Get Fed with Evan Winchester

When Thai Garlic closed down a few months ago, the Salvadoran cuisine of Platano took its place. It's on University, between Shattuck and Milvia, surrounded by Thai, Persian, Tibetan, and even an Indian food/pizzeria hybrid. You get the idea-tons of different food, all within a few blocks, from all over the world. So what does Platano bring to the table?

How about platanos? That's the first thing I tried, anyway. You can order them from the platillos menu, home to appetizers and lighter items. They cost six bucks and they're not too filling, but honestly, they're a steal, especially for the uninitiated. I'd never had fried plantains before, so I asked the waitress, "How do you eat this?" I just didn't want to mess it up, you know?

The answer was as obvious as I'd hoped. Cut through the crispy plantain with a fork, dip into the refried beans and light cream, and then revel in plantain goodness, fried and caramelized but tempered by the smoothness of the beans.

Cheap dude that I am (this is an important theme, and will come up again later), I drifted into plantain and bean-oriented fantasies, such as, "If only this cost three dollars instead of six, I'd buy enough platanos to rule ... the world?"

But the pupusas brought me back to reality, in which I am not a supreme despot. Still, this particular reality was a delicious one. These bad boys are a key delicacy of Salvadorian food: smallish, thick rice or maize tortillas stuffed with a filling of your choice, like revuelta con frijoles (pork, black beans and cheese) or queso y loroco, a Salvadoran vegetable. Pupusas are simple but crazy-good, especially when topped with piquant red salsa and curtido, a traditional relish made with pickled cabbage similar to sauerkraut.

For lunch, get a stack of pupusas, or at least try one or two. They're two bucks each, so a few of them will bring you that much closer to the seven dollar lunch minimum.

See, unless you plan on eating light, lunch is pricey. That's my only complaint about the place, really. Through a window I watched students stop on the sidewalk, check the menu, and continue on their way. Hypothesis: They went somewhere a bit friendlier to the student lunch wallet. I have no proof.

But let's say you're ordering dinner from the platos fuertes section of the menu. Strong plates, man. These are excellent. I ordered salpicon for 10 bucks, the dinner minimum (coincidence?), and engaged an entirely new beef experience, which I imagine is like the Jimi Hendrix Experience except with beef.

Salpicon is finely chopped, chilled beef with lime, mint, onion, radish and curtido. Now, I know what you're thinking: Chilled beef? Is that some kind of parallel to free-range chicken-like, maybe the cows are permitted to hang out in a serious way, perhaps with a television? Perhaps in repose? No way, idiot! Why would you even think that? Salpicon is just a refreshing way to serve beef. The mint and lime keep it light enough so that those two dreaded words never cross your mind. Here of course I'm talking about "meat salad."

The ingredients for carne guisada might be more familiar. Chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes and green beans marry in a stew hearty enough to serve on a plate. This was good. Real good. Sweet and delicate and altogether surprising, especially given the ingredients.

Each dish I tried did something entirely different, and each was delicious, down to the last side. Basically, you're going to pay around 10 or 12 bucks, and you're going to be very happy with your meal.

What's that, Platano? I should convert my textbooks into cash, and my cash into pupusa? That's crazy, man. Crazy. But maybe-maybe-just crazy enough to work.

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