Delicious Salvadoran tamales and pupusas at Pilar's Cafe are handmade and ...
22.05.12
When we arrived I saw that Pilar's Cafe may be tiny, but it definitely has a big heart. It brings a bright fiesta atmosphere to an un-lovely little strip mall on West Liberty Street near Stadium, and the kitchen at the back is bigger than the restaurant space up front. That kitchen is where owner Sylvia Nolasco-Rivers prepares the Salvadoran cuisine that Pilar's Tamales (which includes Pilar's Cafe, Pilar's Cart and Pilar's Catering) have been known for the past 11 years.
Pilar, she explained to me, is a family name which Nolasco-Rivers' mother, Lilian, first used in her catering business 20 years ago. Using that name was a way for Nolasco-Rivers to honor her mother, and her aunt Pilar.
I ended up calling three times before I finally got my dinner correctly ordered. But each time I called, Nolasco-Rivers was as patient and helpful as she could be.
What Pilar's Cafe may lack in square footage, it makes up for in eye-popping color. Every surface but the wood plank floor is either fire-engine red, school-bus yellow or army green. Latin music is likely to be playing, and there are big jars of fresh flowers near the counter where you order.
Source: AnnArbor.com