Pupusas, the heart of Salvadoran comfort food, are the reason to seek out Don Julio’s restaurant in Rohnert Park — you’ll have to, because it’s not easy to find.
Tucked into a quiet shopping center at the south end of Rohnert Park, surrounded by thrift shops, hobby stores and family-run businesses, it’s the kind of place you might pass without a second glance. That would be a mistake.
Inside the tiny pupuseria, you’ll likely see co-owner Evelyn Sanabria shaping pupusas with a steady thwap, thwap between her practiced hands — a skill honed over a lifetime. Each thick, hand-formed round of masa is stuffed with cheese, meat or vegetables and griddled until the edges crisp. Tear one open, and a puff of steam carries the scent of ground corn. Add a forkful of curtido, a dip in salsa, and you’re tapping into millennia-old Salvadoran tradition.
A decade ago, pupusas were nearly impossible to find in Sonoma County. When Sanabria started tucking them into her adult son’s lunches, his co-workers were captivated by the warm, cheese-filled rounds. Requests started rolling in. Word spread, orders multiplied, and what began as a favor became a side hustle, then a neighborhood restaurant.
For Salvadorans, the craft is intimate — passed mother to daughter, shaped by family tradition, each household with its own touch. Now she’s trying to teach it to people who didn’t grow up with masa between their palms.
But two hands can only work so fast. Son and business partner Carlos Alas Grande saw trouble ahead: crafting dozens of pupusas by hand each day wouldn’t scale. Turning instinct into instruction, it turned out, wouldn’t be simple either.
Like many family cooks, Sanabria works by feel and taste rather than strict measurements.
“She never wrote anything down; it was all in her head,” said Grande, who works the register, busses tables, greets guests and from time to time makes pupusas.
“We can’t hire new people and tell them a little pinch of this and that,” he said. So he had his mother weigh every ingredient, every spice and herb, creating a roadmap for family and staff to follow.
Even then, there are limits.
“You still always have to taste everything,” Grande said. And his mother’s role remains central: “It’s all in her hands.”
Like many small businesses, the family does a little bit of everything, including the decor — equal parts heart and Home Depot. Inside, the dining room glows parrot green, with bamboo wainscoting and plastic foliage lining the walls. The kitchen is tucked behind a tiny beach shack, a nod to the family’s roots in El Salvador. Set into a shady nook with both indoor and outdoor seating, it feels like a small, hard-won escape from the everyday. Outside, picnic tables sit beneath faux-thatched umbrellas, and hand-painted murals of tropical beaches transport you just long enough to inhale the scent of a warm pupusa in your hands, steam rising, the edges still hot from the griddle, and settle in for a little lunchtime escape.
The food
Pupusas may be the main attraction, but the menu stretches far beyond with Mexican, Latin, and creative fusion dishes. Think hefty burritos, tamales, enchiladas, chimichangas, tacos, and even a pupusa burger.
Best bets
Pupusas, $5.25: These fat corn tortillas stuffed with pork, beans, cheese, chicken or vegetables are warm, comforting pockets of joy. Rip, dip into housemade salsa and add a pinch of vinegary curtida. Specialty pupusas, with fillings like birria and ground beef, rotate onto the menu every two weeks. Try the Pupusas Rancheras ($19.99) with two eggs, refried beans and salsa for a powerful breakfast or the Puchitaco, a pupusa topped with meat, potatoes, chipotle salsa and sour cream.
Sweet corn tamale, $10.99: A sweet twist on tamales served with mango salsa, fried plantains and beans.
Pastor Plantain Paradise Burrito, $15.49: A two-meal burrito filled with pineapple- and cinnamon-marinated al pastor, fried plantains, black beans, scrambled eggs, cheese and creamy chipotle crema. It’s sweet and savory and absolutely my favorite.
Orange Marinated Chicken Dinner Plate, $18.99: Evelyn’s chicken, marinated in orange juice and a secret blend of herbs and spices, is worth the trip alone — lightly sweet, with a tropical edge and seriously craveable.
Horchata, $5.49: Made from a family recipe with rice, milk, cinnamon and a lot of love.
How long in business
The restaurant opened in 2014.
Most popular dish
Pupusa de chicharron (pork and cheese pupusa).
The deals
Don Julio’s offers a 10% student discount.
The price
Prices are easy on the wallet: pupusas cost $5.25, burritos $15.49, and soft tacos $3.99. Nothing on the menu is more than $22.
The spot
Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Tuesday; closed Wednesday. The restaurant will be closed April 27-29. 217 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park, 707-242-3160, donjulioslatingrill.com