What’s a veggie-lovin’ Bywater gal to do on the Westbank? Visit Pupuseria Divino Corazon, naturally. Daniele writes about her experience at this popular eatery in today’s vegetarian entry. -Leslie

Something you should know about me is that I am very much a city girl at heart. I don’t hang out in the suburbs much, but when I do it’s nice to know there is some good food to be had beyond the Orleans Parish line. That is if you can find it hidden among the barrage of uninspiring chain restaurants and fast food joints. You just have to know where to look. And that, my friends, is why the internet is so wonderful. Type in a location, hit search, and KABLAM! – more dining choices that you know what to do with.

I forget exactly how it was that I first read about Pupuseria Divino Corazon, but I couldn’t help but notice all the great reviews it got on Yelp and Urban Spoon. I’ve been meaning to give it a try for weeks, and finally got the chance when my friend and I went to the Westbank on a lady-date for dinner and a movie.

Divino Corazon has a mix of Salvadoran and Mexican dishes on the menu. There are a few veggie entrée options (cheese enchiladas, platter of bean and cheese pupusas), but I wasn’t hungry enough to want a giant plate of heavy food so I went with a cheese pupusa and an order of fried plantains.

For those of you who might not know, a pupusa is like a thick corn tortilla that is stuffed with some type of filling. I haven’t had very many pupusas in my life, so I don’t have much of a basis for making comparisons. But I do know tasty food, and Divino Corazon certainly makes a tasty pupusa. I also like their extra touch of adding minced scallions to the cheese filling. It’s a nice little pop of color and boost to the flavor. The pupusa is served with a side of curtido, a pickled cabbage salad, on the side which was okay but not super flavorful.

The plantains were very good. They were served with the traditional crema and a side of refried beans. I usually operate under a cautious “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for things that may contain lard (refried beans, pastry, etc.), so I had a few bites. They were pretty good beans. But then I felt guilty about the potential animal products, so I stopped eating them. There is a lot of gray area in being a vegetarian. If I were in a more inquisitive mood, I could have asked the staff (who were super nice, by the way) about it. What can I say? Some times I like to live on the wild side… in the suburbs.