L.A.’s Salvadoran restaurants

Owner Ana Velasquez looking through the ordering window at El Santiagueño restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, considered the starting point for a Salvadoran gourmet movement.

RELATED: Beyond the pupusas: El Salvadorean restaurants in and around L.A.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Chef Nora de Aquino cooks pupusas and mojarra frita at El Santiagueño.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Everything is cooked to order at El Santiagueño, which has a sunny patio.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pacaya, palm flowers cooked in the typical style of a relleno, fried in an egg batter, is on the menu at El Santiagueño in downtown Los Angeles.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Sopa de pescado -- fish soup -- on the menu at El Santiagueño.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Mis Raices in Reseda.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

If you go to Mis Raices, make sure you say hello to Carlos Rodriguez, son of owner Mercedes Rodriguez. Here, he holds a payaca dish on the menu at Mis Raices, where it is served with a wedge of cheese, rice and beans.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A closer look at that pacaya dish.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Flor de izote -- an egg and plaintain dish -- on the menu at Mis Raices.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

With the opening of a second location four months ago, Sonsonate Grill of Los Angeles has developed a following among tourists following L.A.’s culinary scene.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

The parrillada Salvadorena dish at Sonsonate Grill includes grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, steak, rice and a salad.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)

From left, Regia and Suprema beers at Sonsonate Grill.  (Mariah Tauger / For the Los Angeles Times)