Hey white person... What's the best food you've never had..? Well obviously you need to get yourself some papusas..
Don't worry white person.. they speak English in here. And a little FYI before you tell them that papusa's are you new favorite Mexican food... It's actually El Salvadorian food.
Their papusa's are muy delicioso. Just for context I'll let you know that I'm also a white person. Eat your papusa's while they're hot and fresh, if you take home and let them cool down... They're just not as good.
I've been to El Guanaco 2 or 3 times, each time coming back thinking the experience will be different/ better. I am totally disappointed! The service I was given was horrible! Every time my family and I have been served by the same waitress lady (I think they only have one waitress, since its a small place). She is rude, mean, inconsiderate and always in a bad attitude. I personally will never be returning here again. We are the customers and we are paying for our food, we deserve to be treated right. Very bad customer service, we as customers are paying for the food, but also for the service...I would never recommend this place, and like I said before never will be returning here!
Review Source:This place has its ups and downs.
The good: I've never had pupusas before, so I'm obviously not the best judge, but I really liked they way this place made them. The fact that you had options and that the staff was really patient explaining everything to us constitute check marks in my book. The tortilla chips are AMAZING, you can tell they came right out of the frier in the kitchen. Their salsas are also quite good. All in all, the food we had was good. I love how everything is pretty cheap and sold individually os you can kind of piece together your own combo platter for a relatively small cost.
The Bad: So the menu has some things that are a little misleading. I ordered this thing that had a spanish description and thought was some type of traditional type of food, and basically it was fried pork cubes on a skewer with bottled bbq sauce. That was rather unfortunate as the other El Salvadoran items were quite good. Maybe it was my fault for not being able to read Spanish, but a 5 star place should be good for everyone. Also, everything except the tamals were deep fried; it would be nice to have some other nonartery-clogging options on the menu.
All in all I'd go back; I think knowing what the items are and what to avoid is really the drill here.
I first had pupusas at an outdoor festival in Brooklyn and fell in love. Â El Guanaco is the first place I've found pupusas in Chicago. Â There are delicious and so cheap! Â I like the vegetarian options, but my husband was a huge fan of the chicharon-filled pupusa. Â I haven't tried anything else on the menu yet, but when the pupusas are this good I'm not sure when I'll get around to other items.
Review Source:Disclaimer* Â I am a graduate student who is fairly broke. Â When I do not cook mac n' cheese at home I look for a cheap place to grab eats!
That being said, this place is great. Â After recently moving to Logan Square I have been searching Yelp to find places that I can fill my tummy while keeping my wallet relatively full.
This place is not not going to wow you with its interior, however it is not attempting to be something it is not.
After walking in I looked at a menu and my eyes bulged. Â $3.50 for a burrito. Â This thing has to be tiny right? Â I ordered my food and water ($3.83 out the door with chips) and went to sit at my table, I was brought some chips to snack on with salsa. Â Salsa was decent and chips were very flaky (which I liked).
Then about 10 minutes later...
My moster of a burrito came out. Â Whats that? oozing cheese and chicken? Â Yes please, thank you very much.
I munched on my burrito, tried to guess how much a 1700's sword would be worth while watching Pawn Stars, and then waddle to my bike to ride home.
NOT BYOB
El Guanaco is my shit.
Okay I have to give credit where credit is due. I freaking LOVE this spot. HUGE burritos, DELICIOUS pupusas, and its super AFFORDABLE! Alright I'm done with the caps, I think you get the picture. I love the mom & pop feel, and I especially love the prices. The food was flavorful, the service was fast. Stop by, see for yourself. Screw any negative reviews, go! If we don't support our neighborhood businesses the next thing you know there will be a chipotle taking over then we're all screwed.
EL GUANACO!!!!!
This is my go-to spot for pupusas in the city..... and.... they deliver! Â The first time I came here, myself and 3 others ate like kings for around $45 dollars total including beverages.
I'm Salvadorean and have high expectations for my pupusas. El Guanaco is absolutely authentic; just like the ones my aunts and grandmother make. Delicious! Revueltas and Loroco ( a flower bud... sounds gross but it is so good. Kind of tastes like spinach) are my faves. But it doesn't stop there. This place has the BEST yuca frita I have ever had, period. I also recommend trying their different juices, really good.
If you are looking for fancy schmancy, this is not your place. But if you are looking for delicious, home-cooked, authentic Salvadorean food this is the place for you!
Side note: the main waiter speaks limited English, so it is helpful if you have basic Spanish skills. However, the owner's nephew/ son (?) is bilingual and is usually around, so you should be fine if Spanish isn't your fortay.
This place is great
so we have been craving Papusa's for a few weeks now and all attempts have failed at getting them till today
we did a search and headed to the city to get some yummy Papusa and that yummy spicy slaw for me
we got like 4 different types of Papusa's and some Plantains, the Plantains came out with refried beans and sour cream that was a little different than I am used but but it worked oh so well
I loved all the Papusa's we got the Jalapeño one was my favorite I think, and the cheese they use really made the Papusa's taste delish, we told the guy where we lived and he told us of a Salvadorian place closer to us that isn't on yelp yet, we will have to try it out and change that
oh we will be back to try some other stuff also he has a great menu with Mexican, Columbian and Salvadorian food also his sign says that they make Pizza but I didn't see that on the Menu
i came here yesterday, place is kind of odd, there was no waiter, i just got a seat, menu was right on the table took a pick of it and found a big list of mexican dishes ........ so i ask "do you have your menu?" so the guy at the counter told me to turn the page over, salvadorian dishes were there (small list). I had the pupusas..... Â very good and chip $1.5, honestly there is not much to pick here, pupusas were good.
You are on your own here, self service.
Salvadorian Food? to be honest i don't know anything about this country's cuisine, but this place needs the business. My husband and I had walk this place several times so we decided to try it, it is small, i don't even know if there is a bathroom, the manager will also be your waiter and your bus boy.
we had pupusas de loroco, cheeses and shrimo, they were DELICIOUS! fresh, cheesy and crispy.Nicely done!
I was very surprise about the prices, it is very cheap! beans and a plate of avocado for 50 cents? i told the guy that he should raise the prices.... I feel bad that this place is so cheap, eventhough they should improve in customer service their pupusas are very well done. I think for a snack i will have it again, pupusas are like a thick tortilla.
So close to my house, why haven't I stopped in before? This small little Salvadoran place on the outskirts of Logan Square is quaint with lots of potential. Being a first-timer I had no idea what to order, save for I heard the pupusas were good! So, I ordered a pupusa, a chicken tamale and the steak and potato pastel.
The pupusa was good, not the taste explosion previous reviews have hinted at, but definitely good! The pastel was probably my favorite. A flat fried cake with steak and potato, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as greasy on the inside as it looked. The chicken tamale was done in a banana leaf so I had high expectations. It turned out to be soft, almost soggy, and I just couldn't finish it. And I love tamales!
The price is right. You'll eat well for under $10. The atmosphere was just a little lacking and confused. Half dead plants draped over posters of El Salvador, a Jukebox on the counter that wasn't plugged in next to a display of cheap colognes. Being a Salvadoran restaurant in the Square, it has mega-potential. It would just be nice if they realized it with the decor, as they have with their quality food. I will be back! (Or at least to Carry Out).
When my husband and I were first dating he used to live in Logan Square, just down the street from El Guanaco. Â One night when we were hungry and wanting just some quick take out food he asked me if I liked Salvadoran food because there was this great place nearby. Â He had a menu and I looked it over; not recognizing anything, I handed it back to him and said the fateful words, "Order me whatever you order for yourself." Â In response I got the Plato el Guanaco [a pupusa, chorizo, pastel, tamale, plantains, beans, sour cream] and my unrelenting and passionately mad love for El Guanaco was born. Â For reals, this place rules.
This is one of the very few places that I get piercing cravings for that absolutely cannot be satisfied with anything else. Â Since I have gotten pregnant, those cravings have reached a feverish pitch. Â But, this place simply never disappoints. Â We had it last night, and it is totally worth the drive out there and that Plato el Guanaco is the very best meal to be found in Chicago for under 10 bucks.
It is very helpful to speak Spanish when visiting El Guanaco, as on more than one occasion I have been there when one particular gentleman, who although exceptionally nice and sweet, speaks absolutely no English.  And I am fairly certain cannot read Spanish because we pointed to the menu and requested "dos" and he still didn't understand. This is problematic for the husband and I because I'm totally useless in the Spanish department and his Spanish is limited to Obstetrical Medical Spanish.  So he can ask "¿estás sangrado de la vagina?" ["are you bleeding from your hooha?"] but we can't order Pupusas.  Luckily, someone always seems to be lingering over the fine Salvadoran food and is able to assist our white asses.
It's also a good idea to bring cash. Â They do technically take credit cards, but on more than one occasion, that same fine fellow [seriously, SO nice] can't seem to make the credit card transaction. Â So, just take cash and avoid the hassle. Â Just trying to be servicey.
It might seem like a hassle, but I think of it as an adventure. Â And those pupusas are so ridiculously delicious and satisfying that this place has earned every single one of those 5 stars.
I'm with Steve. Here's a little extra to set off that first review!
Steve also knows of what he talks when he speaks of a Pupusa Crave. It's relentless. Luckily we live somewhere where pupusa cravings can actually be tamed by a trip to El Guanaco!! Once a month should do the trick!
So, this was actually my first time here after an 8 year hard core pupusa jones. A friend of my husband's was Salvadoran and his wife had made them for us years ago before they moved... and since then I'd tried recreating them once.... and you might imagine how that worked out... Besides that one failure, I haven't had anything even resembling those delicious filled tortilladough pockets since! But oh have I wanted to!!! But until this very evening, the traffic gods had been far too unkind. So... they threw me a bone today. [Well... actually it was more like, traffic was bad on Kimball so I went west on Diversey and - Â hey! There's that restaurant! There's a parking spot in front! Screech!!!!]
Anyways, I am happy to say that El Guanaco did not let me down! In fact, I am now a fan of the restaurant for more than the pupusas - for the nice service and atmosphere along with the great, cheap food!
I took my children. We ordered 1 Guanaco Plate (pupusa, tamale, beans, chorizo, croquet, and platano), 3 pupusas (1 of each kind), yellow rice and beans for the kids, and jarritos for the kids and a juice for me.
The pupusas were excellent. Of the three varieties - Â cheese/bean/chicharron, loroco, and jalapeno/cheese, the loroco is my favorite. [Loroco is an edible flower... to me the taste is mild and soothing...) I also enjoyed the tamale and was very surprised by how much I liked the croquet! The chorizo was good, too... but heavy and a bit dry.
I loved the plantain. I'm wondering if it were actually a yellow banana. Because it was so sweet and nicely carmelized. Mmmmm dessert. Â Yum! Yeah... I'm pretty sure it was just a banana.
What I absolutely fell in love with was my juice! The maranon. I was not familiar with this and have now looked up the fruit. The maranon is the 'cashew apple' - actually a fruit that grows along with the cashew when it's inside it's husk so that together they look like a deformed yellow pepper... Whatever you call it, it's absolutely a delicious juice especially when someone is incredibly thirsty!
So okay... even though we didn't finish what we had, I ended up ordering 2 more pupusas to go to bring my husband some goodies. I also got him a juice.  And after all that? The  total was $31!!! For 5 pupusas, a whole Guanaco dinner, two rice and beans, two sodas, and two juices. And I must say, the rice and beans were a good size plate AND my juice was huge - 20 oz. That's a lot of freakin' pupusa for your moohla.
And I am soooo full!!!
Buenas noches!!
i'm giving this place a 5 star review to offset the 1 star review to the first poster. Â in actuality this is a 4 star review.
(btw, you come to an el salvadorian restaurant and then complain about the MEXICAN fare. come back and try any of the pupusas. we'll see if that 1 star review you gave this place sticks)
anyways, where to start. how about breakfast: eggs, fried plantains, sour cream, beans, cheese, sausage, and bread for 7 bucks? yes please.
a nice clean establishment where the proprietor obviously takes pride in his business? Â i'll take seconds.
and hey, remember those pupusas i mentioned earlier? Â eat them once and forever be cursed with i call 'the pupusa crave'.
as lunch draws near, the cursing grows more powerful.
"i need some fucking pupusas!!"
This place is a find. Â Across from Kosciuszko Park, El Guanaco gives us a slight taste of Sudamericano. Â I had this place deliver to me one night and I was pleasantly surprised. Â The guy on the phone was really nice and worked with me even though I didn't know my ass from a hole in the ground when ordering Salvadorian food.
I ended up getting one pupusa of each kind, which were all excellent. Â I also got beans and rice and some cabbage. Â What an excellent meal! Â All for under $10. Â Definitely check it out.
in case you haven't been reading the fashion magazines, pupusas are the new black...or are they the new lime green? whatever color they are, they're freakin' delicious. el guanaco specializes in these little round pockets of fun, and at only $1.65-$2 a pop, two or three will fill you up in no time. top them off with some of the pickled cabbage and some hot sauce and you are in salvadoran heaven, mi amigos.
Review Source:I was drawn to visit here as I have driven by this Salvadoran Rest. so many times and it looked like a very cozy little place to experience some unique cuisine.
I finally went there two nights ago. Â Ugh. Â I couldn't find anything that really struck my fancy from the Salvadoran part of the menu, so I ordered off the Mexican part of the menu - chicken enchiladas. Â Ugh. Â The enchiladas were nothing more than rolled up corn tortillas with some "uneven" (sorry, that's the best word I could think of) chicken meat (and very fatty too) in them and NO SAUCE on top of the tortillas and a bit of melted cheese, they were dry, unflavorful and just unappealing in a very bad way, I can't believe they would even sell something so ghetto-bad. Â My guest had a Salvadoran Chicken dish, which although it was better than mine, was still nothing special.
The only thing that this place has going for it is that it's cheap, and I can clearly see why after my unpleasant dining experience here. Â I don't think I'll be returning here and wouldn't recommend that you try it either.....again let me say it, Ugh....
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