Conga – Pupusas And Jumping Beans

It always pleases me to find a place that I usually pass by and didn’t know it was there and to feel as though I found a wonderful treasure! At 207 East Main St. is a little place called Conga. I had never had Latin food and I thought it might be like a Tex-Mex restaurant, but it wasn’t.

I was seated by a cute girl and,  when she asked if I needed to look over the menu, I confessed that I didn’t understand what any of it was. She was so helpful to explain all of their items on the menu (old people appreciate when servers take the time to do that). Some of the younger generation will spout off ‘specials of the day’ and they talk so fast that it is just a waste of time.

This gal was proud to tell me about the different items they offered, such as Tamales, Empanadas, Barbacoa, Yucca Frita and PuPusas. A person who is not very cultured would not know what half of these items are, so it is so nice when the wait-staff is understanding and patient. My waitress (who did not look Spanish) would even say the names with a Spanish flair.

I thought I would try a Pupusas (I can spell it, but I can’t say it) which was a Salvadorian stuffed tortilla filled with cheese or garlic cheese. I ordered the combo with rice and black beans for $6.49. They come with the choice of pork, carrot, spinach, and seven more to choose from. I decided on the Sweet Basil.

Latin music was playing in the background, but it was soft and steady with quiet maracas and a Spanish guitar. With the name Conga, I expected more jive-y music and maybe the staff wearing fruit on their heads. It was pretty quiet at the time I went, but I was told that the place stays quite busy and really comes alive at noon or in the evenings and they offer outside seating.

When my meal arrived, I was surprised that the Pupusas was a round, disc-shaped breading that resembled the potato-pancakes I used to make for Jack when he was a boy. It didn’t look like it was a ‘stuffed’ anything as plain as it looked. But I took my fork and tore a little of it to see that it was, in fact, stuffed with cheese and sweet basil. It smelled wonderful! Maybe this was a Latin way to eat grilled cheese?

I loved the black beans. They were so flavorful without adding anything to them, but I usually like to add hot sauce anyway. My waitress had brought a tri-caddy of sauces and I thought I would use one for my Pupusas.

One sauce looked like a green chili sauce and one looked like a spinach-y sauce but was loaded with diced onion. The red sauce was about gone, but it had red chili pepper seeds and I thought it would be the spicy one. I smelled it before adding it and it really woke up my nostrils!

Oh boy, I was excited! I had tried a bite of the Pupusas and it was a little bland for someone who loves spice, so I loaded it with the sauce and it was perfect! I could taste the sweet basil, the cheese and still have the kick I wanted without the sauce overpowering the flavor.

As I was enjoying the quiet music along with my meal, all of a sudden I heard a loud, brassy “B-o-o-o-onk!!”

It scared me to death and I jumped like a Mexican jumping bean! The noise came from across the street where I saw a fire truck pulling out of the station. It proceeded to make noise with a high-pitched siren to accompany the baritone goose honk.

It went by as quickly as it had sounded off, so it wasn’t too disturbing. I was just glad that I didn’t spill my beans when I jumped.

I guess I was also glad to be next to a fire station because the sauce was getting hotter the more I ate it, but …as much as my nose was running - I could have put out any fire all by myself.

I didn’t know what the golden fried fruit was that was garnished on my plate. The waitress told me it was a fried plantain. When I tried a bite, it tasted like a banana. I wasn’t sure what I thought of a fried banana-tasting fruit, but I bet ol’ Elvis would love it slapped between a peanut-butter sandwich!

The rice and slaw were good, the Pupusas was wonderful and I loved the black beans. This meal most certainly deserves a Willie Mae “Whee-ee-doggie!” and, though I wasn’t fond of the fried banana-thing, I thought I would leave that for Elvis but… he must have already left the building.

Hours:

Monday – Saturday

11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.