La Santaneca Pupusería — Restaurant in Modesto

As a parent, your kids are the ultimate critics when it comes to food. Sometimes it's too hot, sometimes too cold, and sometimes they don't like it and they can't tell you why. Even things they liked the first time they don't like the second time. Our 3 year old said to me once, "No daddy. Even though I liked broccoli last time I don't like it this time even though it's cooked in butter with bacon and then cheese poured over the top." I'm translating liberally of course because what he actually said was "yuck" and then threw it across the room. So when they ate and liked the pupusas we bought here I felt more relief than when my cray cray ex finally went to prison. We bought cheese, chicken, and steak and the chicken was the best by a mile. The surprise of the meal was when our 3 year old tried the salsa and said, "Can I drink that?" My wife and I shared a look of surprise complete with raised eyebrows and then we both tried it. He was right. It tasted like the color blue in a world of mediocre grays. He drank it before we had much of a chance to use it on the pupusas but that just means we'll have to go here again even if it's just...

What a hidden gem!!! Today was my first time here, though I've had pupusas a couple times before. The place is located next to Little Caesar's in the shopping center at Oakdale and Floyd, across from Dairy Queen on the corner. The location map was a little confusing. The establishment was very clean and tidy. The waitress was friendly and helpful. I asked her to choose as my first experience here, so she found out the size of order I wanted. I felt very welcomed just after the lunch crowd. The food is freshly prepared so I had a short and reasonable wait. This was my only meal to this point and I was famished. I found both pupusas very tasty with one having pork and the other being spinach, chicken and cheese. There was also a pork tamale, a side of a moderately spicy red sauce, another of sour cream along with the salad mix for the pupusas. To top things off, there were fried plantains that I will have later. All that food for a moderate price of about $13!!! I will go again for sure...there are a lot more Salvadorean/Mexican examples...

NEW OWNER SUCKS! I've been coming here for a while, but after what happened today, I’m done. I ordered 2 pupusas around 7pm. Within an hour, my stomach was upset, and minutes later I had explosive diarrhea followed by violent vomiting. I called for a refund, and instead of any concern or apology, the owner immediately got defensive—saying it “wasn’t their food” and that they served 250 people without complaints. I went in person, and the lady at the front changed her whole energy once I said I was there for a refund. She made a face like I was a problem.

Instead of just handing back the $27 we paid, they acted like it was a negotiation. The owner gave me the refund only after questioning and haggling me, and still only gave back $20 until i pushed for the full amount. The worst part? No accountability, no empathy, just pride and ego.

If this is how you handle someone getting violently sick from your food, it says a lot about your integrity, especially because I've been coming...