Family Recipe

Delgado’s Restaurant
Family
Recipe
By A m y Oro z co
Ph ot o s b y Jo e l Co nr oy
Not so much a place of “where everyone knows
your name” but more “everyone knows your
order,” Delgado’s has been serving traditional
Mexican food since 1965. Befitting Mexican cuisine,
that tradition includes the flavors of familia and mi
casa es su casa.
Before getting to the food part, let’s taste the
other ingredients that have made Delgado’s a Carpinteria mainstay for lunch and dinner. Primero,
familia. Suzanne and Arthuro “Art” Castellanos
started the restaurant and the then-tortilla factory. Suzanne’s mother, Christina Delgado, was in
the food business, and you may be familiar with
the Carpinteria-famous, mid-century photo of the
old-time gas pumps and Delgado’s store at the very
west end of Carpinteria Avenue. Today, Suzanne
and Art’s daughter, Christina Castellanos, manages
Delgado’s. Her two teenage sons bus tables there,
and her brother, Art Jr., manages Pepe’s, the sister
restaurant in old town Goleta.
Segundo, a warm welcome establishes a feeling
of belonging and wanting to be there. The roomy
OPPOSITE PAGE, family style dining. Rellenos con
crema are a favorite item with Delgado’s loyal customer
base.
TOP, flan from scratch puts the finishing touch on an
evening out. It’s the perfect taste of sweetness after a
spicy and flavor-filled entree.
LEFT, the whole Michelada, a Mexican version of a red
beer that is gaining popularity in the United States
and at the Carpinteria Avenue eatery. Delgado’s is also
known for its Grande Margarita.
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booths or front patio offer perfect comfort. A big, beautiful bar greets diners. The
high ceilings and spacious dining room
encourage lounging and conversation long
after the last morsel of dessert has been
eaten. Accommodating parties of up to 25,
Delgado’s has been a favorite spot for birthdays, rehearsal dinners, and anniversary
parties, among life’s other celebrations.
“Everyone has their Delgado’s night.
Friday nights are busy, and reservations
are recommended,” says manager Christina, who knows many of the customers’
orders by heart because “people tend to stick
with their favorites. And we have the same
Sunday people.”
She describes her restaurant’s fare as
“home style” and the typical customer as
“family oriented.”
Grandma Christina Delgado’s recipes made up the first menu in 1965. Some
original dishes remain and others have
been updated. Customer favorites include
chili verde, carnitas, menudo, enchiladas,
rellenos, crunchy tacos, and Michoacán,
a new item which is a pasilla chile stuffed
with grilled chicken or tri-tip and covered
with a cream sauce.
Today, the three choices of beans are a
nod to more health conscious eating. Along
with the old school refried beans with lard,
there are whole pinto beans without lard
and whole black beans without lard. Old
school remains popular. When ordering, a
diner may stew a bit about the beans, but
Castellanos laughs and says “I tell them,
‘once you walk in the door you’ve made the
decision.’”
Delgado’s is as famous for its Grande
Margarita as it is for its home-cooked meals.
The drink is feeling the heat from some
competition, though. Gaining in popularity, the Michelada is a Mexican beer
cocktail whose ingredients include choice of
beer, Clamato juice, lime juice, pepper, and
Tabasco on ice with a salted rim.
LEFT, FROM TOP, Isidro Gutierrez takes
charge of making masa. First, he cooks the corn.
Then, stone grinds it. If the masa is to be used
for tamales, it is made into a dough. The originator of Delgado’s masa production is restaurant
manager Christina Castellanos’ grandmother,
Christina Delgado, who made handmade tortillas at her grocery store up the road from the
present-day restaurant. Delgado’s restaurant
and tortilla factory opened at the same time and
location in 1965. The tortillas were delivered
tri-county wide until the 1970s.
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The former tortilla factory makes for a wonderfully
huge kitchen with plenty of room for pots of simmering
sauces, tubs of freshly chopped peppers, pans of roasting meats, and counter space to assemble a perfect meal,
including dessert. Made from scratch, the homemade flan
is a labor intensive custard-like dish whose preparation
needs to begin early in the morning.
Though tortilla production is in the past, the kitchen
continues the age-old art of making masa, a basic operation requiring hefty machinery. For tortillas and sopes,
the masa process includes cooking the corn and stone
grinding it. For tamales, the process is taken one step
further and the corn is mixed into a dough.
Popular all year long, wholesale and retail masa
sales rise during the holiday season, when a number of
families’ tradition includes a day dedicated to making
tamales. For others, tradition is to eat at casa Delgado’s –
all year long. All year long.◆
TOP, the Chicken Avocado Salad is fresh, zesty, and delicious.
RIGHT, Christina Castellanos’ parents, Suzanne and Arthuro
“Art” Castellanos, opened Delgado’s restaurant and tortilla
factory in 1965. Today, Christina is Delgado’s manager.
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