La Super-Rica Taqueria
622 N Milpas St
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Ph: (805) 963-4940
Julia Child loved it so it must be good, right? Delicacheena will be the judge of that.
La Super Rica is a little blue joint in Santa Barbara on Milpas, a street that is a mix of residences and businesses. It's easy to miss and is not much more than a counter with a tiny kitchen in back and a funny listing patio covered in tarp to the side. Twenty numbered items are listed on a blackboard and pretty much consist of different incarnations of the same ingredients: tortillas, cheese, chicken breast, about two kinds of beef, two kinds of pork, chorizo, bacon, green chiles. Most items were around two to three dollars. There is also a board of daily specials that looked to be the same both times we've visited.
You order and pay at the front corner and then pick up your paper plates (no trays)when your number is called at the side window. While you're waiting, choose your plastic utensils and salsa. There's a pico de gallo with chunks of jalapeno, a hot sauce with red flecks of chile and a tomatillo with a big dose(too big for UE) of lime. All three tasted fresh and added dimension to the fairly simple entrees.
It seems that we all were craving various combinations of cheese, green chile and marinated pork. We had the pork taco; the chile and cheese taco; the pork quesadilla; the Super Rica Especial (at $6.00 is for big spenders) all three ingredients with three tortillas; carne asada tacos and the tamal(e) with corn, cheese, potato and green chiles.The tacos came with two tortillas and thus became two tacos each. The slightly smoky pork was well-seasoned and just fatty enough. While the cheese was oozy, the charred peppers were soft and mild. Next time we'll order the tamal without the cream sauce, but we prefer the mole-based style. Be careful and don't order everything with cheese (one dish is basically a bowl of cheese!) or it's queso overload. We also miss the tortilla chips, but we made up the loss with sat fats of cheese.
P.S. For a pleasant, if not innovative, dinner of oak grilled seafood and steak try Paradise Cafe on Ortega, a block from State Street.
