaurant worth the risk simply for the authentic Salvadorian food experience you get there, and the shop is worth checking out too.