EVERETT — Posts on social media raved about this place, so on an afternoon earlier this month the Herald features staff decided to check it out.
We walked into the popular, but tiny El Delicioso Taqueria y Pupuseria on Colby and were greeted with a hearty hello.
Good thing it was after the lunch rush. The construction crew from across the street had gone back to work.
Besides a small bar with four stools that face out the window, the restaurant has just four sets of two-seat tables in its dining area. So the three of us asked if we could move tables and chairs around to be more comfortable.
“I don’t care what you do,” said the enthusiastic woman behind the counter. “But if you dance, you gotta pay extra,”
If that’s true, be careful: The fresh food at El Delicioso is so good you just might want to get up and dance.
In fact, you probably should resist the urge to order everything on the menu.
The woman behind the counter told us that a couple had done that recently. Evidently, this couple stayed three hours in order to eat it all.
Since we had three mouths to feed instead of two, it was perhaps easier for us to order with a bit of abandon.
El Delicioso serves what you might call street food. It’s not about big plates loaded with greasy refried beans and “Spanish” rice.
First off, know that the cooks at this family run establishment make their own flour and corn tortillas
Items range in price from about $1.50 to $6.50, but most are $2 to $3.
Here’s what we got for little more than $25:
Three small tacos, one steak, another chicken and then fish. The fish tacos are the best. The fish is seared, not breaded or dry. With lime and a bit of pico de gallo, they are delicious, just as the restaurant’s name implies.
A bean and cheese pupusa. Talk about the ultimate in comfort food, this stuffed cornmeal pancake is it. These Salvadoran pupusas are a bit thinner than Mexican gorditas. On Fridays, pupusas are less expensive, as if to encourage people to get through their last few hours of work before the weekend. Pupusas come with a tart and tasty cole slaw.
A pork carnitas burrito. Again, fresh ingredients and great taste.
A tongue mulita. OK, not everyone is going to like the idea of this sandwich, but if you can let go and just eat, you’ll find the meat tender and flavorful.
Two steak sopes. The asada was nestled in a thick flour pastry and topped with queso fresco and a generous slice of avocado.
A chicken empanada. The fried turnover-like treat is topped with lettuce and cheese, with salsa on the side.
We’ll have to go back to order the quesadilla and the torta sandwich. We especially need to try the chicken or pork Salvadoran tamales, which are evidently steamed in plantain leaves, rendering the masa creamy instead of crumbly.
Soda pop, with two Mexican varieties, and water are what’s to drink.
Yep, that’s the basic menu, with some variations.
We left replete with Central American goodness and positive that we will return.
The woman behind the counter was done with her shift before we finished eating, so she didn’t see us as we danced out the door.
Aaron Swaney and Andrea Brown contributed to this report. Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
El Delicioso Taqueria y Pupuseria
2934 Colby Ave., Everett, 425-366-2162.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Closed Sundays.
Alcohol: None
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