- Light rails now makes it cheap and easy to travel from La Verne to cultural hubs across Los Angeles
Margaret Contreras
LV Life Editor
Paseo San Miguel is an authentic Salvadoran restaurant located on Rosemead Boulevard in Pico Rivera. The popular dishes from the country are a stuffed thick tortilla called a pupusas and tamales, corn and chicken.
However there are only certain dishes that are served during Samana Santa, translated into Holy Week, and not every Salvadoran restaurant serves them. The traditional dishes that are popular during Samana Santa include the torrejas, pesacado seco, empanada de pescado and sopa de pescado.
The food traditions for Samana Santa are shaped by the Catholic customs, with the practice of fasting for 40 days, called Lent and on certain days like Fridays they eat mostly fish and refrain from eating other types of meat.
The restaurant Paseo San Miguel served sopa de pescado and the torrejas. The sopa de pescado or translated to fish soup is made with dried, salted fish and it is made with a corn patty. Torrejas is similar to french toast however it is soaked in a syrup made with panela, raw sugar cooked with cinnamon and cloves.
The name of the restaurant is named after one of the big cities in El Salvador. San Miguel is a big city after the capital San Salvador.
The entrance to the restaurant is on the side with parking hard to find with a small space. When you enter there are murals on the wall, one of the country on one side and the other is a chalk wall with written words from the customers.
The agua frescas that are served in the restaurant included tamarindo, jamaica and Salvadoran style horchata. If you are in the mood for a Salvadoran soda, they serve Kolashanpan, a flavor similar to bubble gum or cream soda.
I ordered at the restaurant a pupusa of bean and cheese, horchata, a sopa de pescao, chile relleno with beef stuffed in it and torrejas. The horchata was the right amount of sweetness. Salvadoran horchata is made with a variety of seeds including morro seed, sesame seed and peanuts with the base liquid being water and a variety of spices. Which is different from the Mexican horchata, made with rice and milk.
The bean and cheese pupusa came with a side of tomato salsa and cortido, which is pickled cabbage with carrots and onions. The chile relleno with beef was served with a melted cheese on top with a salsa covering it in its entirety. There were cut onions, red and green bell peppers in the salsa and garnished cilantro. It came with a side of rice, red beans and salad.
Then the sopa de pescado was served more like fried fish stew with a side of rice, salad and tortilla.
After the meal I ordered a serving orrejas, which came with two pieces swimming in the homemade syrup. Eating these foods help me understand more about the culture my mom’s side comes from.
Paseo San Miguel in Pico Rivera is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Sundays.
Margaret Contreras can be reached at margaret.contreras@laverene.edu.
- To get to Paseo San Miguel (Pico Rivera) by transit from the University of La Verne
Hop on the the Metro A line
Exit at Sierra Madre Villa
Head towards the main entrance
Head towards the Sierra Madre Villa Station to hop on the bus
Take bus 266 Lakewood Center
Walk south on Rosemead Boulevard
Then the restaurant is on your right
The total time to get there is about an hour and 43 minutes.
- To get to San Miguel (Pico Rivera) by car from the University of La Verne
Head towards Arrow Highway
Turn left onto Walnut Street
Then turn right onto Fairples Drive
Turn right toon the I-10 West towards Los Angeles
Continue to through I-10
Use the two right lanes to merge onto I-605 South
Take exit 17 for Rose Hills Road towards West Beverly Boulevard
Continue onto San Gabriel River Parkway
Turn right onto Beverly Boulevard
Turn left onto Rosemead Boulevard
The restaurant will be on your right
The total time to get there is about 20 to 40 mins, depending on traffic
Magaret Contreras is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is editorial director and LV Life editor of the Campus Times and previously worked as editor-in-chief and a staff writer.
