solita Tacos & Margaritas (24201 Valencia Blvd., Suite 3470, Valencia, CA 91355; 661.291.1399) opens in Valencia today and was developed from a trio of restaurant-industry veterans and some serious Mexican-food cravings. While living in San Diego, co-founder and Operations Director Matt Baumayr fell in love with Baja’s casual roadside restaurants.
Baumayr brought one of his close friends, his former boss and mentor, Rich Howland, who had started the RA Sushi concept, down to Baja to explore the food scene further, and the pair decided to find a way to bring the experience back across the border. A little research led them to ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, one of the first English-language cookbooks highlighting the cuisine of the region. And by coincidence, it turned out the author, Deborah Schneider, lived less than a mile from Baumayr’s home.
Originally from Toronto, Schneider left a job as an editor to pursue her cooking dream more than 30 years ago. She worked as a cook on private yachts in the Mediterranean and Florida before settling in San Diego and beginning her chef career, working her way through San Diego’s best kitchens. In time she became the first female chef at the Grant Grill and was the first (and only) female Executive Chef in the Hilton hotel chain at the four-star Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. For several seasons, she oversaw eight kitchens and more than 200 cooks running the dining program at the Del Mar Racetrack during thoroughbred race season.
Baumayr and Howland convinced Schneider to quit her day job, and the trio opened SOL Cocina in Newport Beach in 2009. That led to a second location in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the first solita Tacos & Margaritas in Huntington Beach last December.
solita Tacos & Margaritas indoor-outdoor bar has roll-up doors opening on the outdoor patio. The décor goes along with a philosophy of service inspired by Baja.
At solita Tacos & Margaritas, nearly everything on the menu is grilled or smoked over oak, giving it the deep, rustic flavor that distinguishes authentic Mexican food. Tacos are the main attraction, with 11 choices for fillings, ranging from Wood-Grilled Ancho Chile-Rubbed Chicken, Red Chile Beef ‘Borracho’ made with Chihuahua-Style Oak-Smoked shredded beef cooked in beer-spiked red chile salsa and Pork Carnitas cooked with Coca-Cola to a Crispy Fried Fish Taco. Vegetarians have options like the Mushrooms with Garlic & Epazote made with exotic mushrooms sautéed with fresh epazote, red chile and garlic and the pan roasted Chile Tofu with firm pressed tofu with ancho chile, garlic and red chile rub. The El Primo Taco Taster Plate lets you choose four, plus a side, so you can sample a bunch.
Any of those fillings can also come in a burrito, quesadilla, enchilada, rice-and-beans bowl or a Panzón, which is a large flour tortilla stuffed with fillings, folded in half and cooked until crisp on the comal. There are plenty of shareable Antojitos as well, including Yellowtail Ceviche Tropicale, the Grilled Corn Elote with butter, chipotle salsa and cotija cheese, and Queso al Forno, a bubbly combo of Mexican cheeses with green onions and Serrano chiles in an iron cazuela served with both corn and flour tortillas.
The solita Specialties section has dishes that are a bit more substantial, like a traditional Chile Relleno con Queso with roasted poblano chile stuffed with Mexican cheeses fried in a fluffy egg batter, on fresh tomato ranchera sauce with crema, cotixa cheese and avocado; the Wood-Grilled Wild Fish, served with lime butter and avocado salad; and hearty salads, like the Oak-Roasted Chipotle Chicken Salad with Bacon & Jalapeño and the Grilled Carne Asada & Esquites Salad.
Desserts include House-made Churros with cinnamon sugar and chocolate dipping sauce, while the Deep-Fried Ice Cream, made with a scoop of vanilla coated with crunchy corn flakes and coconut served with nutella, dulce de leche and chocolate sauces.
When it came to the bar at solita Tacos & Margaritas, there was really only one focus: tequila. Bar Director Colin Pflugradt has been bartending since he was 19 (it’s legal to serve at that age in his native Arizona) and has been working with the team for the last five years.
solita Tacos & Margaritas features 40 different tequilas, including a very special Casa Noble Single Barrel that you can only get at SOL and its sister restaurants. The restaurant lives up to their name with cocktails like the Grande Casa Noble Margarita, one of eight Margaritas on the menu. All are made with fresh-squeezed juices and range from classic to guava, kiwi-strawberry and El Hombre, a ‘rita made with chipotle-infused tequila. There is also a Seasonal Tequila Infusion, currently a pineapple and vanilla-spiked concoction that is available as a shot, on the rocks or shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass. The Horchata Cocktail, will satisfy your sweet tooth and combines the house-made horchata with tequila, a Bailey’s-like tequila cream liqueur and cinnamon.
The solita Michelada includes house-made hot sauce, Clamato, lime juice and Dos Equis Lager and it will cure most hangovers for sure. In addition to the tequila and cocktails, solita Tacos & Margaritas offers a selection of 8 Mexican beers (and Bud Light), and a brief but well-edited selection of wines, all of them from California. And for the non-drinkers, there are two different Seasonal Aguas Frescas available every day, along with un-spiked glasses of that house-made Horchata.
Open Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm and Friday & Saturday, 11 am-11 pm (The bar is open until midnight or later daily.)
solita food & cocktail photo credit: Moretti Photo
solita interior photo credit: Photos by Paul Body
