Pupusa Quest: Oakland Port

Comalapa Restaurant
1498 7th Street, Oakland, CA
(510) 763-1467

My Sunday in Oakland was a blast. My godmother, Honey, is a recent transplant in West Oakland and has begun to scope all the good restaurants around town! She had told me that there was a great pupuseria  right next to the West Oakland Bart. She had brought me a couple pupusas from there before a few months ago, but it was kind of a distant memory. She also told me there was a good BBQ place nearby called Everett & Jones BBQ, which serves drool-worthy ribs. We decided to try both restaurants in one day, and hang out at the park down by Oakland's ports.

The pupuseria is called Comalapa Restaurant, and it's right across the street from the Bart station. It's small, with a couple of tables inside. There were some women already patting pupusas when we walked in. We ordered (3) pupusas; beans & cheese, chicken & cheese, and zucchini & cheese. I took some snaps of the menu.

 

The women were super friendly. We decided to walk down the street while we waited. We ventured into a hipster cafe called Revolution Cafe & Brewing Co. It had tons of interesting things on the walls, a piano, a harpsicord, lots of cushy arm chairs, and a lovely outside patio for smokers. The owner's name is Miriam, and she couldn't be a day over 35 yrs. She looked so young! Both her and the barista were charming and welcoming. They host parties in the back back yard, which is usually closed to customers. I got one of their menus too!

Back at Comalapa, the pupusas were done. Smelled great. We took them to-go and drove to Oakland Port, where the huge park is—think Dolores Park w/ a view of the bay, but completely empty. We found a picnic table right by the water.

Pupusas/ Oakland Port/ View of 

Chicken pupusa & Bean pupusa

The pupusas were AMAZING. If I lived in Oakland, the pupusa quest would be over. I mean, these were just insane. Cheese was perfect, and the flavor knocked me on my ass. My favorite was zucchini, but they were all super close. The chicken was marinated to perfection and juicy. We shared the three pupusas and I felt like an idiot— why hadn't I ordered 10? I'm dying for some right now as I type this.

Nothing will beat the nostalgia and memories of my beloved Brisas de Acapulco (RIP) but Comalapa wins for taste and service! I can't wait to go back again, and this time I'm ordering a dozen just to take home for later.

Oakland Port Park

Honey and I walked around the park and looked at the views of the bay and the port. It felt like something out of The Wire: Season Two. Where was the union boys and the Greek mobsters? It was very quiet– typical of a Sunday.

There were Canadian geese everywhere, and they're fun to watch. There was this couple eating grass next to us, and they both had distinctly different personalities. One was hyper alert and kept glaring at us. The other was completely unconcerned w/ everything except eating, and snipped all the grass around it, never raising its head or looking up.

Hungry Goose & Grumpy Goose

Grumpy Goose against the City 

The park was lovely, and as we were leaving, there was a huge Mexican family throwing a party— it looked like there was around 100 people. Good times! I'll be back :)

Up next: Everett & Jones BBQ.