Salvadorean food doesn’t immediately come to mind when planning a birthday celebration.
But it was time for my friend Tricia and me to celebrate our annual Scorpio lunch, and it was only fair that we chose an eatery on her side of town this go-round.
I had no idea what to expect.
Cabanas Salvadorean Restaurant is well outside of downtown Aiken, near several Aiken County governmental services buildings and wide tracts of open land. Inside and out, it’s no frills—simple booths upholstered in dark red, with a handful of matching chairs at wooden tables. But at 12:30 p.m., it was already full, inside and out on a side patio on this cold day, with people happily eating.
Our waitress brought us a couple of paper menus; there’s also a “secret” menu written on a whiteboard behind the cash register—featuring Salvadorean tamales, taquitos, a grilled taco salad bowl, soups, street tacos, desserts like tres leches or a sweet quesadilla—and plenty of entrée photos displayed, should you have any questions.
Tricia had been several times, and while she was explaining what she liked, I went ahead and ordered my drink, a tall glass of rice milk, which was cold, creamy, rich and speckled with cinnamon.
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Our waitress stopped by several times to check on us as we were deciding, and I liked her approach of fast and attentive service.
So, we started ordering. The menu is huge and many of the entrees are unfamiliar, so it helped to have a regular at my table. The restaurant serves breakfast items, which, interestingly, include ham and Cubano sandwiches; tajadas, or fried green banana slices served with a choice of protein; entrees featuring a choice of protein with rice, beans, salad and tortillas; baleadas, or a folded tortilla stuffed with a variety of fillings; a classic American kids’ menu; and specialities, including chicken cooked in vermouth wine with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, steak with buttered shrimp and three sides; even chicken cordon bleu.
Tricia highly recommended the pupusas, which are flat, filled tortillas served with a cabbage relish and tomato salsa. We went with just cheese, but you could also include beans, spinach, zucchini, pork or loroco (edible buds and flowers from a vine that’s widespread in El Salvador).
For our entrees, Tricia said she often ordered the mofongo relleno, and the description is even more unusual than the name. It’s a bowl made of mashed green plantains and spices that’s fried, then turned upside down over your choice of chicken, fried pork or shrimp. I had to try it. Meanwhile, she went with our waitress’ suggestion of breakfast for lunch, with the katracho, choosing steak with scrambled eggs, rich, beans, plantains, fresh cheese, Salvadorean crema, avocado and tortillas.
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I could have made a meal of the pupusas. I loved the soft, salty, chewy cheese sandwiched between grilled tortilla, both with the spicy red sauce and the crunchy and lightly tangy cabbage slaw.
The mofongo was a gotta-try dish only because it’s so unusual. The taste itself is starchy and heavy—I equate it to rice, since it seems like it’s really designed to be eaten with meat and sauce to give it flavor. The salty fried pork was just a little too crispy and chewy—next time, I might try chicken or shrimp. It was served, glamorously, with an oily tangy red onion dressing in a silver server; I forked a generous amount of the marinated and crunchy red onions onto each bite.
Since we were sharing everything, I also got to sample Tricia’s, and hers was my kind of breakfast. The thin, chargrilled steak with its beefy flavor, the tender eggs cooked with tomatoes and onions, the creamy refried beans, the flavored rice, the soft mild cheese and cool fresh avocado, the light crema that went well with everything—it was a grand meal.
We cheered each other through another birthday, another year. My only question: Where would I take her when my turn came around again?
Make Your Reservation
Cabanas Salvadorean Restaurant
1625 Richland Ave. E, Aiken
www.facebook.com/CabanasSalvadorean/
Open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Cost: $4.49 to $19.99
