4B - Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4B - Thursday, January 24, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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Daily
nanages Pilar's Tamales o
Pilar's, which is family-operated, has over 30 recurring tamale favors,
n Airicanii oo
anai 1maz these establishments, meet their
ria bring owners and, of course, try some
delicious food.
itiC flavor When I arrived at Pilar's Tama-
les, which is located in a small
IN LYNCH plaza a bit of a jaunt down West
Arts Editor Liberty away from downtown,
I parked in one of the few spaces
:he early 19th-cen- located in front of thebuilding and
n Keats, the phrase walked toward the restaurant's
bility" has come to door, completely unaware of what
bility to hold two to expect as I entered.,
leas in the mind Opening the door, I was imme-
i it comes to Latin diately enveloped in color and
d, I'd like to think sound. The walls are painted
a certain negative with sharp shades of yellow and
red, and the air is permeated by
e, I am both a fan of appetizing smells and exuberant
Chipotle and a rela- dance music. The restaurant is
customer of Xochi- larger than it appears from the
-ant, an authentic outside and includes a sizeable
arant in downtown dining area in an attached room
eat a quesadilla at to the right of the kitchen and
South University cash register.
the quesadillas of The woman running the reg-
atin American res- ister - who I would come to find
t do, in fact, crave is Sylvia Nolasco-Rivers, the res-
Doritos Locos Taco taurant's owner and manager -
ll (gasp!) despite was greeting every customer that
ware that what lies walked in and enthusiastically
>oritos shell could describing the menu items to all
e death of me. who looked unsure.
this negative capa- Nursingjunior Allie Van Zoeren
insatiable hunger was standing in the front room
:o visit two of Ann looking like a seasoned veteran of
authentic Latin Pilar's, and I asked her about her
staurahts: Pilar's history with the restaurant.
mous for, well, its "Well, it's pretty close to my
Salvadoran cuisine house. And it's really tasty and
Taqueria - a taco pretty inexpensive," Van Zoeren
versatile menu of said as she awaited her sweet
. open to expand- plantain tamale and drink.
ns and awakening Her drink was horchata, a
, I was enthusias- brown-colored rice concoction
pportunity to visit that I had always been curious
about since hearing the Vampire
Weekend song of the same name.
I ended up ordering a glass of
horchata and a chicken pupusa,
which Sylvia described as a little
Salvadoran pizza.
The pupusa was shaped like a
hand-sized pita bread, filled with
a tasty meat-and-bean stuffing. It
came with a side of salsa, which I
dipped the pupusa in, relishing in
the delicious flavor. The horcha-
ta, which was chilled and tasted
creamy and almost chocolatey,
was equally delectable.
Afterward, I sat down with
Joe Rivers, Sylvia's husband - as
Sylvia was busy expanding her
brand and meeting with potential
clients about catering a wedding
- and discussed the restaurant's
cuisine, an homage to Sylvia's
homeland of El Salvador.
"Salvadoran food sort of has a
particular style of its own," Riv-
ers said. "It tends to be alot more
grains. Because of the dynamics
of El Salvador itself, there's a lot
less meat in things. There's virtu-
ally no dairy."
"And Sylvia does very much
believe in locally-produced ingre-
dients," Rivers continued. "So, we
do as much.organic as we can."
The restaurant, Riversawent on
to describe, was founded 12 years
ago and named after Sylvia's
aunt, Pilar, who ran a successful
tamale business in Ann Arbor in
the'80s and'90s.
"There's definitely sort of a lin-
eage with these tamales," Rivers
said. "The tamales that we make
are the same family recipe that
(Sylvia's) grandmother made in
El Salvador, the same ones that
they grew up with."
Pilar's is completely family-
run and operated, and the vibrant
dining room area is decorated
with Salvadoran paintings and
memorabilia and is populated by
a nuniber of assorted customers.
"We have a very diverse cli-
entele," Rivers said. "Sometimes
we get academics who are having-
staff parties or parties at home.
But, like I said, I think people just
recognize the quality and the fla-
vor, and if it's within their pock-
etbook, they do iton a consistent
basis."
In their 12 yearsof business,
Sylvia has created over 40 differ-
ent flavors oftamales, 30 of which
come back each year. This Valen-
tine's Day, the restaurant is even
introducing a strawberry and
chocolate tamale..
Overall, Pilar's Tamales has
high-quality, flavorful food at an
inexpensive price and a rousing,
Salvadoran atmosphere.
On the complete opposite
side of town, Tmaz Taqueria is
a- small Mexican restaurant in a
plaza on Packard. After finding a
spot in the crowded parking lot,
I entered the restaurant and was
greeted by Cesar Hervert, the
owner and manager.
Compared to Pilar's, Tmaz
had a very relaxed atmosphere.
The yellow walls are not quite as
vibrant and the music is certainly
calmer than the upbeatsongs that
echoed through Pilar's, but the
food smells just as delicious.
After looking at the menu,
which is filled with countless taco
0
4
was t
chee
incre
in downt
vert said.
everyone
~rc c~
Hervert went on to
how he ended up openin
Arbor," he said. "And since the
Latino community isn't located
in one specific place - it's really
spread out - I decided that some-
where between Ann Arbor and
Ypsilanti would be a good place,
and this location ended up work-
ing out."
The word "taqueria," Hervert
explained, is the Spanish equiva-
lent of "taco place," and fans of
Chipotle and other chain restau-
rants might notice something
missing from the menu.
"People ask why I don't have
burritos," Hervert said. "And it's
U
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/
MARLENE LAcASSE/Daly
traditional burrito, focusing instead on tacos and other Mexican cuisine.
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ogically placed between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor and named after the Mexican town of Temascalcingo.