Revuelta and Ayote Pupusas Originally uploaded by SauceSupreme
Flipping through Saveur the other day, I noticed that after Mexico, El Salvador sends the highest number of emigrants to Los Angeles. Seattle is no Los Angeles. But, North Broadway has a couple of Mexican restaurants (the under appreciated Galerias and noisy La Puerta) already.
So, it’s fitting that Salvodoran food finally gains some representation in the area. In April 2010, the pedestrian mall at 219 Broadway (home to Table 219, Kimchi Bistro and Hana) will also house the second outpost of Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria.
We spoke to Eduardo Revelo, a member of the family that runs the business, and he confirmed that he hopes to open this second outlet of Guanaco’s Tacos by mid-April. He said that the Capitol Hill location will differ from the University District location in having a bigger kitchen and offering more entrees at dinner. As with the University District location, vegetarian items will be marked clearly on the menu. He plans to be open daily from 11 am to 10 pm and plans to sell beer and wine. He also promises more desserts.
Dumpling Dojo officially opens for business today. They will be open daily at 5:30 pm (closed on Mondays) and will stay open till 10 pm on weekdays or 11 pm on weekends – or until they sell out of their dumplings. They had a soft opening late last week (thanks Quazie) but are now fully open to the public. You can take a look at Quazie’s menu photo for an idea of the seven dumplings on offer (six in wrappers and one is a gnudi “naked” noodle soup). Note that the menu is subject to change and also a bit blurry. Uyen states that she is looking to see which dumplings are most popular: “I’m trying to see which ones are most favorable. I’ll keep the popular ones on my core menu and rotate the others, so it’s likely there will not be as many each night. They are very labor intensive and when you sell 5 to an order time that’s several hundreds if not thousands of dumplings made by hand. I have a small staff and can only work them so hard until there palms are bruised from rolling dough or fingers cramped from folding.” Remember that this is a temporary location for Dumpling Dojo – they will have to move out in a few months to make room for Bank of America. So, if you are close by, give them a try – while they are still conveniently on Broadway.
Guanaco’s is some of the most delicious(and cheap)food I’ve had in Seattle. Now I won’t have to go to the U-dist to get their tasty food anymore!
Underappreciated you say?!?!
I’m sorry, but when I’m anticipating a ‘gourmet’ chile relleno I should not come to find half a can of creamed corn on it. It was, quite literally, repulsive. I’ve been steering friends clear of that joint for years!
Looking forward to Guanaco’s Tacos though.
I think your expectations were unrealistic. “Gourmet” and Broadway rhyme but that is about it.
Tried out the Dumplings Dojo tonight and have mixed feelings about it.
The dumplings were pretty good, but 5 for $10 good? Not sure about that. Another thing I was disappointed about was that it took almost half an hour to get the 10 dumplings my wife and I ordered.
If they speed up the service and lower the prices a bit, it would become one of my favorite spots on the hill.
Wow, 5/$10? That seems a bit pricey. I can’t imagine them being very big, for $10 I would want at least a pretty filling meal. Hmm…I’ll probably try them, but at that price I doubt it’ll become a regular stop for me.
Yes, I was surprised at the price. It makes the $2 you spend at Taco Gringos for a small taco look like a good deal.
but its not in CH really..more belltownish. the food is good, the price was not. I understand this idea of taking cheap streetfood and glamming it up with more adjectives, better ingredients and 225% markup (see po dog, the new vietnam restaurant in madrona, skillet) but with so many options and dumplings avail a direct bus ride away (#60, #9) why settle for less when you can have much more.
Keep it under $10 my dear and you’ll do fine. And hell yeah to Guanaco’s arrival..maybe they get the others to step it up a bit.
I tried both the dumpling place (last night) and Guanaco’s in the U-district the night before. The dumplings were creative and good, but I agree the price point was very high and the service slow for what it is. We had a really good conversation with the chef/owner and I wish her the best of luck. Still, she needs to tweak the business model. And what’s with cash only? I know she’s trying to save some money, but few of carry much cash around anymore. Even Than Brothers takes credit cards. Now, my dinner Guanaco’s was great, cheap, different, fresh, tasty, generous (in portion size). I can’t wait for them to arrive on the Hill. (Maybe they can join forces?)
Finally, pupusas on the Hill! The years I lived in San Francisco (I’m from Seattle originally) one of my favorite discoveries was the range of excellent (mostly) pupusarias in the Outer Mission. Finally, we don’t have to drive or bus to White Center or the UDistrict! Too bad they won’t be open later than 10pm—nothing better than a pupusa after a night on the town.
I tried it last week and thought it was a ripoff. After an appetizer and two orders of dumplings, the gf and I were out $30 and were looking for another place to eat to complete our meal. Halve the price and I might visit again or recommend it to others.
> They are very labor intensive and when you sell 5 to an order time that’s several hundreds if not thousands of dumplings made by hand.
Go watch the cooks at Fu Man up near Lake City make their dumplings before complaining.