Taco Tour 2012 - Tamales mi Lupita

Tamales Mi Lupita, the taco truck

Tamales Lupitas is the name, but they’re known more for their pupusas. The menu is Salvadorean but the owner is Mexican. She goes by “Lupita” but her name is Angela. These are the mysteries of Lupitas, well loved in the Fruitvale, so much so in fact that when Anthony Bourdain visited San Francisco, he made a trip to Oakland to taste Fruitvale’s taco trucks and the only one he featured was Lupitas. His guide was Shelly Garza, local food activist of La Placita, a Fruitvale community kitchen for mobile food vendors.

I am lucky to work two blocks from Lupitas, so I’ve eaten their pupusas countless times for lunch and dinner. When I visited today I asked innocently of the friendly man who took my order what the most popular menu item is and he confirmed with a conspiratorial smile, “pupusas.” No question, the pupusas keep the people coming back, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With any order you will be asked if you want it, “¿para aquí o para llevar?” This always makes me laugh because “for here” means sitting in the parking lot next to a row of cars at a plastic table next to the taco truck. I giggle, but without fail I see a group of people, usually a family, sitting at that table. 

Murals on the side of Pupusería mi Lupita, the restaurant also owned by Angela Alcocer

Pupusas are a Central American specialty, a corn meal (masa) patty filled with meat, beans, cheese, vegetables, or a combination. The cooks at Lupitas start with soft masa which they scoop up, fill with appropriate filling and pat into a patty about 6 inches wide, which they grill until each side is golden. Word to the wise, if you order a pupusa without asking if they have your flavor already made, it could take up to 15 minutes for your order! I’ve made the mistake of ordering zucchini pupusas and locoron (a tangy Central American herb), which are not their most popular flavors, and waited at least 15 minutes for my food. If you are in a hurry it is best to ask them which flavors of pupusas they have already prepared. 

Pupusa

Today I ordered a taco al pastor, a carnitas taco, a pupusa revuelta, and a pineapple agua fresca. The agua fresca was too sweet for me, but tasty and had fresh pineapple in it. Lupitas changes their agua fresca flavors daily, plus they offer fresh squeezed orange and carrot juices right from the truck. Today’s tacos arrived with cilantro and onions on top and fresh lime and pickled jalapeños on the side. The meat sat on two stacked tiny tortillas. Al pastor was delicious - juicy little pieces of meat glistening red, chili flakes and a charred flavor. Carnitas was tasty, but not nearly as good as the al pastor. The meat was tough, but chewable, glistening with oil, again with a charred flavor.

The pupusa revuelta was filled with beans, cheese, and chicharrón, a tasty combination. I made chicharrón’s acquaintance for the first time in Guatemala, where chicharrón means fried pork skin, at a roadside pupusa stand. In El Salvador, where Lupita’s food customs originate, chicharrón is simply shredded seasoned pork. The pupusa had a smoky flavor, with a soft flavorful center and a crispy outside. All pupusas are served with a cabbage slaw and salsa, making for a totally awkward yet delicious eating experience. Pupusas are especially good for vegetarians because they come in so many veggie-friendly flavors. 

Two Tacos

I don’t know how to eat pupusas without making a huge mess. They arrive wrapped in tin foil with cabbage slaw and salsa in double-knotted plastic folding sandwich bags and a plastic fork. Miraculously my salsa arrived today in a hard plastic container with a lid, a major improvement. For years my co-workers and I have laughed side by side as we each stab our cumbersome plastic bags of salsa and attempt to squeeze it in a controlled manner out of the hole we stabbed with a plastic fork. Without fail, the salsa squirts out the wrong side and lands on our clothes. Despite the mess, the taste is worth it. Pupusas are a real delight and highly recommended. Lupitas staff is friendly and helpful and their food is consistently top notch.

Tamales mi Lupita is located in the parking lot of 3340 Foothill Boulevard, at 34th Avenue, Oakland - a ten minute walk up 34th avenue straight from Fruitvale BART.

                                             
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