Monday, August 8, 2011

Back in El Salvador

Monday, 8-9-11

I got into El Salvador around noon today. I called Kathy once the plane was on the ground to let her know I’d made it. She was waiting for me outside the airport with the pickup to take me back to Berlín. But since it was lunchtime and we were both hungry we decided to stop somewhere for lunch. Thinking it’d be fun to try out a new restaurant we chose a restaurant that she hadn’t been to before. The restaurant was called “Los 5 Negritos” which means “the five little black ones.” The restaurant was named “Los 5 Negritos” because the original five owners of the restaurant had very dark skin. I realize the name doesn’t sound politically correct but the word “negrito” is just used to refer to people who have darker skin than the average Salvadoran. Somewhat similarly, I am called “chelita” meaning “little light-skinned one.” (Also, the history of El Salvador and slavery is different than the history of the US and slavery. So things that may not seem appropriate to people in the US are appropriate here and vice versa. That’s cultural differences for you!)

Anyway, getting back to the point of this blog: the food. The menu was very eclectic and had some items that were much more exotic than the usual Salvadoran restaurant. I saw “tepezcuintle” on the menu. I wasn’t sure what that was when I was there but later found out it is a type of large rodent called a paca which is similar to an agouti. Also on the menu was venado (deer), cusuco (armadillo), garrobo (iguana), conejo (rabbit), and peliguey (sheep). I’ve eaten iguana before in El Salvador but not the other foods. I think I’d like to try them sometime but I might feel sad eating Bambi and Thumper.

Instead, Kathy and I settled on a little starter of calamari which I love! It wasn’t served breaded and deep fat fried like it often is in the US. It seemed like it was lightly cooked. However they made it I thought it was delicious. For our meal we ordered lobster which I’ve always wanted to try here. It may seem like splurging but we decided to split the dish which was only $10 total. So for $5 I got a nice-sized lobster that was stuffed with shrimp and cheese along with rice and salad. It was incredibly delicious!! The lobster didn’t look exactly like lobsters from the east coast of the US. It seemed spinier. I’m not sure if it actually was or if I was imagining it.

All in all it was a delicious meal and I left feeling very full. I’d definitely stop at that restaurant again if I’m in the area. I hope to have more fun food adventures again soon!



Some of the more interesting food at the restaurant


The calamari


A tiny, tasty squid


The wonderful lobsters


Ooooo!


Cheers! Salud!


The front of the restaurant


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The lobster looks pretty good. Amazing it is only $5.

Anonymous said...

Ms. Alisha ... I'd been there before with other small delegations who come in at lunch-time un-fed. The one we wanted to try that I'd never been to was closed (La Fincita).

Glad we ended up where we did though. And glad we shared. It was a ton of food even for the two of us!

Alisha Lundberg said...

Ahhh, yes. I forgot you had eaten there before. I must have suffered temporary memory loss as a result of the delicious lobster we ate.