Ara’s Kitchen: Pooh-poohing the pork-poor pupusa

I hate it when a good meal goes bad. Really, it depresses me.

I had been anticipating chowing down on the pupusas at Ara’s Kitchen at the Farmer’s Market since my job first moved downtown. I had eaten my first pupusa over a year ago at Jaragua, so knew full well the joys of plump pillows of grilled masa filled with warm, oozy cheese (not to be confused with uzi cheese you’d eat on sub(machine gun) sandwiches). Sept. 3rd happened to be the Farmer’s Market’s 30th anniversary, so what better time to engage in pupusa engorgement?

I didn’t really account for two factors, which made for less than optimal pupusa-making. First, the day was too freakin’ hot — making everyone cranky and the process hurried. Second, because of the anniversary celebration, the market was glutted with more folks than usual, increasing demand on the usually busy kitchen.

I should have taken video of the lady making pupusas. It was fascinating to see her fill a “cup” of masa dough in her hands with the cheese mixture, work it into a ball and then slap it down with authority, rotating it onto the searing hot griddle. I’d hate to meet her across an arm wrestling table.

Ara’s is also known for their variety of freshly made aguas frescas and horchata. I opted for the lemon-lime mint drink, so refreshing that I wanted to yell, “Look, it’s Jonathan Gold!” and then make off with the massive drink jar under one arm while all were distracted. The mint revitalized my wilting spirits as I waited, melting in the relentless sun.

Back at my office one block away, the feasting fell a little flat. The first few bites of the cheese and loroco (a Central American vine flower bud) were decent — delicately herby; texture-wise though, the pupusa was rather flimsy. The cornmeal wrapper was on the soggy side, having steamed in the to-go foil.

The curtido — a vinegary, pickled cabbage relish — is traditionally eaten on top of the pupusa, but I preferred it as a slaw on the side. Deliciously crisp and sour, it’s a sharp contrast to the mild cheese. (Note: I took curtido home as leftovers and found it to be an acceptable sub for kimchee with my spicy ramen. Score!)

I must admit to ignorance with the pork pupusa. I did not realize initially that traditional Salvadorean cuisine uses a pork paste (of ground pork, onions, tomatoes, pepper and salt) called chicharron (not to be confused with the fried pork rinds of the same name) in its pork pupusas, so I was expecting a chewy, meat-filled treat. It was not to be. Suspecting that something was amiss, I pulling the pupusa open, only to reveal a few red flecks inside.

Was there some mistake? I’m no stranger to pork products in paste form (Vietnamese cha lua steams the paste into a chub “loaf”), so I’m not married to traditional pork textures, but I was expecting some actual swine-centric flavor. This pupusa was overdone on the outside, pasty on the inside and tasted nothing of pork. I think in this instance, the rush to fill orders caused mine to get short shrift.

I think I hid it well, but I was crushed. I used up crucial portions of my belly for this meal, which just left me unsatisfied. Excellent curtido and agua fresca aside, I think I’ll try some other market eats before trying the pupusa at Ara’s again.

Ara’s Kitchen
Farmer’s Market
Downtown LA (Little Tokyo)
Thursdays

Tagged as: Farmer's Market, pupusa, Review, Salvadorean