February/March 2012

Café Caliente

The new kid on Saint John Street shows us a thing or two about Latin entrées.

By Diane Hudson

Although it doesn’t bill itself as a pupusería, Sabor Latino qualifies for the distinguished title, serving delicious pupusa, a Salvadorian delicacy.

Simple, amazing, and affordable ($2), these pupusas have a big enough taste to warm up your whole winter. Owner Jaime Guevara’s sister hand-makes these delicate tortilla rounds using masa de maíz (a maize flour dough). Pupusa Revueltas are filled with queso chicharrón (pork ground to a paste), and frijoles, while the Pupusa Queso con Loroco is filled with cheese and loroco, a flower bud from Central America. Served with curtido (a zingy, pickled cabbage), carrots, onions, and a cup of salsa, it’s downright addicting.

The tacos carry a recession-friendly price of $2.75 each. Served with cilantro and onions, the beef, chicken, and lengua fillings are splendid–the beef and tongue are tender, and the chicken is moist and flavorful.

Everything here tastes as if you’re feasting in a private, welcoming home, so expectations may not be met if you arrive looking for ubiquitous Tex-Mex flavors. The Burrito Supreme ($6.99) is chock-full of tender chunks of beef, beans, cheese, and gorgeous guacamole. Wrapped in an exquisitely browned, light, and tasty flour tortilla, the Chicken Quesadilla ($9.50) lingers in your mind long after that first bite. The fresh cheese deepens the sensation, along with the tender chicken. The Salvadorian sour cream’s richness adds to the whole experience.

Weekends offer Cuban specials prepared by owner Felipe Periana’s mother. The Bistec Encebollado ($10.99), a well-cooked steak smothered in golden, sautéed onions, sports extra rice, bolstered by beans and pork. A salad of greens, super fresh cukes, and tomatoes balances the entire dish and my partner’s Camarones Sabor Latino ($11.99), a serving of delicately seasoned shrimp enlivened by aromatic white rice. We enjoyed a robust La Puerta merlot ($25, Argentina, 2009).

We finally mustered up an appetite for dessert. Good thing, too, as the rich, velvety flan ($3.99) is not to be missed, nor is the rice pudding.

Sabor Latino
249 St. John St., Portland.
Tues-Sun,  11-10 p.m. 774-7773