Restaurant & Pupuseria El Ranchon

I tried the Pupusas. It was decent but nothing special. Prices are average.

Great food, nice and friendly service. Did I mention the food, a little pricy but the popusas are awesome

As most of you studying or working at or near USC know, the number of good food options within less than 5 minutes of USC is rather limited. There’s Viztango (formerly Bistango), Café 29, La Taquiza, Jean P’s. And that’s about it.
So I am very happy to report that El Ranchon is another excellent option. In fact, in terms of food quality, I would rate it a small notch above the other four. It is also very cheap: all entrees are less than $ 9 for dinner, and most are $ 6 – 7. So if instead of just food quality, I were rating food quality for your money, this place would clearly get 5 stars.
It is far from fancy, but clean and reasonably comfortable. The TV will probably be on, and might not mix so well with music coming from the jukebox. Their kitchen closes at 9:00pm, so you had better go somewhat early. While the menu is bilingual, it is not clear just how much English is spoken there (I had the advantage of being in the company of a fluent Spanish speaker, so didn’t need to find that out). The service is friendly and helpful, though not necessarily very attentive — you will probably need to flag someone down if you want more water, the bill, or anything else.
The food is very good homestyle Salvadorean food. According to my girlfriend, who spent several years in Latin America, it is also completely authentic. Several of their dishes are very yummy, such as the chile relleno, pupusas, olla de pollo, and probably many others we didn’t try. They also have a very interesting hazelnutty tasting horchata I recommend you try.
This place has definitely become one of our new favorite destinations in the area, and I recommend you check it out as well.