BryAnna's Restaurant - Salvadoran & Guatemalan BYO

Tried to go to the Angry Crab Saturday night for a birthday and was met with a 90 minute wait at 5:20 pm. One of the guests mentioned passing a Guatemalan/Salvadoran restaurant so we went there instead. Also a BYO, the restaurant had a nice atmosphere; slightly too bright. Service was solid/slow and it was full by the time we left.

I claim no expertise in Central American food, but it was tasty. We started with a Ceviche and a couple of Pupusas. Ceviche was fine, but the Pupusas were tasty. The steak I had was decent; thin, a little fatty, but tasty. Wife had a Chicken stew dish that looked good. Our companions had a Vegetarian platter and another chicken dish. I can't remember the exact names, but food was very good. Overall, a very solid neighborhood ethnic restaurant.

5695 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago IL, 60625
http://www.bryannasrestaurant.com/

BTW, in researching the address on LTH, the address was the former home of the notorious Money Shot
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f= ... money+shot

Hmmmm.... sounds familiar - any relation to the Brianna's on Western and Lincoln?

4911 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

http://www.yelp.com/biz/briannas-restaurant-chicago-2

Looks like Yelp has the Western location closing and announcing a Grand Opening on Lincoln (12/5/15).

LTH,

Tasty, friendly, inexpensive, bright, clean and BYOB, perfect for a low impact meal with the bride.

Gratis chips and salsa
Green had flavorful kick


Tamal Guatemalteco
Moist hunks of pork, tamal enhanced by green salsa


Pupusa, loroco w/queso
Enjoyed the flowery flavor of loroco


Ceviche de Camaron
Mild flavor, small salad shrimp. Fine but no bounce.


Pepian
Described as "Mayan chicken stew with potatoes, green beans and imported Guatemalan spices with a side of rice and tortillas" Hearty, elemental, delicious. A brief web search yielded descriptors such as Traditional Guatemalan, national dish etc.


Flan
Solid version, bride thought a shade dense. I'd guess style decision on Bryanna's part.


Entire meal, including tax but not gratuity, $34.85. Would happily repeat the same meal, without the ~ok~ ceviche which would put cost in the low $20 for two people. Though I plan on exploring Bryanna's menu

Thanks for the post JacketPotato, got me in sooner rather then later.

Bryanna's, count me a Fan!

Several people at the Evanston Lunch Group at Bite of Szechuan on March 21 noted this restaurant at the north end of the block. My wife and I decide to try it for lunch today and are glad we did. Definitely time to give the thread a bump. This is the successor to the Brianna's that was on Western but with a change in spelling.

We ordered from the lunch menu, which is not on the web site and which has some different menu items.

I had a plate of two pupusas. They offer pork, cheese or a mixed filling that uses ground pork, cheese and beans. They was accompanied by rice, pureed black beans and a rather vinegary carrot and cabbage salad. My previous experience with pupusas has been from the two El Guanaco restaurants. These compare favorably.

My wife had spinach taquitos. They were generous to a fault with the spinach filling. They were topped with melted cheese. Rice and black beans were included.

The red salsa on the table did not taste of much but tomato puree. However, as G Wiv noted in the previous post

Green had flavorful kick.

We will be back.

The web address on the two awnings has two letters omitted. The awning painter was consistently wrong. Since the beginning of the thread they have gone to https.
https://www.bryannasrestaurant.com/

Giving this thread a bump. There have been some changes since 2017, notably a liquor license, but the food seems unchanged in several visits over the last few years. The prices have crept up but are still quite reasonable. The variety of pupusas has increased over time as has the number of other Salvadoran and Guatemalan dishes. They have cut the number of Mexican dishes.

We had lunch here on Monday with one of my sisters and her husband who live in Goshen, IN, where the population is about 1/3rd Hispanic (mostly Mexican) with a lot of Mexican restaurants. They appreciated the differences in food from Mexican. The room is still comfortable and fairly quiet. The complimentary corn chips were not top quality but the warm black bean dip accompanying them was good. We mostly had pupusas or taquitos, which come with rice and black beans. Lunch service is pleasant but unrushed. This has never been a place for a fast lunch but is good for a leisurely lunch with conversation.

We arrived about one pm and while there only two other tables were occupied. They could use some LTH love.

https://www.bryannasrestaurant.com/