la numero uno.

So, my own little corner of the world--that would be the corner of Snset & Vine--is fast becoming crowded with lots of exciting-for-five-minutes, new eateries. I'm talking about Tender Greens, GO Burger, Umami Burger, and everyone's favorite, Chipotle. They're all nice and they all hit the spot, but today at lunch, I was thinking how if you just venture a little further down on Vine, there's a whole bunch of interesting places that I rarely frequent--just because I've been eating lunch at my desk every day for the past year.

Well, today I had a real hankering for that Salvadorean delight--the pupusa. And there's only one place to go that's within walking distance--La Numero Uno.

"La?" you ask. And so do I. The "La" kind of bugs me, and I haven't had a chance to ask my Latino friends about it. It makes it sound like the place is fake, or run by gringos--and it's totally not.

So, I turned off Sunset and walked down Vine and passed all the cool places that are just a block or two behind the Arclight and Borders and all the new hot spots I mentioned. There's El Floridita, a Cuban restaurant, Mignon--I have no idea what this is, but I love the delightfully generic European name, a ramen joint called Aatch-Kotch and a new vegan place, which I'm going to have to try.

And then there's the Smokin' Shack Drive-Thru. The best thing about the Smokin' Shack? It shares a parking lot with an eco-friendly, "green" dry cleaners.

La Numero Uno is sandwiched between Bliss Café, a nice little Cuban coffee shop and...

...the Villa Elaine.

Here were the day's specials.

It's so cute inside.

And I really enjoyed the papaya napkin holder.

I had a fish taco, ashrimp taco and a pupusa with cheese and loroco--which is a little blossom that looks like a tiny asparagus and has a bite like a green onion. Everything was fresh and delicious. I also had an ensalada, which is a actually the drink you see at the right. I guess it's "ensalada" as in "fruit salad in a glass."

Seriously, L.A. people--check this place out. You'll be glad you did. And the next time you have a date at the Arclight, maybe bypass the obvious choices on Sunset for some of the more interesting places down on Vine. I'm just sayin' (I know, I hate it when people say that, too.).