El Pueblito Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

I wanted to like it. I wanted to support a small business. I was even willing to overlook certain issues because I know what it's like to have/run a small business, especially in the food service industry. However, I couldn't make any excuses when my husband and I got sick from eating this establishments food.

THE GOOD...

The corn and chicken tamales were tasty and seemed quite fresh.

There were fresh roasted hot peppers included with some items, which was a nice touch.

The mondongo (tripe) soup had a lot of meat.

THE NOT SO GOOD...

Some of the food I received was packed like I had left a church function and didn't bring my own tupperware. The entrée (tacos and tamales) were on a paper plate with foil barely covering it. The sides (rice, cilantro, and onions) were wrapped in foil. Thankfully the burrito and soup were packaged in secure to-go containers.

I chalked the former up to the fact that the business may have run out of supplies at the time I placed my order.

The mondongo soup had lots of meat, but was salty according to my mom & dad. I slip up and sometimes add too much salt when cooking so I figured the same happened to the cook.

The pork in the tacos was TOUGH. I mean chew it up for the flavor and spit it out tough. I can't really make an excuse for that. 🤷🏾‍♀️

The burrito was just ok. It lacked flavor, but filled the hole where hunger was.

My husband ate the burrito and I had the corn tamale. Within an hour of eating my husband felt sick and had an upset stomach that lasted all night. I got sick later on that night. No other family members had what we ate, so only those two meals caused an issue that we're aware of.

Usually, I will try a restaurant at least twice before leaving a review. Since I don't plan on experimenting with food poisoning again I figure it best to leave my review now.

It's...

I am Latina, grew up in central America and I have looked high and low for a restaurant that just comes close to home, and this is the best one so far. Authentic, fresh food, generous servings and great customer service. Their horchata is delicious, best around and their birria tacos are so good, best I've had. My husband had the seafood sopa and he loved it. My carne asada was delish and the rice--THANK YOU for not using parboiled rice like other paisanos. We must take pride in our rice! Cons: The yuca could be boiled a bit longer, rolled in flour and fried a bit longer with more salt and the black beans tasted like they just opened the can, drained them and served them. They were pretty bad. This is why I didn't give them 5 stars.

Well, it's been 5 weeks since I posted this and what I thought would happen, happened. Popularity got to their heads, they raised their prices, lowered quality, and now their food sucks. I'll never go back.

Bien echo, amigos. Un poquito de cambios y no van a poder servir a el molote de gente que le van a llegar! Gracias por tener orgullo y corazon para nuestra cultura!

Pero subieron los precisos y bajaron la calidad. Que pena. Ya no regreso más.Sabia que...

Upon entry we were confused whether to sit or order, no problem. A younger lady asked us at the register if we are ordering for here or to go. First we asked for chicken and shrimp and was over charged for a fajita mix, and two birira tacos orders. She then charged a service fee. I asked what it was for and she said for ordering here. She said well then take it to go! She proceeded to charge me. We sat down and politely waited even though we felt unwelcome. We got the food which we spent 70.00 for. However the chicken shrimp mix (21.99) was over cooked and in so much liquid it took over the whole container, making a soup out of the rice beans and salad. I tried to call before leaving this review but was met with rudeness and hung up on. I unfortunately cannot this recommend this place. I’d hate for my neighbors to spend their hard earn money and not enjoy the...