Pupusería La Chicana — Restaurant in Woodland

Ever had a papusa? It's one of my favorite foods and you can't find it many places--It's a Salvadorian dish. And the papusas here are the absolute best I have ever had!!

So what's a papusa? It's essentially a fat corn tortilla with a filling. They are filled with anything from beans and cheese to potatoes to every kind of meat you could want. They even have some really traditional stuff like loroco flowers and cheese. There are more than a dozen different fillings. The papusas are cooked on a grill, some of the cheese oozes out and makes crunchy little skirts on the edges. Then they serve them to you piping hot with a side of fermented cabbage slaw. Soooo good! Like eyes roll into back of head good. As for fillings--I don't know what they put in thier beans, but they are extraordinary, so my favorite is bean and cheese. Potato is also excellent. The loroco flower filling is odd--cheesy with slightly sweet and herbaceous flower buds. Not my thing, but totally worth a try if you are feeling adventurous.

There is also a selection of "regular" Mexican dishes and I've never had anything bad. But honestly the papusas are what bring me here time and time again.

The place is really small, there are like 4 tables inside and some outstanding seating. It takes about 20 minutes to get your glorious papusas because they are cooked to order. But if you are eating there they give you a complimentary plate of chips and beans. There is also a nice...

I hesitate to write a negative review for La Chicana because our experience there, up until our last time, has been nothing but positive. So I write this from the point of view of puzzlement. We were at La Chicana last Saturday 8/26 for dinner. It was not too busy. We were waiting a long time when one of the staff came to tell us that they were out of a particular item we had ordered. I ordered the Chicana tacos (one asada, one carnitas). When our order finally arrived after a 40 minute wait, my tacos were not the Chicana. They were very small. The asada meat was grey in color, tough in texture, and cold in temperature. The carnitas was not much better and was filled with grizzle. I gave them back and they topped them with the guacamole, sour cream, and cheese as they should have been in the first place. It was very out of the ordinary for the meat to be cold and tough like that. The worst part of the experience occurred in the middle of the night when my husband came down with food poisoning from what he had eaten there that evening. I don't know if Pupuseria La Chicana is under new ownership or a new cook, but this was terribly disappointing. It's been our favorite place for almost two years and we drive from Davis because there isn't anything better here that compares to La Chicana. We are now very hesitant to eat at La Chicana after this incident. We are hoping this was an...

Pupuseria La Chicana is a little gem in the heart of Woodland. Tucked away in a strip mall under the shad of a few trees, the restaurant offers a cozy indoor and outdoor environment. I came midday and there were a lot of customers being served after the typical lunch hour. Vegetarian options are available for pupusas and other items. They use fresh avocados on tacos rather than a more liquid sauce. I had a taco and a spinach/cheese pupusa and needed a to go box. It was a lot. I’m not 100% sure about vegan options, but there were several vegetarian options as mentioned. They also have several options for fresh juices including mixing ingredients of your choice. The vibe outside was chill. They are prepared to keep customers cool with ample shading and tables for larger groups and families. They also have heaters above. They played a great Cumbia variety from Raymix to Alfredo Gutierrez thanks to Pandora. The service was excellent - very friendly and just nice. Lastly, the customers I saw here were from a diverse mix. I liked that people from all walks of life seemed to feel comfortable and...