Probably in your town, you know of a secret food find that even some of the locals’ don’t know. Where I live, it’s Pete’s Grille for pit sandwiches. In a small town on El Salvador’ Ruta de las Flores (Flower Route). Apaneca, there’s an unassuming little spot that serves something that fix what ails ya: La Cucina de Tia Nubia (The Kitchen of Aunt Nubia). I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
In the middle of the block, the restaurant is cute and colorful, but lit only through the windows and as casual as can be. You certainly don’t assume you’d have an incomparable meal there, but live and learn!
As I’m writing tonight, I’d love a big bowl of their sopa de gallina (hen [adult chicken] soup). I have a cold and an earache. Boo hoo hoo! Work must go on. I spoke to my own mommy today and I remember she told me I had a severe earache when I was a baby, forever doomed to wear a babushka until I went away for college. It would’ve been so good if I could’ve had Uber Eats from La Cucina de Tia Nubia.
Hen is an older chicken, so more flavorful. Maybe you can order such a thing from well-known meat purveyors. Theirs is very, very slowly made — trust me, as a chicken soup maker. I knew a lady who used to spend only 2 hours on her turkey soup and it was no better than water. If you aren’t seeing a spike in your gas bill, you aren’t doing it right!
There were carrots, parsley and some other local greens, I think. It wasn’t overly salty, which is a common thing in Salvadoran cooking. Sometimes, you don’t want to eat American soup from a can or at a diner, because it’s such a salt bomb and it can make you feel worse. This is pure flavor and goodness.
A fresh little pico de gallo was served.
It is common with such soup to be served a roasted piece of the bird that went into it, a little something to munch on, not fancy, but satisfying.
Sin Azucar means “no sugar”, in case you have something in common with the late Wilfred Brimley. Now, El Salvador has pops made from all kinds of their beautiful fresh fruits, but none sugar-free. If they had little minis or ponies, I’d have tried one of the exotic ones. Otherwise, only bring me one if you find me slumped over a table. El Salvador doesn’t go in for a lot of chemicals in their food — they’re more like what MAHA is aspiring to. That’s why you don’t see things like, tamarind sugar-free pop, for example.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 