Dreaming of tortas and pupusas

Sometimes you hit upon a place — an old haunt you somehow overlooked or a new joint that’s just opened down the block — that instantly teaches you something you didn’t know about a favorite cuisine. For days after I first dined at the cheery new Los Llanos Mexican and Latin restaurant on Michigan Road, I was dreaming about the pupusas ($7). Popular in Guatemala and El Salvador, these fat little masa harina patties typically come stuffed with beans or cheese and maybe a dollop of sour cream or salsa.

The pupusas ($7) are filled with rich fried pork skins and come topped with a cool garnish of shredded cabbage and carrots.

Here, however, they were a revelation. Filled with rich fried pork skins, they came topped with a cool garnish of shredded cabbage and carrots, a drizzle of crema (a lighter version of sour cream) and a dusting of salty cotija cheese (think parmesan or romano). On the side was a little serving of crunchy, lightly pickled radishes with more golden pork rinds. The contrast of flavors and textures was a far cry from the soppy, cheese-wrecked platters at so many Mexican restaurants that I had to have these again.

But sometimes the fates don’t conspire to recreate life’s most memorable flavors. Another week, another time of day, and the pupusas were not the same, still delicious but much flatter, less delicate, and hidden instead under mounds of sour vinegary cabbage. No amount of brow furrowing and stab-in-the-dark Spanish could get our waitress to bring the pickled radishes that had been the lynchpin of this dish. Instead, she just brought more of that acrid, blushing cabbage.

Fortunately, just about everything else was superlative, from the light, fluffy tamales ($1.50) with utterly greaseless pork to the melt-in-your-mouth pork tip carnitas ($1.75). Even the atmosphere was brighter and more well-thought-out than the often dim, haphazardly decorated cantinas where you’re more likely to encounter true Latin and Mexican food. With its spiffy hardwood floors and buttery bright walls, the place doubles as an art gallery for the colorful, intricately detailed monoprints of the Naucalpan, Mexico, artist Rosa María C. Díes. No dusty piñatas or sombreros here.

As such, Los Llanos gives a nod to several heretofore distinct camps of Latin American cuisine. You can get enchiladas and fajitas here, albeit much lighter versions than you’ll get at most Americanized Mexican eateries. Here, too, are the marinated ceviche tostadas, beef tongue tacos and steaming bowls of soup with squash and corn that mark this place as truly auténtico.

The décor and the sense that your food was made to order are even reminiscent of the new “fresh” Mexican places popping up in just about every corner of town. Thankfully, however, this place has soul.

The genius of such a place, where gringo construction workers wolf down those tongue tacos as happily as the Latin Americans who grew up eating them, is the pair of brothers who run it. Guatemalan natives Eric and George Castillo both have years of experience in local restaurant kitchens under their belts, Eric at H2O Sushi and George at Kona Jack’s. The result of working in these chic eateries is the dedication to using utterly fresh, high-quality ingredients in the time-tested recipes of their homeland.

Even the more typical dishes here are fresher and more flavorful than you’re used to. Tortilla chips are thick and flaky, served with a slightly smoky salsa. Other salsas and sauces are fresh and flavorful without searing the palate. Enchiladas ($8) with a light touch of salsa verde actually let you taste the well-seasoned shredded chicken inside. An unusual lamb taco ($2.50) is meaty without a bit of gristle, and the Llanero steak tacos ($3), a special preparation of Los Llanos’ kitchen hearkening to Guatemala, are wonderfully tender and full of great steak flavor. The Castillos even offer some vegetarian dishes, like a consomé ($5) with chick peas and peppers and tacos with potatoes and roasted poblano peppers ($6).

Just about the only liability here is the flan ($2). Other than ice cream, it’s the only dessert. But “refreshing” was about the only positive adjective we could apply to this gelatinous custard with thin chocolate syrup instead of the expected caramel sauce.

On my second visit, our typically deadpan waitress’ face lit up when I inquired about the torta Cubana ($7). But there was so much other food on the table she must have thought I hadn’t actually ordered one. When I pressed her about it, however, she disappeared and swiftly returned with the mother of all sandwiches, a jaw-challenging mountain of meat and toppings that would make even Dagwood blush. The torta came piled high with everything from breaded Milanesa steak, ham and chorizo sausage to refried beans, cheese, mayonnaise and even a sweet little hotdog up top to push things even farther toward the edge. Now I would have something else to dream about before the fates would surely blow me back to this new favorite spot for pupusas and tortas.

Los Llanos
8421 Michigan Road
228-0510

Hours
Monday-Sunday:
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Lunch
Monday-Friday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Food : 4 Stars
Atmosphere : 3.5 Stars
Service : 3.5 Stars