I'll start with deserts, restaurants, fast food chains and finish with when the food is served.
Deserts everything sweet hot and cold.
Empanadas - Are plantains that are mashed and mixed flour, that are then filled with cream or re-fried beans, then deep fried and sprinkled with sugar. Now I know what you're probably thinking "How is this a desert if it has re-fried beans in it?" I can't say if being turned away from it is cultural or just personal, but please don't judge them before you try them. The beans give a salty taste, but it compliments the plantains. Think of them like the Salvadorean version of chocolate covered pretzels, sweet but yet salty.
Cream filled
Bean filled
Paletas - The Salvadorean version of pop sickles (by the way when I say "version of" I'm compering it to the American version of things) the difference is this is natural, I'm not like saying you should eat it. When I say natural for something back home, I really meant it, El Salvador is a small country so production of food for the country is at a level were steroids and chemicals are not needed and/or massed produced. Back to topic so it's like frozen juice, with fruit in it sometime. The list of flavors is ALL of them.\
The fruit in the pic is called zapote, I'm not sure how to explain how it taste like nut it's good.
Minutas - This is shaved ice, but we took it to a whole new level, natural syrups that are loaded with sugar, then you can choose as many as you want, fruit, and caramel or a cream, not whipped cream but like more like condensed milk. It's good don't judge.
Arroz con leche - Milk pudding, I don't understand how this makes sense in English but whatever. So this is boiled rice with condensed milk and cinnamon. Can be served cold or hot.
Tres leche - Is a cake that has tree types of milk: condensed, evaporated, and half and half. This is use for as topping then soaks the cake, making it super sweet and moist, and sometimes topped with cherries.
Semitas - A pastry filled with fruit jam, of different types of fruits like pineapple, guava, and dulce de atado or panela if you're familiar with that term. Now dulce de atado is refined cane sugar that is boiled then harden. The pastry it self is sweet and flat, in a way it's like a strudel, sometimes it's also covered with sugar on top.
Torrejas - This is a dish that is served during Easter, El Salvador like most of Central America is mostly Catholic so different holidays have spacial food like any culture. Torrejas are a from of simple tasting French toast, covered with a syrup made from the dulce de atado, that I mentioned on the semitas part, and cinnamon.
Nuegados - They can be made from yuca: these are soft and need to be eaten hot, corn flour ones are toasted, or egg that are big and soft, they all have to be eaten with the syrup, that is made from dulce de panela/atado
This is nuegados with chilate: a corn based drink, that has no flavor but balances out the sweetness of the syrup.
Hojuelas - Is a large but thin and light fried dough made from grain flour, when it's fried air bubbles are made. They are covered in syrup, that is made from cinnamon. These are mostly served during the Day of the Dead in El Salvador November 1st, this day is like Halloween in the USA.
Orejas - These are a flaky crust type of pastry that is covered with sugar, the best ones are when the sugar caramelizes on the crust. Orejas in Spanish means ear and that explains the odd shape of the pastry.
Espumillas - Eggs yolks whipped with sugar and cinnamon, that's dried and harden.
Quesadillas - These are not like Mexican quesadillas, these are our version of corn bread but more sweet, and covered in sesames seeds.
Budin de pan, budin de banana - Is bread and banana pudding and if you haven't tasted one ever, I feel bad for ya. But back to food there's no big difference from other types of pudding ... so yeah.
Flan - Most people know what it is, and I have no idea how to describe it.
Poleadas - Milk with eggs, cinnamon, and maizena: a corn powder, sometimes raisins. A hot desert that's served in the afternoon.
Frutas tronadas -
Suspiros - These are like our version of wafers but sweeter, I know cause I've tried them and suspiros are sweeter whether they're manufactured or freshly baked.
**Disclaimer I do not work for, own, sponsor, or get paid for talking about these restaurants and fast food chains. This blog is only to talk about things that are in El Salvador.**
When I talk about restaurants I'm talking about places that are only in El Salvador and/or Central America.
Pollo Campero - Our version of KFC, so fried chicken, french fries and coleslaw, one of my favorite restaurants back home. If you live in the US there are some places where there are Pollo Campero, but it doesn't taste the same as in El Salvador.
Mister Donut - This place is a doughnut place, but also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner that uses dishes from El Salvador and if you go to other countries in Central America they'll use that county's foods.
Fun fact: this pic is From El Salvador, the building on the right hand corner is the Stadium Cuscatlan.
The green frosted ones are my favorite.
Los Cebollines - A Mexican food chain, really good tacos.
Biggest - A bugger place, really good chicken sandwiches and curly fries.
La Neveria - Is an ice-cream shop with everything and anything on ice cream that you can think of.
Pollo Real - Roasted chicken and other things, sorry guys I don't really like this place but everyone else I know likes it.
sorry for no food pics.
Lido - Is a bakery with a lot of manufactured products. This is the one place I know it's only in El Salvador.
Fast food chains, just insuring the obvious here also I'm sure some people are scared to try new things so this part is just to let you know that you can find a little bit of the usual in a different place. You can find them everywhere.
McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars, Wendy's, China Wok and there are probably more since I've been there.
Now when what is served, this is just to let you guys know what you can find at most restaurants.
Pupusa: All day long, you can have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Pasteles de carne: lunch and dinner
Tamales: dinner and breakfast, but you can have it for lunch too
Sopas: lunch only
Yuca: lunch only
Panes con chumpe: Most places will only serve them for lunch, maybe dinner, but there are places that served them all day long.
and that's all I have for now, sorry guys that it took me a month to finish this hope you like it and I'll see you this Sunday with places around the capital that are must sees.
