Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or possibly down in a Dharma hatch) you’ve no doubt heard the news that Lost is ending tonight. People are hosting Lost parties all across the country in celebration of the series finale. I’ve been a fan of the show since the very beginning so I decided to do it justice in my own way: by preparing a Lost-inspired dinner. There are many routes one could take when planning a Lost-themed meal. The most appropriate choice would probably be wild boar cooked over a campfire. You could also do Korean food in honor of Jin and Sun. Or how about Mr. Cluck’s Chicken or Dharma issue ranch dressing for Hurley? Since the show is filmed in Hawaii, I decided to I decided to whip up a bunch of Hawaiian snacks. No Hawaiian snack tray would be complete without Hawaii’s famous surfer treat: Spam Musubi. Sushi rice topped with fried Spam - what’s not to love there? In addition, I chose to make Ahi Poke and Okinawan Sweet Potatoes with Miso-Tahini Dip. Rounding out the ensemble cast were steamed edamame and wedges of fresh mango. To drink, we kept it simple with Dharma-brand micro brews (OK, these weren’t real Dharma beers - Robert made some Dharma labels and slapped them on a couple of Ninkasi IPAs!) It is unlikely that the Lost finale will live up to everyone’s expectations. Regardless of what happens, at least I’ll have a delicious meal to look back on!

I often daydream about what it would be like to have every possible ethnicity is represented in my neighborhood’s restaurant scene. That may never happen, but we just got one step closer with the grand opening of Guanaco’s Pupuseria on Broadway. I love pupusas so this news is quite exciting. Pupusas are El Salvador’s most notable dish. They are thick handmade tortillas stuffed with a variety of fillings ranging from chicharrón (ground pork) to refried beans to cheese with loroco (a tropical vine flower). Most commonly, pupusas are made using corn masa although some regions in El Salvador use rice flour. They are traditionally served with curtido, a lightly fermented cabbage slaw. I personally love having them for breakfast with refried beans, scrambled eggs, hot sauce and sour cream.

My primary experience with pupusas thus far has been at Salvadorean Bakery in Seattle’s White Center neighborhood. Their pupusas are dense and hearty. By contrast, the pupusas at Guanaco’s are very soft and practically overflowing with fillings. The thin, slightly charred exterior of the tortilla is just strong enough to hold in the soft, melty center. While I prefer the denser pupusas at Salvadorean Bakery, Guanaco’s pupusas are tasty and I’m certainly not going to complain about cheap pupusas a few blocks from my apartment! In addition to pupusas, there are plenty of other tempting items on the menu including fried plantains, yucca fritters, baby corn tamales, dessert empanadas and pastelitos (fried corn flour pockets filled with beef, onion and carrot). Everything at Guanaco’s is super cheap so there is no excuse not to try something new with each visit.

Guanaco’s is located at 219 Broadway E. Suite 14 (inside the Alley Mall).