BARRINGTON’S JAMAICAN KITCHEN

By Haydee Barahona

If you’re craving Salvadoran food during your night out downtown, El Cuscatleco, located at 1528 18th St., is the place to eat.

As an appetizer, we started with platanos fritos, fried plantains served with sour cream and refried beans. The restaurant also serves pupusas, the country’s plato tipico, or traditional dish.

“This is the most popular meal in El Salvador,” said server Beatriz Herrera.

The pupusas can be made with corn or rice flour tortilla, stuffed with cheese, beans and your choice of meat. Customers can also order their pupusas stuffed with vegetables like zucchini or loroco, an edible herb native to El Salvador.

Herrera served the pupusas with a cabbage slaw called curtido, and salsa. To complete our meal, we also ordered a sweet soda called Cola Champagne.

El Cuscatleco definitely brings the taste of El Salvador to Bakersfield.