Waving his hand, Jaime Carbajal motions me to cross the threshold of his pupuseria’s kitchen, leaving the bustling and boisterous food court area behind. In exchange, I am now in the narrow, noisy production line. I become aware of the precious space I’m taking up when suddenly the volume decibels increase again as he calls out two of his workers to tend the agua fresca station of his restaurant inside the Alameda Swap Meet.
El Diablo is a Mexican Restaurant, and yet tucked inside the heat-lamped entrails of lengua and chorizo, you’ll find L.A.’s largest and most expensive pupusa.
The Alameda Swap Meet is an indoor marketplace located south of downtown. El Diablo sits in a corner surrounded by 180 chairs, twenty or so tables, and a constant rush of customers. It’s the restaurant that claims to be the first to offer the giant pupusas in L.A. and the owner is prepared to back this up against anyone. “We don’t like to copy anybody, that’s why our pupusas are the biggest, and the most expensive you’ll find. We don’t like to skimp on ingredients and that’s what makes it a success,” said Carbajal, in Spanish.
Every day, El Diablo preps 300 to 500 pounds of fresh masa just for pupusas and every weekend they serve up to 5,000 customers.