El Tepeyac

by Charlottesville29

El Tepeyac380 Greenbrier Drive . Charlottesville, VA . (434) 964-1231
http://eltepeyaccville.com/

[UPDATE: El Tepeyac closed on May 24, 2015.]

Why El Tepeyac?

Even when it was a mere food counter in the back of a tienda, we were regulars at El Tepeyac, the Mexican/Salvadoran restaurant off Route 29 North owned by the Solorzano family.  After it converted to a full service restaurant in October 2012, it became one of our favorite spots in town.  For the transformation, Adolfo and Bertha Solorzano recruited their daughter Maria, a savvy management consultant from Chicago, who helped her mother enhance the decor, service, and cocktail list, which now includes fresh margaritas, and even Horchata con un Toque—rum with house-made spiced rice milk.   Adolfo is in charge of the food, using his own recipes to create pupusas, tacos, gorditas, and full platters.  It’s no wonder top chefs from all over Charlottesville love it so much.

What to Order

One of our favorite dishes in all of Charlottesville is El Tepeyac’s Pupusa de Queso con Loroco, a thick, handmade, corn tortilla filled with cheese and loroco, an edible flower with a floral, truffly flavor.  Solorzano’s family ran a pupuseria in El Salvador, and it shows. All the pupusas are excellent, served with the traditional vinegary slaw, curtido.  Below are our other favorites, as well as picks from Solorzano, and appearances in Five Finds on Friday, where chefs and personalities have named an El Tepeyac dish one of the best in town.  It seems that fried yucca is a hit:

Our Picks

  • Yucca Frita con Chicharron
  • Tacos (Pastor, Lengua, and, on weekends, Carnitas)
  • Gorditas (Pastor, Lengua)
  • Torta de Milanesa

Chef’s Picks

  • Yucca Frita con Chicharron
  • Pupusas (Queso con Loroco, Revueltas) 
  • Sope de Carne Asada

Five Finds on Friday Picks