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January 25, 2009

la super rica & el bajio

Ordering at La Super Rica.

When you want to get out of LA for the weekend, but you don't have time to get out of LA for the weekend, an impromptu road trip to Santa Barbara for a taco crawl is a very good solution. My friend Meg came up with that one. She's a smart one, that Meg, and a good eater to boot.

After a mandatory pre-trip coffee stop at Intelligentsia, we were on the road under a perfectly sunny and blue sky, tacos shimmering on the horizon. We exited the 101 freeway on Milpas, where three of the four (or was it five?) taco spots on Meg's map were located, including the famous La Super Rica.

El Bajio.

But El Bajio was our first stop, a small and spotlessly clean taqueria with a large menu. We had eyes only for the tacos and ordered four: asada, adobada, chicharron and lengua. The aguas frescas were appealing, but since Meg only had $13 in cash and I had $0 in cash, and -- you guessed it -- El Bajio is cash only, we made do with ice water. The first rule of any good taco crawl is BRING CASH. How could we forget?

Lengua and chicharron tacos.

The second rule of any good taco crawl is probably ORDER THE ORGANS because the lengua was my favorite, followed closely by the asada. The adobada had a little too much cinnamon and the chicharron was a major fail, we both agreed. Skin is best when it's crispy, something I didn't realize until I tried to eat a taco filled with limp, soggy skin-sponges.

Refreshed by tacos and good salsa, we hit an ATM down the street and continued our crawl down Milpas. After a brief peek into another taqueria left us uninspired and kind of blinded by the bright orange and yellow decor, we decided to make La Super Rica our next stop. They had just opened for the day, but there was already a line of tourists outside.

Line outside La Super Rica.

"This was Julia Child's favorite Mexican food place." This is the first thing you will hear in line at La Super Rica and the last thing you'll hear before you leave and in between you will hear it approximately one kajillion times. Is it horrible of me to say that while I love Julia Child, love her books and her voice and her influence on American cuisine, I don't know if I exactly love her taste in Mexican food? She quite famously hated cilantro. Cilantro!

The third rule of any good taco crawl must certainly be CILANTRO IS NOT OPTIONAL.

Veggie tamale.

So here we must part ways, Julia, here on the road to Mexico. I do apologize. I liked that the woman in the kitchen was making corn tortillas by hand, but then I put a spoonful of the house beans on one and bit into it, and it tasted flat. (The tortillas at El Bajio, on the other hand, were so good we had peeled pieces away from the chicharron taco and eaten them plain.) And Julia, the special vegetable tamale we got was so odd, like it was made of potatoes instead of corn, and the white sauce on top was mysterious, but not in a good way.

Beans!

But upside of La Super Rica was that there were no empty tables. There were no empty tables and as we were settling ourselves onto a side bench, a couple sitting nearby invited us to sit with them. They laughed at us when I started snapping pictures of the food ("Those are frijoles!"), but not meanly. They were an odd pair. He looked ancient and frail, but his mind and wit were razor-sharp. She was nearly half his age, expansive and warm, with a cracked, explosive laugh. Bob and Jasmine. They had both spent their whole lives in Santa Barbara and Jasmine got down to the business of deciding what we should do with the rest of our day. "Um? We were planning on walking all over town eating tacos?" was clearly not going to cut it.

At Franceschi Park.

She told us about Franceschi Park, a tiny park with the most incredible views hidden away in the hills above us, where she and her friends used to hang out and get stoned in high school. "You'll never find it though. We'd better show you there." And somehow we were back on the street, nearly running back to El Bajio to get Meg's car so we could follow them up the hill. "This is kind of crazy," we said to each other. But also kind of awesome. After all, the fourth rule of any good taco crawl is TALK TO STRANGERS.

The view from the park was as breathtaking as she had promised, especially on such clear and golden day. After soaking it up for awhile, we got back in the car and followed Bob and Jasmine to the mission, where they pointed us to the parking lot and waved goodbye from their car window.

The mission.

"I bet Bob told her, 'You need to leave those girls alone!' in the car," Meg said as we wandered aimlessly over the mission's flat green lawn. To be honest, we didn't mind missing out on the other places Jasmine had in mind for us, like the bird sanctuary or the old-school bar where we were sure to find "action" -- whatever that meant -- a description which had prompted a disagreement between Bob and Jasmine about whether or not we were girls who liked action. All I have to say is: I take pictures of beans. Does that settle it?

The day ended with Thrifty's ice cream cones on State Street and a peaceful drive home, which was spent mainly talking about muffins.

Who needs action when you can have tacos?

El Bajio
129 N Milpas St
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) 884-1828

La Super Rica
622 N Milpas St
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) 963-4940

Posted by anjali at 3:44 PM | Comments (2) | Categories: Restaurant | Santa Barbara

January 14, 2009

maple-bacon cinnamon rolls

During this time of economic uncertainty, I believe bacon can make things better. Think about it: just a little bit goes a long way, flavoring a whole pot of beans or plate of braised greens with its smoky meatiness. Leftover bacon grease -- an unappealing term, let's say bacon drippings, much better -- can be saved and used instead of oil, adding a savory something-something to an otherwise straightforward mirepoix. "Bacon makes anything better" may well be the mantra of this terrifying (and exciting -- Obama!) time, whispered like a prayer over the chocolate-covered bacon slices, bacon-wrapped meats, even bacon ice cream being eaten around the country.

And so I offer my contribution to the nation's altar of bacon: maple-bacon cinnamon rolls. Soft and yeasty, with the occasional salty-smoke hit of bacon, they were inspired by this bacon doughnut recipe I spotted. I wanted maple-bacon breakfast goodness, but didn't want to deal with large amounts of oil bubbling on the stove, so the idea for this cinnamon roll was born, using Molly's Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze as a starting point. As an added plus, the fact that these are baked instead of fried makes you forget the thick layer of butter and sugar rolled up inside. Compared to a doughnut they seem almost...virtuous.

Okay, I know. Nothing with bacon ever seems virtuous. But, you know, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I myself won't be casting any stones -- with a maple-bacon cinnamon roll in each hand, it's just not possible.

Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 18 rolls

Dough
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
4 slices cooked bacon, chopped

Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat over a low flame until mixture is just warmed to 120-130 degrees F. (Or put them in a glass measuring cup and microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.) Pour into a large bowl (or stand mixer). Add 1 cup flour, sugar, eggs, yeast and salt. Beat with the mixer or by hand for 3 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pull away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly flour work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. While it rises, mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at one long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide).

Butter two 9-inch square glass baking dishes. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and let dough rise until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn right side up.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and maple syrup in a medium bowl. Drizzle glaze over rolls and immediately sprinkle with chopped bacon. Serve warm. Realize you should eat more bacon.

Posted by anjali at 6:32 PM | Comments (7) | Categories: Recipe