Pupusería Doña María

In a city whose Latin-food identity is overwhelmingly Mexican, Pupusería Doña María is the outlier that matters: the Salvadoran standout, and the one address on this stretch of Foothill where ordering tacos would be missing the point. The point is pupusas — griddled masa rounds sealed around cheese, beans, chicharrón, or some combination of the three — eaten hot with curtido, the tangy fermented cabbage slaw that cuts the richness, and a thin red salsa. It's one of the great cheap, complete meals in Latin American cooking, and it's underrepresented across the Inland Empire.

That scarcity is the argument for the drive. Rancho Cucamonga has taquerias to spare; it has exactly one Salvadoran standout, and it sits on the Route 66 corridor at 9134 Foothill Blvd in Old Town.

Go hungry and order more than seems reasonable — pupusas run smaller and cheaper than first-timers expect — and don't let the slaw sit there as garnish. It's half the dish.