South Bay: Maya's Cafe

After hiking through Almaden Quicksilver County Park only to discover that yes, we are in a drought (it's hard to refute the evidence when you see a nearly dry reservoir), we stopped by Maya's Cafe for a much needed pick me up:


We sat in the parking lot of the park for quite a while Yelping all the restaurants in the area.  When we came across Maya's Cafe, we all started yelling, "Pupusas!" and that was that.

The restaurant is tiny, but obviously quite popular:


The menu was in Spanish and didn't come with any descriptions, so we had to rely mostly on Yelp photos and combine our rudimentary knowledge of Spanish food terms to decide what to order.

The chips were complimentary:


The tortillas came with the entrees:


You can choose between corn and flour.  We went with corn.

Maya's Cafe is known for its Honduran menu.  Of course, you can get your usual burritos and tacos, but we figured we should stick with the Honduran specials to try something new.

We got the sopa de mondongo ($10.99):


The tripe soup was slightly sweet (probably from the plantain - or was it banana? - in it) and very, very delicious.  Especially with rice.

We also got the tajadas con carne molida ($10):


Think nachos, but made with plantain chips and smothered with meat and veggies.  I was so excited to try it that my hands were shaking.  Hence the blurry photo.

Oh, heck.  Who am I fooling?  My hands are always shaky.  It's why I became a lawyer instead of a doctor as most Asian kids grow up to be.  (Never mind the fact that I hated science in school.)

What I was most excited about, however, were our two pupusas ($3.50 each):


If you've never had a pupusa before, get off your computer/laptop/tablet/phone right now and get yourself some.  Actually, turn your computer/laptop/tablet/phone back on and find the nearest pupusa restaurant first.

Our server recommended the jalapeno chicken, which wasn't on the menu:


And the cheese with beans, which was:


I preferred the cheese with beans because the filling was smoother and almost creamy.

Seriously missed the pickled veggies though.  It was kind of strange having pupusas without it.  Not sure if that's more of Salvadoran tradition than an Honduran one.

Oh, well.  They still tasted great.

It was our first time giving Honduran cuisine a try and we give it a big two thumbs up!  I'll definitely be back.


Maya's Cafe
2616 Union Ave
San Jose, CA 95124
(408) 559-8700

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