Pupuseria Los Planes

This was a great place, but sadly it closed.

Best pupusas I’ve ever had (and I’ve had LOTS)!!! Amazing curtido. The pickled cauliflower is a very nice touch. Green salsa has lots of delicious, fresh flavor.

Just a heads up — they’ve transitioned to their new incarnation. Pupuseria Café Frida. Breakfast/​lunch/​dinner now and phone is 773−465−9338. Menu has the core of their El Salvadoran options, Mexican standbys, and various Latin American sandwiches (but not available this evening) like a Cubano and Jibarito among others.
Free wireless but I think cash only.
They might have expanded their selection of pupusas. This time we had the calabazin (zucchini). Pastelitos as good as before… maybe better (I remember just meat before inside, but now there might be a veggie or two in there). Caldo de Res has been one of my favorites from before that’s been kept here. In terms of hot drinks… they still have the Atole de elote along with now Mexican hot chocolate, café con leche, and atole de guineo which we got. It’s plaintain based rather than corn and sweet-​tasty in a different way. Fresh juices are on the menu, but in the middle of winter, I’m didn’t bother to ask if available yet.
Desserts are still there, so don’t worry — they still have their empanadas de leche.

met my new friend pupusa today. the peeps here were so nice, true gentlemen. i think they stayed open on our account as well. this place doesnt have ambience or atmosphere, but what do u expect with authentic ethnic food? i had myself a beef/​cheese, chicken/​cheese, and jalapeño/​cheese pupusa. ive never had these before, and yea they have that mexican flavor, but one of the servers explained how mexican tends to be more on the spicy side. the food comes out w salsa roja, salsa verde, hot peppers, and this pickled cabbage which went real good w the food. salvadorian taste for spice is much milder than mexican… had a warm milky corn drink that was good too, kind of like a less sweet horchata.

Who knew that salvadorian food would have so many gluten-​free options. I eat a lot of authentic mexican food as it is predominantly corn based and safe as long as I am careful.
Imagine my delite to find a restaurant, blocks from my home, where they are happy to help me eat safely and have the best new food item in the world… puposa:)) It is the south american version of the calzone/​hotpocket, but sooooo much better.
Inside this crispy pocket of masa is cheese all by itself or a mix of cheese and beans or meat or my new favorite zuccini. Warm, melty and tasty, accompanied by a sour coleslaw and the best green salsa I have ever tasted. Not too hot and really flavorful.
Great bang for your buck! We will be back!

Yes, indeed, this has converted into Cuscatleco 2. What great Salvadorean food. What nice people. Beef soup (caldo de res), (available weekends only) hearty, full of fresh vegetables and a good little piece of corn. Atole de elote, a creamy corn drink, great for this cold summer we’re having (Elvin C., I see you). Tortillas hechas a mano (made by hand). Delicious hot chocolate, just like Mexican hot chocolate if you’re familiar with that. And, of course, a pupusa de loroco. The people are so nice — we walked in four minutes after they had closed, and they kept the place open for us! We felt bad and gave them a tip that was almost 50% — and still spent 20 $ between the two of us!

It’s rare to find good latin american food, other than your ubiquitous taqueria, at good prices and this place delivers. Food is extremely fresh, and they have interesting regional specialties from El Salvador. The chorizo burrito is a must try. The proprietor doesn’t speak any english and the food isn’t americanized, Enjoy!

Just realized that I go here way too often to have not written a review yet…
I’ve tried all variations of pupusa, including the pollo con queso (which isn’t printed on the menu and is my favorite), and I’m a big fan. The tamales — de gallina or elote — are both amazing. I usually get the corn tamales plain (as opposed to fried, which I’ve found dries them out a bit) and they come with a little cup of sour cream. So yummy, as are the chicken ones, which come with chunks of yucca or potato inside and whose masa is sweet and brothy. Add some maracuya drink (passion fruit), and that’s my meal — a couple of pupusas with curtido + tamale + drink comes out to about $ 8, plus tax and tip. And Claudia the waitress is a sweetheart, especially if you speak a little Spanish.
After mixing it up a couple times, trying the yuca con chicharron and carne guisada (both good, but not spectacular), I’ve decided to stick with the pupusas and tamales, which are indeed spectacular. They have yet to disappoint me, and I really hope this little place weathers the economic slump — a lot of smaller establishments in Rogers Park are visibly empty when passing by these days, so I make it a point to stop in here about once a week. It’s a great option to have in the neighborhood.

We braved the snow to try Pupuseria Los Planes in Rogers Park. This was our first time eating pupusas (which are kind of like quesadillas except that they are one piece of corn-​based flatbread.) Like other users have mentioned, it is quite the experience. The tables are diner-​style, with bright blue paint and blaring television in spanish, which gives it an authentic feel. As did the waitress who didn’t speak english. We ordered a variety of things (combination of pointing, gestures and broken spanish). We were pleasently surprised when a number of things arrived, none of which we could actually cross-​reference to the menu. All were delicious. If you are a picky eater and/​or vegetarian and can’t speak a lick of spanish, this may not be the best retaurant choice for you. But if you are adventuresome and like trying new things, give this a shot.

Pupuseria los planes
7109 n clark
This was our 15^th stop as we explore the taquerias along clark, from devon to howard.
Wow. What a great place. I’d never had a Salvadoran pupusa before (a thick, handmade tortilla stuffed with meats and/​or cheeses). I was excited to try. I was not let down.
Amongst the four of us that went we tried…
The chicharron and queso pupusa (best with green salsa to cut the fatty mouth feel).
The loroco flower pupusa (tasted delicate and green. Nice with some of the red salsa).
A fried tamale with corn and cream (fresh and yummy!)
A hen tamale (steamed in banana leaf, tasty and tender, found a piece of yucca in there)
A yucca and chicharron dish (the yucca was outstanding, fried and puffy like a cloud, like a delicious fried potato. The chicharron, which was served in big chunks, was too dry.)
A pastor torta (too salty. The pastor seemed to be breaded somehow? It wasn’t a good blend of flavors. Mostly just salt.)
Empenadas con crema (a dessert plate. 3 fried pockets of plantain coated with sugar and filled with coconut cream. Super awesome.)
The orchada (kind-​of gross. It was obviously a powder that was added to water, and it didn’t blend well. Too much powder? Tasted grainy. Not good.)
The passion fruit drink (gorgeous. Sweet and pulpy. It tasted freshly made.)
The atmosphere is fine. The interior is pretty cute. Salvadoran blue and white. The old menu (from when the place was a diner) still hangs on the wall. It’s just turned around. There was no music or anything when we arrived, which made it a little eerie. About 45 minutes into the dining experience a tv was turned onto boxing in Spanish. Eh.
The service was really friendly and helpful. But a little awkward. Our food arrived to us variously, which made us constantly wonder if we were going to get the rest of our order. Neal never did get one of the tamales he ordered and we had to ask for it to be taken off of the bill at the end of the night (which was no problem). At one point a steak tostada was brought to our table, though we never ordered one. And husband’s torta didn’t come out until the rest of us were almost done with our food.
But honestly, the silence and the staggered plating, the dry chicharron and the salty pastor were so overshadowed by the amazing pupusas and tamales and yucca that I’m totally planning on going back there. Not only am I going back there, I give it a ⁴⁄₅. Just really good food.

If you have never tried a pupusa, go treat yourself. I have only had the Salvadorian menu items, and they are all great. The owners take great pride in their food. It is fresh and delicious. Not very fast, but worth the wait. I have tried all the pupusas, and the leroco is my favorite, but they are all good. The tamales con crema are also great, fried or not. Check them out. Los Planes now delivers, which is a great plus. They have also expanded their menu.

Don’t be misled by the signs for breakfast and gyros — this place has the real deal with Salvadoran pupusas. It may not be obvious when you walk in that the place even makes anything other than burgers, fries and omelettes; maybe they haven’t taken down the menus from the place that was there before. I had to stand there looking somewhat baffled before the woman behind the counter handed me the «real» menu.
Anyway — freshly made pupusas with great hot sauce and slaw to go with them. Staff is friendly but may not always speak English. Also — it’s a good idea to call ahead (if your Spanish is OK) because it will take about 15 minutes to make your order.