La Super-Rica Taqueria
🇲🇽 MÉXICO / HISTORICAL: The Santa Barbara taquería beloved by Julia Child and so many others will always be a lightning rod amongst food lovers.
🇲🇽 MÉXICO
📍 622 N. Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, California.
💲 Cash Only
🥤 Bottled beer available
HISTORICAL ARTICLES are brought over from eattheworldla.com to make sure our Substack content is constantly growing and as full of depth as possible. These will never be behind the paywall.
📆 Original Article 08 December 2018
Like many visitors before and many after, this stop into La Super-Rica was on the way back from wine country, before enjoying some of the evening events in town. If you do not belong firmly in the "reactionary anti-La Super Rica contingent" as Jonathan Gold called it, it is probably ok just to shrug away the feelings of others on both sides.
But since this visit took place as tourists hopping off the 101 on the way back from wine tasting, it was settled into and enjoyable. Most notable visually is the chile relleno de verduras estilo Chiapas (above). The poblano pepper stuffed with vegetables is thinly breaded and fried, then drowned in sauces and crema.
It is unclear exactly the answer to why things here are not shining stars, but it may just be a general level of simplification for the the people eating here. Yes, these folks look hungry, but they have neither the cravings missing from their childhood of abuela's cooking or those of their birthplace.
It may be good advice to avoid the rajas tacos, which like most of the rest of the menu comes with handfuls of melted cheese. Best not to avoid cheese altogether though and give into the Super-Rica Especial (above), which is marinated pork somewhere between enchilada and al pastor roasted with peppers and smothered in cheese. Use their salsas and pico de gallo to enhance the flavors as necessary. The Frijol Super-Rica (below) is not beany or bacon-y enough to fulfill its promise, unfortunately.
The place is fun for sure. Grab bottles of beer and relax in a space that will almost certainly have formidable weather. The walls are painted light blue and despite the bustle, La Super-Rica is pretty comfortable once you find a seat.
🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽