Pupusas Here

Salvadoreno Latin Cuisine warms up Dallas-Fort Worth pupusa fans

Put these pupusas on your plate.

Salvadoreno

A cool new restaurant comes to Hurst with what's hailed as the best fusion of Salvadoran and Peruvian food, under one cozy roof.

Salvadoreño Latin Cuisine opened in late March in Hurst at 660 Grapevine Hwy., in a cozy storefront in the same shopping center as the Tom Thumb, with a menu that incorporates dishes from El Salvador, Perú, México, and Colombia.

Owner Jose Bonilla and his family bring recipes from El Salvador that have been handed down from generation to generation.

Those recipes form the foundation of the restaurant and include pupusas, the trademark Salvadoran dish consisting of a thick corn cake stuffed with a savory filling.

At Salvadoreno, they grill the pupusas until they acquire a nice dark char. Fillings include beans, cheese, pork, or loroco, the subtly-flavored flower that's traditional to the cuisine.

Their menu also incorporates other Latin American recipes, all using traditional methods and original ingredients.

There's a beautiful paella with shrimp, lobster, and mussels; lomo saltado, the Peruvian dish of beef with onions, tomatoes, and sliced potatoes; numerous ceviches; and yuca fries con chicharron.

They also do fajitas; stewed tripe; pork chops; a Chinese-style fried rice with beef or chicken; and even a Milanesa de pollo, chicken breast with bread crumbs. It's a regular cross-section of cuisines.

Most popular dishes include the pupusas, of course, plus chicken tamales, fried plantains, and shredded beef with eggs and tortillas.

They open at 10 am, which means you can sneak in for a "Salvadoreno breakfast" of plantains and refried beans with tortillas, both comforting and nutritious.

There are complimentary chips and salsa, served warm; and refreshing fruit drinks in melon, pineapple, and passion fruit. For now they are BYOB but a liquor license on the way, Bonilla says.

openings

Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

closings