Address: 580 West 500 North, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
Price: Cheep
Type of food: Guatemalan
Setting: Tables in the converted garage of a specialty market
Other offerings: Latin American food, small bakery, small butcher
My favorites: Papusas and Guatemalan tamales
I've known about this place for several years. A former co-worker (Jill) told me about it. She knew about it because she had a Guatemalan friend (Ceasar) who went there from time to time. I don't get there often but when I do I never have any regrets. The menu is mostly in Spanish and the people who work there don't speak much English but that doesn't matter much because they are friendly and the menu has lots of accurate photographs.
It is tucked away near the 600th North exit off of I-15. You might think that once you get off the exit at 600 North, but I have found that it is easier to get there by going west first, turn left on 800 West, left on 300 North, go under the freeway then turn left on 600 West, go until you arrive at the store. It is in a stand-alone building on the corner of 600 West and 500 North. It looks like there is also a new location in Magna.
Here is a link to their web site:
http://www.elquetzalimports.com
Check out their menu on the web site.
When you enter the Salt Lake store you walk through the market, turn to the right and go through the door to where the tables are. You might want to choose a drink from the refrigerator in the market before you sit down. I don't think they serve fountain drinks just canned or bottled drinks. Most of the patrons of this restaurant don't look like they have not lived in the U.S. for as long as I have and I like that. It tells me that their food is authentic. In fact this is always an indication that the food is good. If I'm eating Chinese food I like to eat where there are lots of Chinese people. If I'm eating Korean food I like to have Koreans around me, etc.
Today, I had the sopes with pork. I'm not sure that I have ever had sopes before but they weren't much different that what I would call to tostadas. There were two in the order and that was more than I could eat. The sopes were two fried, homemade, corn tortillas topped with pinto refried beans, carnitas (could have chosen chicken also), lettuce, tomatoes and topped off with a dollop of some sort of creamy topping (creama or mayonnaise I'm not sure) and sprinkled with crumbled queso fresco.
My brother had the combination which I have eaten before. If you aren't familiar with Guatemalan cuisine the combination is a great place to start. You are served a tamale (choice of chicken, pork or beef), papusa (choice of cheese or chicken), a bean tostada and some cabbage salad.
The tamales are not my father's tamales (actually the tamales my dad brought home when I was a kid were pretty darn good)! Instead of corn husks, they are wrapped in banana leaves. The corn meal filling is tender and the meat filling is delicious but a little fattier than I like but still very good. Watch out, since these are homemade tamales I have found bits of bone in the meat. Not a bad thing, just different than what most Americans are used to.
The bean tostada was amazingly simple yet very good. The beans were black, refried beans on a crispy corn tortilla.
If you have never had papusas, you are in for a treat. They make them at Quetzal Imports stuffed with cheese or chicken, served with a kind of Guatemalan cabbage slaw and a thin red hot sauce. They are simply a handmade tortilla which is stuffed and then fried. Again, very simple yet very delicious.
Drop by sometime if you are in the northern part of Salt Lake City and let me know if you get a chance to try the Magna store.
