La Guanaquita

Had a dinner there.  EXCELLENT chcken fajita entree served on a sizzling iron skillet. The onions and green peppers may have been a tad overcooked, but the strips of chicken breast meat and the sauce were enough to give the overall food quality 5  stars.  

The side of refried beans and rice was average.  I didn't like the pupusa style (pancake like)  tortillas that came with it, Mexican style soft flour tortillas would have been better, but I didn't specify when I ordered.

Sides are served on ceramic plates.  Stainless steel utensils.  Bottled and canned sodas from a cooler up front.

The chips served up front were very good, thin, fresh, not too oily, not too salty.  The dipping salsa that came with the chips was EXCELLENT, fresh, with cilantro, just the right amount of chunkiness, not watery, just the right amount of spice/bite.

At first I thought the fajitas were under seasoned, so I added some green hot sauce from a bottle on the table. "Salsa Brava", by "Picamas" brand, and it was pretty good.  I'm going to look for it next time groery shopping.

But there was sauce in the skillet underneath the chicken, and all I had to do was mix it up, and it made the fajita dish 98.5% PERFECT.  (1.5% off for the over-done onions/geeen peppers.) So I didn't need to add the bottled sauce after all.

The chips/dip, and the entree, with beans and rice was a large portion, enough to fill up a hungry big guy like me.  Unfortunately, I had also ordered an appetizer of guacamole, that also came with a few chips (not as many as in the basket of chips that was served up front). But it was so good it was worth getting stuffed.  I polished that off before the entree arrived;  it was EXCELLENT.  It was not the usual style of smooth paste-like or creamy guacamole dip that you normally get at Americanized Mexican restaurants.  This was a chunky style, with chunks of very fresh and just-the-right ripeness avocados, with chunks of fresh tomatoes, and little bits of chopped onions.  It also had just a  touch of citrus, either lime or lemon, and just enough creaminess to stick together and stay on the chip.

Overall, the food was so good I should have asked the cook to sign my belly with a magic marker!

The waitress seemed fluent in English, but wasn't quite attentive enough,  though they were busy, with both dine-in and carry out customers.

The landlord finally re-paved that shopping center.  No more pot holes!

I tried this place based on the positive Yelp reviews. I thought it was just "okay." Not bad if you're looking for a cheap lunch, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again.

Also... You can't use a debit or credit card for orders under $10. So, bring cash, if you plan on eating light...

Best pupusas in the city. Really great simple Salvadorian menu. Great friendly staff.