Paisano's Waltham MA

Regional Dining Discussions Boston, New England
#1

It was a beautiful day out Sunday and we were looking for somewhere new (to us) to go and eat outside. I remember readings something about Paisano’s in Waltham and I pass it on the way to the Pike - so we went.

First - the name must be a remnant from an earlier life of the restaurant, since it isn’t an Italian place, it is Mexican and Ecuadorian food.

I have to say, we had a great time. I never went inside - we ate at the tables out front - so I don’t know what the inside is like. But we had the sweetest waitress - sat next to a table of 20 people, multiple families with lots of little kids - and enjoyed the lovely weather.

We had papusas, tacos (a rolled taco, can’t remember the name from the menu but it was in the ecuadorian section of the menu), and fried chicken (also ecuadorian section), and a margarita. We would re-order any of them. It isn’t a fancy place but our first experience was solid enough to go back. And the margarita wasn’t the best but passable and stronger than many I’ve had from other places.

Anyone else been? Had anything else? We will likely be back at some point, so am curious about other’s experiences.

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#2

Fun fact - paisano means countryman in Spanish

#3

ah - thanks for the info. I’m so used to hearing the word in association with Italian that I never think of it as a spanish word as well.

#4

Ecuadorian section sounds very interesting. However, pupusas aren’t Mexican…they are from El Salvador/Guatemala. Is this where you went:

http://www.paisanowaltham.com/index.html

The on line menu has a Mexican list and a Guatemalan list.

sounds great. I hope to try it soon. I live in East Somerville and we have several places to get pupusas…but nothing remotely close to having alcohol.

#5

Awww… I went to boarding school in Waltham. Never thought I’d see it mentioned on a food board. :slight_smile: Sweet.

#6

We haven’t been to Paisano’s in quite a while. Thanks to this post, I’ll have to remedy that. We usually get takeout from Mi Tierra on Moody St. because they have so many vegetarian options for my son, but the eat-in vibe at Paisano’s is more to my liking.

Thimes, you said you had pupusas, right? I know we’ve had them at Paisano’s, but I can’t seem to find them on the menu.

#7

Hi, Cookie,

I’m not sure how long ago you went to school here, but these days Waltham has a vibrant and growing restaurant scene. Moody’s (which is taking over Moody St. with a coming oyster bar and taco/bbq joint to go with their wonderful Back Room and the deli. No complaints from me!), Red Bird, Tempo, Amuleto, Brewer’s Tap and Table, and Gustazo, not to mention old stand-bys like Mulan, Bison County, Taqueria Mexico, Taqueria el Amigo, Lizzie’s, Kebab and Tandoor, upscale places like La Campania and Il Capriccio and lots I have left out. If you’re still in the general vicinity, you should check us out!

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#8

I know somehow in my head I have translated Guatemalan into equadorian - didn’t recognize paisano as a Spanish word - and couldn’t remember the names of those dishes we had (no more from memory posts without a little internet confirmation - lesson learned) so my Fred is a little low right now. But I guarantee we had pupusas. They were in a part of the menu that I didn’t notice them right away in person either but I saw a picture of them on the menu, so looked a little more and found them. :wink:

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#9

You’re absolutely correct. I’ve had Ecuador on the mind and got it twisted in my mind. Thanks for fixing that - sorry I can’t go back and change the original post.

#10

I’ve been meaning to try this. I’ve only been downstairs there once and tried to talk to the most unfriendly woman at the Ugandan (?) food stall - haven’t been down again. If you think of it can you do a post with a few recommendations? It isn’t the “cafeteria” stall that is in the basement right? It is a restaurant space? I need to get back in there.

#11

Well, that makes me happy that they are still on the menu, and I know we’ve had them there before. I probably just missed them on the website menu. Thanks.

#12

I was excited that there might be Ecuadorean food! I wish we had a greater variety of Central and South American food in the Boston area. If anyone hears of anything, please post! I know about Orinoco for Venezuelan. I do hope we can experience Guatemalan in a slightly more relaxing setting in Waltham, so thanks for your report.

#13

fwiw, there’s a Peruvian/Bolivian place in Beverly that I have bookmarked for anytime I might find myself in Beverly. It’s called Fusion Andina.

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#14

Has anyone been to either of the Guanachapi’s (there are two in waltham - from the signs I assume they are the same owners)? My track record for remembering things is obviously poor right now, but they list what feels like 4-5 different countries on their sign. Haven’t been yet myself, it’s on the list.

#15

Wow… I live in California and it’s been years since I was in Waltham. But it had nothing like you write about - general stores and suburbia. The most exciting place was a liquor store. You can imagine how detrimental that was for teenagers living away from home. The alternative was going into Boston on the weekends… even worse.

#16

We’ve only been to the River St. Guanachapi’s, and it was a few years ago. It was decent, but we liked the atmosphere and the pupusas better at Paisano’s. I don’t remember details, though.

If it matters, I don’t think the Moody St. location has a liquor license, so no margaritas. At least they didn’t a few years back.

#17

Taqueria El Carrizal in Allston serves Mexican, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran food. I’ve never had the real deal, so I can’t speak to that aspect of it. But I really like Carrizal’s food in general and the Salvadoran things on the menu especially.

#18

Me Tierra on Moody St. serves decent Salvadoran and Guatemalan food.

#19

does anyone know of a restaurant that makes their pupusas in house, rather than grilling the commercial frozen ones? There are several places near where we live in east Somerville that serve pupusas, but I think they are reheating the frozen ones. I’d love to try some made from scratch.

#20

Well, Mi Tierra in Waltham has a video on their Facebook page showing someone making the pupusas, so I assume they make them all in-house.

“Food is a pretty good prism through which to view humanity.”

― Jonathan Gold