In case you’re wondering, “El Pulgarcito de America” means, literally, “the little finger of America.”
It’s a sobriquet for the nation of El Salvador, the smallest in Central America. It’s also the name of a restaurant on Central Avenue in the Eastway neighborhood of East Charlotte, home to a growing number of Latinos and Latino-owned businesses.
Josua Saravia moved here seven years ago from the Salvadoran city of La UnioÅLn, joining family members who had already moved to Charlotte, and now manages the restaurant.
El Pulgarcito is owned and operated by Salvadorans but offers Salvadoran, Honduran and Mexican dishes. The differences can be subtle, but Saravia, through a translator, said it’s good for El Pulgarcito to offer different dishes and let patrons – many of them Mexican, Honduran and Salvadoran themselves – decide what they want. He said he’s been pleasantly surprised and happy to find such a thriving Latino community in Charlotte.
It’s an inviting space, with blue upholstery and walls that mirror El Salvador’s position on the Pacific Ocean; the owners remodeled about a year ago. You can get a wide range of standard Mexican dishes – tostadas, quesadillas, enchiladas and burritos – but also some more exotic dishes from El Salvador and Honduras.
Ask Saravia about those, and he’ll direct you to the pupusas, a staple Salvadoran dish made with thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, pork and cheese or beans and cheese, served with a side of curtido, a cabbage slaw. (Quite yummy.) Corn and chicken tamales served on banana leaves and topped with sour cream are popular, too, as is the Yuca con chimarron, wedges of fried yuca – a starchy tuber similar in taste and texture to a potato – with chunks of fried pork.
The Honduran dishes are seafood-heavy, with nine different kinds of shrimp specials alone. You can also get a fried fish plate with rice, salad, green plantains and tortillas; and beef,
- Profile written by Greg Lacour