El Zuzal Restaurant
642 Calles, 474-7749
Sunday-Thursday, 8am-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 8am-11pm
We heard about El Z. from a musician friend of ours over beers at Ginny’s Little Longhorn one night, while discussing undiscovered Austin food finds. He spoke reverently of El Z. in hushed, secretive tones, and even though he’s a drummer (and was more than a little tipsy at the time), we decided to give it a try. We are tickled pink that we did.
El Z. specializes in El Salvadoran cuisine, though they do have some standard Mexican dishes for those with no sense of adventure. Owned by Rafael and Blanca Ibarra (and managed by son Elmer) for the past year, El Z. sits on the west end of the Seventh Street HEB parking lot. El Zunzal is the name of a famous beach in El Salvador – appropriate, since they feature seafood. All of the cooking is done by El Salvadorans, and it shows with every bite.
The dining room is clean and bright, lined with booths on one end, and tables filling the rest. Mexican variety show television is on screen, while Norteño polka music blares through the air. The clientele is an interesting mix of Latino professionals, artist and music types, and neighborhood folks. Generally the atmosphere is inviting and warm.
We’ve sampled a number of the dishes and found all to be delicious. Tostados are served with a warm, spicy salsa. The tamales ($2) are fabulous, with a spoonbread-light masa casing steamed in banana leaf. We’ve tried the pork (marinated and shredded, with potato, garlic, and garbanzos) and the chicken (ditto). The excellent pupusas ($2) have a light, white corn envelope surrounding the filling of chicharron (highly seasoned and finely minced) and the stretchy, molten queso fresco variety (other flavors also available). Dip these beauties in the salsa and weep. The Shrimp Cocktail ($9.50) is huge: a megasized beer glass filled with boiled shrimp, avocado, cilantro, onion, garlic, and tomato chunks, bound in a thick, spicy tomato sauce, nice on the saltines provided.
A dish you have to try is the Yucca Frita ($6), a platter piled with slightly sweet, golden-fried chunks of yucca, mixed with marinated chunks of fried pork, accompanied with a lightly dressed cabbage salad. The Mojarra Frito ($10.25) is a perfectly fried red snapper, redolent of garlic and topped with grilled marinated onions, served with fried potatoes, rice, and salad. All dinners come with a crock of a delightful shredded escabeche salad of red and white cabbage, onions, carrot, and copious amounts of oregano in mild vinegar. It tastes fantastic on its own, but more importantly, provides the perfect balance for the richness of the food.
We’re suckers for the Platano Frito ($5), which comes as a platter holding two large plantains cut in half lengthwise and fried. On the side are a mound of crème fraîche and a mound of rich, refried beans … it’s a culinary delight when attacked with tortillas. We had to sample the Pastor Taco ($2) and were pleased: a double tortilla wrapper filled to heaping with rich, citrusy pork nuggets, topped with minced sweet onion and cilantro.
No matter how full you are, ask about the desserts. It pays to speak Spanish, but sign language and pointing work equally well. We tried the Empanada de Banana ($2) and discovered a fried, thin doughnutlike shell filled with warm banana, crème fraîche, a dab of citrus zest … the whole thing rolled in sugar and cinnamon while still molten. Yummmm. The dessert case also held a fine looking flan, as well as three different flavors of a moist fruity cake that looked really tempting. There are several little-known El Salvadoran beers available on the menu, as well as the standard American brews. Recommended is Regio ($6), a 32-ounce blast of clean, light lager that is particularly nice with the food.
Our suggestion is that you visit El Z. and discover some serious El Salvadoran cuisine. The Ibarra family certainly knows their way around a stove, and they cook and serve with pride. And Mike, sorry man: The El Z. secret is out.
This article appears in April 16 • 2004.
