I’m Sebastian Restrepo, a photojournalist for MassLive. I travel throughout Massachusetts, capturing moments and telling visual stories, and find myself in new parts of the state often.
When I’m roaming around a new area, I’m always looking to eat somewhere local, affordable and delicious. My favorite thing to Google is ‘food near me.’ It’s how I love to find mom-and-pop spots all over the Bay State.
I’m going to take you on my lunch journey, exposing you to places that might be right down the street or worth hopping in the car and taking an hour drive. But I’ll need your help, so let me know where I should go if I’m ever in your town.
The three basic rules I will always follow are:
No chain restaurantsNo reservations requiredJust good food made locally, by the people who make this state incredible.
I recently had an assignment to document the French national soccer team as they became acquainted with their practice facility at Bentley University in Waltham ahead of the World Cup, but the real treat was about to be served alongside warm tortillas.
Juanita’s Kitchen
Juanita’s Kitchen — a Salvadoran-Mexican fusion restaurant 5 minutes down the road from the university at 235 Newton St. — is exactly the type of place I’m on the hunt for. The owner was there, her daughter worked the kitchen and her nephew watched a little World Cup action on the TV with me.
My approach is simple when I try a new restaurant. I ask for the most popular dish, and I get another dish that catches my eye for good measure.
I ordered the chicharron and cheese pupusa as a starter. This is a rice flour dough that holds melted cheese and shredded pork belly. The pupusas are accompanied with a small coleslaw-style salad and a tomato-based dipping sauce.
The main dish was the carne asada. It came with grilled flank steak, refried black beans, seasoned rice, fried plantains and hand-made warm tortillas.
The chicharron and cheese pupusa with a side of coleslaw and tomato-based sauce as pictured on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Waltham, Mass.(Sebastian Restrepo/MassLive)
Before I cleared my plates, I took an opportunity to sit with Juanita Benitez and her daughter, Erika Fuentes, who wanted to give you some inside information about their restaurant.
The most popular dishes are the chimichurri and grilled steak, all variety of their pupusas and their sopes. Benitez’s favorite dish is grilled chicken with grilled vegetables. It’s a light, clean meal that’s low in carbs and high in flavor and protein so you can be ready to work, said Benitez. “This will leave you full but not uncomfortable,” Benitez remarked.Fuentes said the chimichurri sauce is a family recipe and people always ask for more.Fuentes said the food here is very authentic — you will be able to hear the clapping of a pupusa being hand-made. Benitez also owns neighboring Los Latinos Meat Market, where they source their never-frozen fresh proteins. If you go
Juanita’s Kitchen, 235 Newton St. in Waltham:
Open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.Parking is on street and the street is busy.They accept all major cards and tap-to-pay methodsThey are on all major food delivery platforms, such as DoorDash and GrubhubThere are vegetarian and gluten-free options available.
Dining and Cooking