Yet another wonderful dining experience on the west side of Indy. Actually, another wonderful dining experience in the same little center that has Saigon and Cairo Cafe- what a trifecta! We were a little wary of Guatelinda because some of the remarks on the Indy Ethnic Food site gave us the impression that there might be a communication barrier. However, we felt welcome and the waitress met us halfway with the Spanish/English exchanges. In fact, the menu even has nice English descriptions on it. Of course, when all else fails, there is always pointing or gesturing.
Upon seating ourselves, our waitress brought us a basket of chips and a cup of salsa with individual bowls that we could pour it into. Granted we were famished but, the chips and salsa seemed exceptionally good and fresh. We then proceeded to order quite a lot of food. Mrs. WYA! went with the lunch entree of Chicken Mole (pollo en mole). Mr. WYA! decided to make a meal out of several items on the appetizer menu. He chose the chorizo sope, the chicken empanada, and the pupusa. Their front window boasts "pupusas" so how could we not try them? We enjoyed a Spanish version of "Wheel of Fortune" on TV while waiting for our food. Mrs. WYA! was very satisfied with her chicken mole which came with a good side of rice. The only minor issue she had with it was that the chicken was still on the bone. The mole sauce is too runny to have the option of picking the meat up and cutting it off the bone was a bit awkward but it tasted so good that it was worth it. She also had one of the pupusas which was one of the big stars of the meal.
The pupusas, flat cornmeal cakes pressed together to enclose a tasty filling, were incredible. Filling, yet inexpensive. The sope, at a bargain $3.50, was a crunchy sopapilla wafer with an incredible and generous chorizo topping (if you don't care for chorizo, a variety of other toppings are available). It is then topped with shredded lettuce and sour cream. The taste of it is worth the west side trip no matter where you live. The chicken empanada was good, but after the explosion of flavor from the sope and pupusa, it seemed a little ordinary.
We paid at the front counter, where the cashier somehow manages to keep the checks straight, and left feeling very full and very contented. (by the way, they also had a breakfast menu that looked interesting)
3107 Lafayette Rd.
Indianapolis, IN
317.926.5791
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4 comments:
The papusas are a must for Central American cuisine. They really should be State Fair food...fried corn meal...how can you go wrong? I hope you put the slaw and tomato sauce on top of it, which is how it is eaten. My wife was in the Peace Corps in Guatemala and introduced me to the ways of the papusa.
They were sooooooooo good. Actually, we had a few bites of the slaw but didn't know that we were supposed to put it on top. It had some kick to it.
So, are pupusas strictly a sidedish or a meal unto themselves? How many are considered a serving? I was in El Salvador recently but didn't know what I was eating half the time. So now I'm catching up. Is chuco served? (Chuco is a soupy, but savory, drink of heated corn, with beans or spices added for flavor.)
Two or three pupusas would probably make for a filling meal unto themselves. We don't remember seeing chuco but we certainly could have missed it on the menu.
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