Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a mom who can cook real Mexican food and cook it well, but at the new restaurant California Tacos in Solvang, everyone can at least get a taste of delicious authenticity.
Planned for more than a year, the taco shop opened on Aug. 2, drawing crowds of hungry locals. Owner Alex Uribe credited the enterprise to his mother Cecelia, affectionately known as “Chila,” who once made her mouth-watering tacos for a friend’s party.
“One of [his] caterers cancelled and he wondered if we wanted to just do some tacos, and we did,” Alex said. “From there, people started asking for [Chila], and we said maybe we should sell something.
“It’s like going to my mom’s house,” he added. “You can’t get that anywhere else.”
Alex’s family, originally from Jalisco, Guadalajara, has called the Santa Ynez Valley home for more than three decades. Aesthetically, the casual restaurant reflects a blend of old Mexico and California, with its Spanish-style arches and Mexican-tile floors, along with historic photos of Solvang and the valley.
Much of Alex’s family has a hand in the shop, like brother Rafael, who works in the kitchen. He explained the taco shop’s philosophy.
“You don’t need 300 items on the menu,” Rafael said. “Just make it fresh, make it daily, and make it right.”
The menu might be simple, but the end result takes a lot of work to create. California Tacos uses only homemade tortillas and produce provided by local growers, and doesn’t use any frozen, microwaved, or canned ingredients.
“Everything’s made fresh from the start, from our salsas to our meats, so it takes a little bit of preparation,” Alex said. “Even though we’re just doing tacos and burritos and a little extra stuff, when everything’s done that same day, it’s very labor intensive.”
So far, the carne asada has been the biggest hit among locals, but Alex said it’s the salsa bar that really sets the restaurant apart. Besides tomatillo-based salsas, the bar offers “guaca chile,” a blend of sour cream, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, and a few other spices. The exact combination is a long-held family secret.
Looking for more recipes, Alex went back to Guadalajara to find the torta ahorgada, a pork carnitas sandwich bathed in a tomato-based sauce.
“It’s not popular now because a lot of people haven’t eaten that before,” he said. “But once they get introduced to it, I think it’s going to be a really big hit.”
Every day brings a special entrée, from Tamale Thursdays to Menudo on Saturdays and Sundays, where cooks prepare and serve the traditional soup the old-fashioned, slow-cooked way using “Chila’s” original recipe.
Customers can place orders via phone, e-mail, fax, or even text message, so the food’s ready when you want. A website will also be up and running soon, where orders can be placed and paid for right online.
Located at 606 Alamo Pintado Road, California Tacos is open Mondays, and Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.
For more information or to place an order, call 691-9495 or text 341-4451.
Highlights
• Food safety and the post-harvest handling of vegetables will be the topic of a meeting at the Santa Maria Public Library on Sep. 2.
Speakers will include Maria Cantwell, post-harvest specialist at U.C. Davis; Trevor Suslow, extension research specialist at U.C. Davis; and Surendra Dara, strawberry and vegetable crops advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Luis Obispo.
The meeting is free to attend and takes place inside the library’s Shepard Hall from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Lunch will be provided.
Attendees must pre-register by Aug. 26 at ucanr.org/vegmeetingregistration.
For more information, call 781-5940.
Biz Spotlight/ Highlights are written and compiled by Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Aug 11-18, 2011.
