I know this contractor dude, Ivan Casavantes, who I see at remodel jobs all over the county. He always seems to have some secret spot, right around the corner, with the best quesadillas or breakfast burritos on the coast. He brings enough for his whole crew but rarely lets the restaurant’s name slip. I think he likes being the only guy with the intel, and it’s hard to hold a grudge when he’s getting things built and hooking up grub. Well last Friday, I finally got him to show me first-hand where some of this stuff was cooked, and now I’m blowing the secret: Chela Deli. Sorry (not sorry), Ivan!
Casavantes and his brother met me at a little strip mall off of S. Blosser in Santa Maria. There’s a corner store, a cellphone retailer, a billiards hall, and a mid-sized restaurant. But that’s not where we ate. The little deli was easily overlooked, even with the attached market selling produce, basic canned goods, breads, and meat.
Just inside, an unassuming countertop and bench seats separated customers from a small kitchen. Signs on the walls advertised types of meat in broad terms—carne asada, carnitas, cabeza, etc. Otherwise, there wasn’t really a menu. There were no servers or bussers, either, just two little ladies with decades of experience. Turns out, they were more than enough.
Casavantes said he found Chela Deli when he’d left his truck at a nearby tire shop early one morning about a year ago. He had time to kill and figured he’d catch a bite to eat somewhere within walking distance. He was surprised when the lady at the counter said she’d make whatever he wanted and was blown away when he ate his eggs and chilaquiles.
“Oh my God, it was so bomb,” he said.
I was trying to taste something I didn’t know I was missing, so Casavantes ordered for me. I didn’t understand everything that was said, but I did hear, “para él,” a lot and knew I was in for a big ol’ meal.
For this lunch, Casavantes steered me toward fresh ceviche tostadas to start and a main plate with rice, beans, two kinds of meat stew, and a pile of tortillas for scooping it all up.
I only recently discovered mole and have been eating it a lot. The recipe for the stuff calls for so many ingredients that there’s a ton of room for variation and experimentation from cook to cook, and I’ve yet to see it taste the same twice. Chela Deli’s version was pungent, smoky, sweet, and spicy with tender chicken. I’d call it a winner.
Casavantes called the other stew costillas y nopalitos (ribs and cactus), and it was great. The cactus chunks had a unique flavor, but their texture was similar enough to bell peppers to feel familiar. The ribs were cooked bone-in, meat fell off with the squeeze of a tortilla, and it was utterly satisfying in that spicy brown sauce.
“This stuff is my favorite, bro.” Casavantes said. “I could eat this every day.”
He said I had to try the enchiladas, too, and ordered a small plate. The ladies served theirs crispy with lettuce, cream, and crumbled cheese to liven things up a bit. I’ve never loved enchiladas, but Chela Deli’s take was damn good.
The cooks were a sight to behold. They worked right in front of the customers, taking orders, prepping food, and serving up dishes at a whirlwind pace without looking the slightest bit phased. I hadn’t heard either one speak a word of English, but I wanted to get to know them a little bit.
“Yo hablo un poco de español, pero es muy malo,” I said.
“That’s OK,” one of the ladies said, “my English is bad, too.”
Through a blend of English and Spanish, I gathered that her name was Graciela Ruiz and that she has lived in Santa Maria for 51 years and owned and operated Chela Deli for the last 21. She said that her main drive is always to make the customer happy.
“Every day we make something special,” Ruiz said.
With my plates piling up already, Ruiz offered me one of her special tacos, fried on the griddle with chorizo, beans, and cheese inside. It was greasy in all the right ways, but I was just about stuffed with goodness and only had room for a bite.
The whole meal only cost a little more than $10 per person, which doesn’t really make any sense to me. It was too good and bountiful to fetch a mere Hamilton, but I’m definitely not complaining.
As I thanked Casavantes for showing me this fabulous place, he suggested dessert and told me his wife’s family owns the area’s original Michoacana-style ice cream shop, Paleteria Y Neveria La Linda Michoacana. The name comes from a state in Western Mexico where the drive to create frozen sweet treats from every flavor imaginable apparently originated.
Again, I was pretty full of food at this point and was more curious about Casaventes’ in-laws than I was hungry. I sampled a few ice cream flavors and ordered a phenomenal fruit punch agua fresca with minced apples, bananas, and strawberries before heading back to work.
The photo I took of the drink turned out so horribly that I just had to go back to the ice cream store, and I brought my daughter along this time. Even though I know in my bones that fresh fruit is La Linda’s specialty, we wanted ice cream and had plenty of options, from standard offerings to oddball flavors. My daughter had to try the cheese ice cream and loved it. I tried one of their newer flavors, an ice cream inspired by the semi-sweet Galleta Maria cookies found all over Mexico.
With so many options for Mexican fare across Santa Maria, it’s hard to find spots that offer a unique experience, but it’s well worth the search.
Contributor Nick Powell is ready for the next food adventure. Send foodie treasure maps to npowell@santamariasun.com.
Powell’s Picks
• I was in the Five Cities area this weekend and had a delicious bowl of thai curry soup at Sisters Kitchen that had me slurping up every last drop. With soft and crunchy noodles, kaffir lime, shallots, creamy red coconut curry, cilantro, and chicken, the Khao Soi dish satisfied my craving for something a little more adventurous than the standard-issue pad thai. Slurp for yourself at 245 W. Grand Ave. in Grover Beach, (805) 471-1436 for take out.
• Enjoy a hearty breakfast and support a good cause at the Orcutt Lions Club Pancake Breakfast on Saturday Sept. 14 from 7 to 11 a.m. at 126 S. Broadway Street. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for kids under 12 years old and the funds bolster the club’s community service efforts. Eggs, sausage, coffee, and juice will also be served. After breakfast, stroll the streets of Old Town Orcutt and enjoy the All Ford Car Show.
• Naughty Oak Brewery in Santa Maria is hosting “N/Oktoberfest 2019” Sept. 20 and 21. On Friday night, AR Catering will serve German food while Ghost/Monster Band rocks the stage from 7 to 10 p.m. On Saturday, Debilz Family Mobile Kitchen takes over the sauerkraut and brat service, and Naughty Oak keeps the beer flowing. Don’t miss the stein hoisting contests. Call (805) 287-9663 for more details.
Contributing writer Nick Powell is cooking up ideas for fresh food recommendations. Send suggestions to npowell@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 12-19, 2019.