PUPUSA U.S.A.
Esmeralda's Café specializes in Salvadoran cuisine
BY JARRET KEENE

In conversation, I sometimes half-jokingly refer to myself as the top Libertarian food critic in Las Vegas. However, such an announcement can result in a serious line of questioning. 

"How do you write about restaurants from a Libertarian perspective?" people ask.

My response: "Bitch about the meal's tax."

My role as a dining columnist often puts me in a contemplative mood. For instance, when I'm savoring a plate of piping-hot pupusas and an ice-cold Suprema (all for under $7) in my favorite Salvadoran joint, I ponder the potential impact on such cuisine and the people around me. What if, say, the government financed a giant wall between Mexico and America and an addition of countless law-enforcement personnel? How would such a massive expansion of government help me, a middle-class American with absolutely no desire to mow lawns?

Ah, to hell with the contemplation. Pass me another pupusa, please.

What's a pupusa? It's basically a skillet-fried pancake of corn tortilla (or masa, maize flour dough) hand-stuffed with meat, cheese and beans. (Kind of like a gordita, but sealed.) The history of the pupusa goes as far back as 3,000 years in El Salavador, but pupusas have only, in the last 50 years, made their way to western America via immigration (legal and illegal, most likely), and can now be enjoyed in places as disparate as San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C. A pupusa-serving establishment is often called, appropriately, a pupuseria. 

Perhaps the best pupuserias in Vegas can be found at Esmeralda's Café No. 1 (1000 E. Charleston Blvd.) and Esmeralda's Café No. 2 (2955 E. Sunset Road). The one on Sunset is newer, and therefore a bit more spruced-up. Both locations, however, are not exactly overflowing with gringos, so be sure and bring a few Spanish words with you. ("El bano" means restroom, FYI.) Oh, and bring your appetite, because Esmeralda's Café is for food-lovers.

There's a significant Mexican population in Vegas, so the menu isn't strictly Salvadoran. But if you stick with the pupusas and a Suprema (or two), you'll feel like you're beachside at the Casa de Mar Resort in Playa Sunzal. You can get your pupusa stuffed with cheese and beans, pork and beans, or revuelta (a mix of pork, cheese and beans). Expect a side of curtido (vinegar-drenched cabbage), which probably won't do much for you. Regardless, pupusas are $1.50 each, and go great with a Salvadoran beer called Suprema ($2.50). Suprema doesn't taste all that great, but it's so thoroughly carbonated that it's almost like drinking soda water. Translation: It goes down quickly. If you have a designated driver with you, go for the 32-ounce Regia ($4.50), a Salvadoran lager.

Still not sold on the whole pupusa thing? Try the steaming hot soups ($6): caldos de pollo (chicken), de res (beef) and de pata (cow foot). The latter may sound gross, but it's actually very good and tastes nothing like, well, feet. Big chunks of carrot, cabbage and meat make these soups worth sampling during the winter months. Otherwise, the menu options are simply good, solid Mexican dishes. Mexican seafood is not something I understand at this point in my life, but I hear Esmeralda's does an admirable job of it.

So make sure and visit one or both of these restaurants when you're in the mood to eat. Who knows, maybe the food will be good enough to make you want to relocate to El Salvador, where, on Nov. 13, the people celebrate the country's best-known dish with an official holiday - Día Nacional de la Pupusa, or National Pupusa Day.

For more info, call Esmeralda's Café No. 1 at 702-388-1404 and No. 2 at 702-451-3233. LW