Several blank faces stared back at me when I brought up pupusas at our Talisman web staff meeting. No one in the room had heard of them. Then it hit me — I wasn’t sure I could even properly describe a pupusa myself.
I turned to Instagram stories, asking friends how they would describe pupusas to someone unfamiliar. Responses ranged from “Salvadoran hot pocket” and “thick stuffed corn tortilla” to “meat pancake” and “heavenly.” They pretty much nailed it. Pupusas are fluffy, cheesy and savory hotcakes that earn the hype.
Pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador, but are common across Central America, particularly in Honduras and Guatemala. According to the team at Azúcar Restaurant, the word pupusa is derived from the Nahuatl language, meaning “stuffed.”
The dough is made from masa, or corn flour. Pupusas always come with a filling, most commonly a white, stringy cheese. You can add to the cheese with combinations of beans, seasoned pork, squash, or loroco, an edible flower native to Latin America.
But slow down. It’s not just the pupusas that make the pupusa experience. Your plate should always come with curtido, a Salvadoran slaw. Unlike southern coleslaw, curtido is fermented, which gives it an earthy zest, and there are often jalapenos in the mix for a little kick.
John Conley, an English professor at WKU, first said that Bowling Green had great Salvadoran food. I was standing outside his office when a quick Google search showed five pupusa spots within a mile of campus. I decided to taste-test three of them, and I wasn’t disappointed.
La Placita Antojitos
830 Old Morgantown Road
La Placita has the bones of an old 1950s drive-up diner, the likes of which you’d see in old movies or TV shows like “American Graffiti” or “Happy Days”. It even has an open kitchen, complete with a big flat-top grill like the ones at Waffle House. I ordered a pupusa with queso con frijoles (beans and cheese) for $1.69 and one that was chicharron y queso (pork and cheese) for $1.99.
I grabbed a small table right next to the kitchen while I waited for my food. This is one of those restaurants that feels lived-in, in a good way. Irvin Gonzalez, the cashier, said that his father was the owner and that they’ve been open for nine years. You could see years of tradition add up through the restaurant’s decor. Every inch of the place is hand-painted. A column by the register has collected foreign currency from around the world and a colorful stereo in the corner surrounded by knick-knacks as it cranks out some banging Latin tunes that keep the staff moving and smiling.
As I waited for my food, more customers came and ordered, mostly in Spanish. I could tell Gonzalez was familiar with most of them. To me, regulars are always a good sign when trying out a new place.
There were three salsas on the table: a sweet tomato salsa, an earthy green jalapeno salsa, and a smoky chipotle salsa that was orange, suggesting that habanero peppers were involved
I loved watching the cooks in the kitchen work in the open environment. The pupusas are patted out and stuffed by hand before being grilled on the seasoned flat-top.
The cook brought me my plate and asked if I wanted curtido. When I said yes, he reached into a cooler and put down a whole vacuum-sealed tub with tongs on my table, letting me help myself as much as I wanted. Naturally, I loaded up.
I tried a bite of everything. Then I covered both pupusas with curtido and salsa and went at it. Man, were they good. These pupusas were thick and steamy. The bean and cheese was excellent and versatile — I could see myself enjoying one at any time of day. However, the pork was my favorite. It was packed with flavor and texture from the gooey cheese to the crisp and spicy pork.
I left La Placita extremely satisfied for under $6. Well worth the value.
Taquería Los Vázquez
850 Morgantown Road
Walking up to the restaurant, the first things I noticed were a shaded parking lot, a breezy screened-in porch, and a drive-thru window which can really come in clutch when you’re running errands, especially in a town as spread out as Bowling Green.
TaquerÍa Los Vásquez had a modern feel inside; it was very clean and organized. The walls are painted a vibrant orange for an uplifting atmosphere. The kitchen was not visible, but I could hear Spanish love ballads booming from the back. In the dining room, a TV played the news at a low volume. I would have preferred to only hear music, but overall TaquerÍa Los Vásquez is a beautiful restaurant with a great atmosphere.
After I placed my order at the register, I was invited to take a number and sit anywhere. I ordered a loroco pupusa. Exciting because I hadn’t tried one yet.
I overheard a young man say that he drives around thirty-five minutes just to eat there. He was talking about how he couldn’t decide if he liked avocado salsa or jalapeno salsa more. I made sure to let Luis Vasquez, the young man who took my order and who was managing the floor with great diligence, know that I would definitely want to try all the salsas with my pupusa.
Vasquez brought me the salsas. The lineup appeared similar to that of La Placita, but the tastes were very different. Here, the smoky chipotle sauce was more spicy, while the jalapeno sauce was less spicy. They also had a fourth option of an avocado salsa that was creamy with a nice thick texture.
The loroco pupusa was delicious and very different. I had Louis show me what the loroco flower looked like uncooked. The loroco flower is small and thick like a succulent with bulbs at the end, almost like a broccolini. It’s cooked before going into the pupusa so that it’s not too tough and fibrous. It has a vegetable flavor and is lightly sweet. Paired with the cheese, it reminded me of a delicious broccoli casserole. The pupusa itself was thicker, chewier, and cheesier than the first ones I had. This pupusa was more hearty, but you pay a little more at $2.70.
Delicias Los Amigos
204 Woodford Ave.
This restaurant immediately gave off tropical vibes with hand-painted palm trees and beachside scenes adorning the windows and walls. The restaurant is attached to Mercadito Hispano, a market specializing in Latin American products, baked goods and meats. The market and restaurant used to be under the same ownership, but the restaurant has been operating under separate management for the last two years. The current owner, Elvis López, is Guatemalan.
I ordered another bean and cheese pupusa at the counter. The food took a little longer to come out of the kitchen than I expected, but I enjoyed looking over the artwork and strolling through the market where I chatted with the butcher. The donuts and pastries there looked amazing, and if you’re looking to kill some time, the restaurant has a few slot machines in a corner to add energy and vibrancy to the room.
The pupusa plate itself came with a side of light, sweet tomato salsa, which I found to be the most consistent offering between all three restaurants. The cashier also delivered two more bottles of house-made sauces, a spicy habanero and a green salsa that had both avocado and jalapenos as its base — almost a hybrid of some of the others I tried. The green salsa here was my personal favorite across all three restaurants.
This pupusa was perhaps a little smaller and still not as cheesy as the one I had at Taqueria Los Vasquez, but it definitely slapped. The curdito at Los Amigos was scrumptious and added so much depth of flavor.
Living up to its namesake, the pupusa at Delicias Los Amigos was absolutely delicious. If I had to choose, this might have been my favorite of the tour based on flavor alone, but I should note that it was the most expensive of the three with my one pupusa coming out to $3.55 after tax.
Exploring new foods like pupusas isn’t just about getting down on good food — it can give you a glimpse into the richness and traditions of other cultures. By visiting small, local businesses like these in Bowling Green, we can gain more appreciation for the diversity that thrives in our own backyard. Supporting these family-owned shops not only generates small business success but builds connections to the people and cultures around us.
Next time you’re craving something new, step out of your comfort zone, try a pupusa, and learn more about the people who bring such vibrant flavors to your community. You’ll not only be rewarded with a great meal, but a reminder of how beautiful and complex it is to be where you are at any given moment. After you take that first bite, take a second and think of all the things that had to happen for you to be eating a pupusa in Bowling Green.
