I’ve tasted pupusas from a couple of pupusa trucks in Marin and, while tasty, they don’t come close to delivering pupusas like you find at Pupuseria Blankita in San Rafael. What is a pupusa? One of the world’s most delicious flatbreads. Pupuseria Blankita’s griddled cornmeal cakes encase various fillings of pork, chicken, vegetables, cheese and beans.

Blankita Orellana and her husband Ernesto Vasquez opened Pupuseria Blankita in 2022. It’s by the stunning Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Marin County Civic Center. Orellana’s hands and talents are what make the place work. Orellana’s mother Lucila operated restaurants in El Salvador and that’s where she learned her appreciation of her native cuisine and developed her cooking skills. She declares she’s not a professional cook but the flavors of her food belie that.

Everything at this pupuseria is made fresh. Orellana sources her vegetables from the farmers markets on Thursdays and Sundays in San Rafael. Yes, the fillings for the pupusas and tamales are made in advance but filled, cooked and served while you wait. If you’re short on time, it’s a good idea to order ahead. Then, when you arrive, sit down in the simple but pleasant dining room or take your order to-go. The dining room is painted royal blue with several paintings on the walls that are available to purchase. About 38 people can be seated at comfortable black tables and chairs.

There’s soft drinks ($2 to $4.50) as well as Agua Frescas ($5) available by the counter. The Jamaica and Watermelon Agua Frescas ($5) were both delicious and pleasantly less sweet than I’ve had at other places.

The menu is posted at the desk, where you place your order. We started with the Pupusa Revueltas ($4.25), a mix of pork, beans and cheese. Lightly flavored and compact, the not-messy pupusa was served with curtido, a spicy Salvadorian cabbage salad. The quickly fermented, shredded cabbage, carrots and onions were tossed with jalapeños, chili arbol, vinegar, salt and oregano. The flavors here are pointed and precise, but not overly spicy. We topped the pupusa with the curtido and a drizzle of the tomato sauce. The masa dough was pillowy. We quickly ordered another. This one was filled with Loroco, Kale and Cheese ($5). Loroco is a plant with small flowers that tastes a bit like asparagus. It would be better to order the vegetable pupusa before the pork since it’s less aggressively flavored. Both are excellent and so much lighter than I’ve had in the past. There was a variety of other pupusas including others filled with vegetables, meat, including lengua, and seafood. All are in the $4 to $5 range.

Pastelito de Pollo ($5), a Salvadoran empanada made with corn dough flavored with chicken bouillon powder and achiote, which tints it a little orange, was filled with chicken and vegetables and deep-fried. Its flavor and crispiness left us wanting a lot more of them.

The chicken filling for the Tamales de Pollo ($5.25) was different than the one in the pastelito. There were larger pieces of meat and vegetables with garbanzos, green olives and more seasoning. Salvadoran tamales are made with masa that is cooked with chicken broth and wrapped in banana leaves. When unwrapped, the leaves exposed a shiny, caramel-colored tamale.

There wasn’t exactly a dessert menu, but we found two items that worked perfectly as dessert.  Despite its name, Empanada de Plátano ($5) is not an empanada like the chicken one I’d had. Instead, it’s a cooked and smashed ripe plantain filled with a thick custard. The plantain was carefully wrapped around the custard and deep-fried until golden. Sprinkled with sugar and served warm, it made a delicious dessert. But we weren’t finished, yet.

Atole de Elote ($4 to $5) was on the menu. Our Indian summer had finally come to an end. The trees around Marin were brilliant red, gold and orange, and the evenings were definitely getting cooler. It was the perfect time for a warm cup of corn atole, a beverage that has an ancient history is the Americas. Corn masa, cooked with sugar, corn kernels, whole pieces of cinnamon bark and sometimes vanilla, is often a breakfast drink but it makes a perfect dessert, too. It’s creamy smooth, warm and full of flavor. Spaniards brought sugar cane to the Americas, so the original pre-Columbian atoles were flavored either with spices and chiles or aguamiel de agave, agave nectar, now so sought after for its health benefits.

What a pleasure to explore the flavors of the world and especially so when they’re as authentic as what Pupuseria Blankita offers Marin: a real taste of El Salvador.

Ann Walker is a freelance food writer. Email her with suggestions, comments and questions at [email protected].

Pupuseria Blankita

Address: 48B North San Pedro Road, San Rafael

Phone: 415-785-3443

Website: pupuseriablankitasanrafael.com

Cuisine: Salvadoran

Noise level: Low

Liquor selection: No alcohol

Vegan dishes: Yes

Dog friendly: Service dogs

Parking: Yes, free in lot

Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays; closed Mondays

Prices: $2 to $19

Reservations: Call

Summary: A casual restaurant with Salvadoran food to enjoy there or to take out.