El Comal Restaurant On Mission Trail Voted Best By Patch Readers

Who has the best Mexican food in town? Patch readers say on Mission Trail near the Lake Elsinore-Wildomar line.

, as of Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. 38 percent of readers chose the family-owned eatery as their favorite. Next up in the most-popular ranking were Lake Elsinore’s and restaurants, which both tied for second place.

A quick stop to El Comal Saturday found the small eatery hopping for lunch.

“We are busy all the time,” said 49-year-old Carolina Casillas, who owns and operates the restaurant with her 30-year-old son.

Casillas said she hails from El Salvador and her husband is from Mexico, so the El Comal menu offers a taste of both countries.

“Pupusas are the specialty,” she said. A Salvadorian traditional entrée, a pupusa is a corn tortilla stuffed with beans, meats and cheeses – or any combo you like. Traditional Mexican dishes, including seafood, along with some American favorites, are also on the El Comal menu.

Ten years ago, Casillas said she visited the Mission Trail restaurant when it was known as Pearly Maes.

“I told my husband, ‘this is a good place for pupusas.’”

The deal happened fast. Within a short period, the couple purchased the place and opened for business as El Comal.

Neither partner had restaurant experience, although the family owned Los Compadres Meat Market on Main Street in Lake Elsinore at the time.

“I called my uncle and cousins for advice about what to do,” Casillas said. “They helped a lot.”

The guidance was apparently sound: A decade later, and during the roughest of recent economic times, El Comal is still in business serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

For more information about El Comal, click here.