Solita Searching

Solita Tacos and Margaritas

24201 Valencia Blvd. #3470

Valencia, CA 91355

Whenever we come up this way to see Katie's cousins our plans always seem to go out of whack. We had these great intentions to hit a brunch spot in Sherman Oaks or Glendale on the way home, but after a late night of drinking, laughing, and not getting back to our hotel until close to 2 am, we threw our ambitions out the window. Wanting to sleep until right near our 11 o'clock checkout time, we instead chose a brunch spot near our hotel and one where we knew we could get a table right away. We ended up at a restaurant that was very familiar to both Katie and me, Solita.

Solita opened up in Huntington Beach almost four years ago. Man does time fly. We were there for a media dinner a few weeks after they opened and really enjoyed our experience. We have been back to the HB location sporadically since that first visit, but never for brunch. This Valencia outpost, which is situated at the front of the Valencia Town Center has been open for three years now.

Our love for Solita is probably not much of a surprise to any of our long-time readers of this restaurant blog. Solita is headed by Partner and Executive Chef Deborah Schneider, who we fell in love with, and her cuisine at Sol Cocina in Newport Beach. She's been nominated for a James Beard Award for her cookbook, Cooking With the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta, written five other cookbooks, was instrumental in the farm to table movement and has over 25 years worth of professional cooking experience.

As Sol Cocina is more of a polished and upscale Mexican restaurant, Solita was created to cater to the neighborhood as a more casual and relaxed concept. They want to become your local go-to spot for Mexican food. Their menu is filled with a bunch of appetizer options and Mexican favorites. There's only one item that is over the $20 mark, and they are well thought of for their bar program, with margaritas and the frozen horchata being favorites. Still having to drive 2 hours home, a drink was not in the cards for me, but I was excited to spend some quality time with Katie's cousins and try Solita's brunch for the first time.

I devoured my fair share of these tortilla chips and duros when they were sat in front of us. I could not control myself, and while they were delicious, the crunch also prevented me from having to listen to the birthday girl Yvette, who was rambling on about how good she feels for turning 80. Both the duros and the lightly fried tortilla chips were a great vessel for the salsa which provided a nice and steady heat to it.

Since Steve wanted to keep the party going from the night before, he ordered two of these Watermelon Margaritas ($11) on this early afternoon. They are made with Agavales Blanco Tequila as a base and then crushed watermelon and lime juice is added. Very refreshing and it probably did the job of numbing the pain of being married to Yvette.

Entrees made their way out to us, and up first was Katie's choice, the colorful Mad Scramble ($14.50). With this one, you have the choice of chorizo, carnitas, or chicken, which is what she went with. The scramble is also made up of tomatoes, spinach, onions, potatoes, peppers, chipotle chiles, Mexican crema, melted cheese, and of course scrambled eggs. Katie felt that the sauce on this was a bit too spicy for her palette, and she'd ask for it to be on the side next time. She claimed that this was filling and she also was a big fan of the tortilla strips topping this, as they added a nice crunch to most bites. I really enjoyed the bite I had of this. The sauce was a bit spicy, but not overbearing.

Not the most picturesque plating, but how can you really make a burrito visually stunning without cutting into it? Steve was feeling the Breakfast Burrito ($10) on this early afternoon at Solita. This red flour tortilla was wrapped around refried black beans, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Steve did not really seem too jazzed about this burrito, as he tried to trade half of it to his wife, but no dice. Yvette was having no part of it. I would have added some meat to this burrito to give it a little more substance.

I can not get chilaquiles off of my mind lately, so it was a foregone conclusion that I would get the Chilaquiles ($11.75) at Solita. I have to say this was a pretty satisfying version of my favorite Mexican breakfast. I did add the carnitas at a $2.75 upcharge, but it was totally worth it. The fried tortilla chips were nice and firm like I like them, and I had the choice of green or red salsa, so I went with the red. Scrambled eggs, sliced avocado, cheese, and crema topped the chips. When this was sat in front of me I thought the serving size was a little on the small size, but it was a very filling plate. The pork was nice and tender, the wedges of avocado were fresh and creamy, and the red salsa gave this a little spark of heat which was appreciated. I got to choose a side item to go with this, and I went with the beans, which were a little too watery, but they ended up tasting fine.

Even though we did not plan on coming to Solita on this trip to the valley, it ended up being a pretty good brunch. We got in and out rather quickly, my chilaquiles were well above average, and we got to spend a little more time with our favorite cousins, Yvette, Steve, and Gaby. Service was efficient and friendly, just like we have come to expect from our trips to Solita in Huntington Beach. I'd like a little more variety to choose from with the brunch menu, and I think they would put out a killer brunch buffet. We will try to hit the brunch spots we were supposed to try on this trip the next time we are up this way. Of course, with Katie's family, it might not happen.

Out of five Vikings, (because the mascot for Valencia High School is Vick the Viking), five being best to zero being worst, Solita Tacos and Margaritas gets 3 Vikings.

For more information about Solita Tacos and Margaritas, head to their website here: https://www.solitatacos.com/

Hope I'm Not Alone In My Love for Solita

Solita Tacos and Margaritas

7631 Edinger Ave. Ste. 1508

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

It still always makes me nervous when I am introducing a restaurant that I have raved about to my parents and extended family. This was the case on a recent Saturday night. I had been to Solita for a media event, and came home ranting about it to almost everyone. We were going to be going to roller derby nearby after dinner, and I was left in charge of picking a place to eat. I immediately thought of Solita, but then started second guessing myself. Not that Katie and I wouldn't like it, but my family really enjoys what I consider to be Americanized-Mexican cuisine. I stood by my pick, hoped that Solita would make them all happy.

I should have really been a little more confident in my choice. I mean, my parents went to Solita's sister restaurant, the much higher end Sol Cocina, and really liked it. Solita is their answer to people that want to have a weekly Mexican restaurant, not just a special occasion place. Solita comes to us from the mind of Chef Deborah Schneider, whose travels across Mexico, and in particular, Baja, have inspired her to write six cookbooks and operate three restaurants. Solita is described on their website as, "a Mexican restaurant built around a custom made wood grill". I was excited, nervous, and interested to see what my family would think of Solita.

Solita is located at the Bella Terra shopping center in Huntington Beach, which has all of the sudden welcomed a bunch of new restaurants. Bondi Republic and Eureka will make our list of places to hit up soon. For those visiting Solita, they are located on the Edinger side of the center, near Corner Bakery. We got here just before 4:30, and arrived to a nearly empty restaurant, but the restaurant filled up quickly during the hour we were here.

Solita has a very modern, upscale look, without being too stuffy. The inside of the restaurant is a little on the dark side. Our party of nine was seated on the large patio, which overlooked the fountain and other shops. The patio seemed to be more lively than the inside of the restaurant, but maybe that was because my rambunctious nieces were out there. The menu here is pretty large, and even though I had tried a great many things on it from the media dinner, I still had a tough time choosing what to order. We all made our choices, and then waited for the food to come out.

Of course as with the custom when eating in a Mexican restaurant, we definitely have to show you the Chips and Salsa that are brought to the table first. This is your first clue that this is a different Mexican restaurant. At Sol their "taste of Baja" consists of salt, limes, and hot sauce. At Solita, this three sectioned plate contains chopped onions with a radish garnish, a tomatillo salsa, and what I believe is the same red chili salsa served at Sol. The chips here are different too. These are more traditional than the flat, almost tostada-like chips served at Sol. These chips are fried perfectly, with duros added to the basket. I recently learned that duros are a Mexican snack food made of puffed wheat, that closely resemble chicharrones. I liked the lighter than average chips better than the duros, but I was pretty much out voted in my opinion at this table.

I usually do not get many drinks when I go out, but I was out with my family, so of course I needed one. Just kidding guys. I really got this Horchata Cocktail ($10) because I was pretty impressed with it when I had it before. It did not disappoint this trip either. It's made with their house made horchata, Agavales blanco tequila, 1921 Crema, and some cinnamon. It ends up tasting like a cinnamon milk, which went down real smooth. My dad tried the refreshing Watermelon Margarita ($10). Here again they use Agavales tequila, and add crushed watermelon and lime juice. The big guy seemed pretty pleased with this drink, and sucked it down in record time. My sister is a little more traditional, so she ordered the Solita House Margarita ($8). She's never met a margarita she's never liked, (it's a good thing my family doesn't read this blog), and that held true at Solita. Agavales tequila is used again, with sweet and sour, a splash of orange juice, and triple sec, and is either served on the rocks or blended. She liked the inclusion of the orange juice, which added a touch of sweetness.

The kids menu here has ten entrees, but my three nieces all got the same thing, which helps cut down on the writing for me, or maybe they don't like my writing either. Anyways they all got the 2 Tacos with just Chicken and Cheese ($4). Only two out of three really liked their tacos, but these kids are pretty picky when it comes to food, so I would consider this a thumbs up. What did not get a thumbs up was the Mexican rice that came with this. The rice was pretty overcooked, and left on all three of their plates. My sister was pretty excited that the kids plates were only four dollars though.

Both my dad and sister got taco plates here at Solita. The taco plates come with three street size tacos, two sides, and toppings included inside the tacos. They have 13 different varieties, or for the indecisive, they offer two taco tasters, so you can mix and match different ones. My dad selected the unusual sounding, Chorizo, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Tacos ($10.50). Not something that I would have imagined him getting when we came here, but he had no complaints about these unique tacos. The double dose of pork worked well here, and the sweet potato added good body to this taco. My sister was a little more traditional when it came to choosing her taco plate, as she went with the Wood Grilled Carne Asada ($12.50). She liked these tacos, and was happy with the spice rub used on them. Both of them had the same complaint as my nieces when it came to the rice, it was overcooked. My dad did enjoy the yucatecan styled refried beans, but my sister thought her solita slaw was fresh, but lacked that wow factor. They were both pretty big fans of the tacos though.

I really enjoyed the colorful plating here at Solita, which was definitely on full display with my mom's dinner choice, the Chicken Taquitos ($7.50). These are listed under the appetizer portion of the menu, but perfect for my mom, who's not a big eater. These corn tortillas are stuffed with cilantro and shredded chicken, with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa fresca served on top of the taquitos. She really liked these lighter than usual taquitos. The chicken was tender, and went well with the guacamole. The perfect portion size for my mom.

My brother in law actually got something I was considering getting, the Carnitas Torta ($8.50). This was a pretty good sized sandwich filled with carnitas, cheese, lettuce, and salsa fresca, all on a soft telera roll. He really liked this, the pork had a good flavor, there was plenty of it on the sandwich, and the roll had a good crunch to it, while still staying soft. Like the rest of the family, he was not so enamored with the rice, but was less vocal about it.

Not something you see on a lot of Mexican restaurant menus, this El Panzon ($10) is described as a Mexican calzone. A single flour tortilla is stuffed with your choice of meat, Katie got chicken, and cheese. It is then butter crisped, and topped with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa fresca. Katie was enamored with this. There was plenty of chicken, and just the right amount of cheese, without this becoming crazy rich. Good tortilla on this one too.

One thing I did not get to try during the media event, and something I use to judge Mexican restaurants is carnitas. These House Carnitas ($15.50) were a little spotty. Some bites were very tender, with a great flavor, and a few other pieces were a little tougher, and kind of bland. I did like the inclusion of the avocado hunks here, which added color and moisture. With the carnitas you get to have two side items, so I stayed pretty true to form by getting the rice and refried beans. I actually did like the flavor of the rice, but like the rest of my family, felt it was overdone. The refried beans were very substantial, with great texture and flavor. A very unique version of refried beans.

I guess I should not have been nervous at all about bringing my family to Solita. Although I was not blown away by what I got, the rest of my family all really enjoyed their meals, and bragged to their friends about it when we got to the roller derby right after leaving here. The menu here at Solita is pretty varied, and will take some time to find my absolute favorite on it, but I look forward to the challenge. Our waitress was very nice while she was with us, but was gone for long stretches at a time. She not only had tables on the patio, but also inside, so her attention was split between the two. Even with the minor service issues, my family was pretty impressed with Solita, and look forward to heading back here when the next roller derby match rolls around.

Out of five falcons, (because probably the most famous athlete from Huntington Beach is Tony Gonzalez, a former tight end for the Atlanta Falcons), five being best to zero being worst, Solita Tacos and Margaritas gets 3.5 falcons.

For more information about Solita Tacos and Margaritas, go to their website here: http://solitatacos.com/

Good Things to Come at Solita's Preview Night

Solita Tacos and Margaritas

7631 Edinger Ave. Suite 1508

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a kick ass year for restaurants. Sorry for the vulgar language, but I'm really excited about what is happening culinary wise in our fantastic county. There are a number of what I anticipate to be some great places coming down the pipeline this year. Provenance will be opening their doors this year, at the space that used to house Sage in Newport Beach. The award winning restaurant, The Winery is taking over the picturesque Villa Nova spot. Also, you can almost always count on Bruxie opening up a new location somewhere during the year. Probably one of the openings I was most looking forward to actually happened with six days remaining in 2013, and that was Solita at the Bella Terra Center.

Solita comes to us from the creative team behind one of our favorite restaurants, Sol Cocina in Newport Beach. We have been there numerous times, celebrating birthdays, holidays, and restaurant week events. This is kind of the reason that Solita came into existence. Sol Cocina, for some people, is more of a special event kind of restaurant. A restaurant where you celebrate things at. They wanted Solita to become more of a regular, every Friday night kind of place, but they wanted it to evolve.

Think about your local go to spot for sit down Mexican food. For most of you, it is probably a place like Don Jose's or El Torito, where the menu has not changed very much in the last 30 or so years. You know what you are going to have when you walk in the door, you know how it's going to taste, and you know you will probably be back again the next week. Trust me, I like Don Jose just fine, they are very consistent in what they do, but I could never imagine eating there every week, like so many people do.

Solita wants to be your neighborhood Mexican restaurant, one you will eat at regularly, with a lower price point than Sol, but they want you to see that Solita is a new style Mexican restaurant. The dated decor of sit down Mexican restaurants is gone, and replaced with a more updated, sleek feel to it. The decor in this 38,000 foot restaurant is inspired by some of the great Mexican resorts. The chairs and furniture are from Mexico, they have roll up doors in the restaurant, that lead to an enclosed, large patio, lending to an openness, that is probably the envy of most Mexican restaurants.

Another thing that will separate Solita from other neighborhood restaurants is that their food is inspired from actual trips to inland Mexico. We learned that in the interior of Mexico, food is prepared over wood, and that is the case here at Solita. You can even smell a slight hint of the wood from their wood fired grill when you walk in the door. We were recently invited to come see what makes Solita different from other Mexican restaurants, and check out their vision. Let's see what they had cooked up for us.

I did not actually get a chance to try this Wood Grilled Wild Fish (Market price), but I liked the simple, clean presentation here. Solita is going to use a rotating seasonal, local fish as the centerpiece for this plate, which will be grilled simply, with lime and butter.

I am a huge fan of skirt steak, and this Skirt Steak Asada with Toreados ($19.50) was delicious. I learned that toreados are roasted chilies, which added a good pop of flavor to this tender skirt steak, that was a perfect medium rare. Kind of in the vein of an Argentine dish, this was also served with a well made chimichurri. A good dish for you steak lovers out there.

I have recently gotten into ceviches, and it was just my luck that they offered this Yellowtail Ceviche Tropicale ($10.50) at Solita. Diced up yellowtail is mixed with lime juice, Serrano chiles, cucumber, tropical fruits, salsa fresca, and avocado, to create this colorful and refreshing ceviche. I really liked how the sweetness of the fruit interacted with cubed yellowtail.

The Wood Grilled Canre Asada Fajitas ($16.75) kind of threw me for a loop, because they are not served on a sizzling platter, with lots of steam. In this version, the carne asada is combined with roasted poblano chiles, tossed with red peppers and red onions,  then served with guacamole and salsa fresca on the side. Predictably, the carne asada was flavored well, and was very tender. This is also paired with your choice of beans and Mexican rice.

Not something I was expecting at a Mexican restaurant, but they have Sweet Potato Fries ($7.50) at Solita. These are presented in a paper cone, with cotixa cheese and a chipotle dipping sauce. I'm not really a big fan of sweet potato fries, but others that are, really enjoyed these.

Without a doubt, this Grilled Corn Elote ($3.50 each) was the big hit of the night with all of the foodies in attendance. The whole corn is roasted and grilled with chipotle salsa, butter, California chiles, cotixa, and green onions. People were waiting right by the kitchen for this to come out, and snapping them up before they even hit the dining room. I'll predict that this will become one of Solita's signature items.

Another unique item that you will not see on many Mexican restaurant menus is this Tequila Shrimp and Avocado Sundae ($10.50). The shrimp is cooked with blanco tequila, salsa fresca, lime juice and chipotles, and then layered with a creamy avocado sauce. I liked this updated version of a shrimp cocktail. The brininess of the shrimp, with the smooth avocado went nicely with each other.

While everyone was waiting for more corn to come out of the kitchen, I was quite happy taking these Chicken Taquitos ($7.50) down. These were not as heavy as other taquitos I have had, and not greasy either. The chicken inside had a nice moistness to it, and these were perfect for dipping into Solita's awesome guacamole.

The kids aren't into Mexican food? Not to worry, Solita has you covered with their Cabo Loco Chicken ($8.50). The menu says these are breaded with a crispy coconut, but I did not get too much of the coconut here. What I did get was that these were fried nicely, the chicken was of good quality, and the lemony salsa these were served with was spot on. I definitely ate my fair share of these, my apologies to my table mates.

I had my first queso fundido at Cha Cha's in Brea awhile back, and became addicted to this heavy cheese dish. At Solita they have a version of this dish called Queso al Forno ($8.75). Not sure what the difference is between forno and fundido, but this version was right up there with the one at Cha Cha's. The cheese was bubbly, with green onions and Serrano chiles included in this. Nicely made corn and flour tortillas are used for the dipping here. Very filling, so make sure you share this, even though you will want to keep it all for yourself.

The tacos at Sol Cocina are great, so I knew that the menu at Solita would feature some great tacos as well. They have plenty to choose from, and if you are indecisive, or just want to try as many as possible, they offer taco tasters, which include a 4 taco platter. Pictured above is one of the two taco tasters, the El Primo ($14.50). With this platter, you get to choose from among these premium tacos; wood grilled carne asada, red chili beef borracho, chicken mole, wood grilled fish Mazatlan, spicy garlic shrimp, beer battered shrimp, or sauteed mushroom tacos. With all of these great choices, it would be hard for me to make this delicious decision.

They also have a more basic taco platter, which is anything but basic. This Just Tacos Platter ($11.50) also includes 4 of your choice of tacos. Varieties include, wood grilled ancho chile chicken, oak roasted chipotle chicken, carnitas, chorizo bacon and sweet potato, crispy fried fish, or chile garlic tofu. The carnitas taco I had here was legit, with a tender pork, wrapped in their great corn tortillas. I'm usually more of a flour tortilla kind of guy, but these corn tortillas are really good.

The menu at Solita features 13 different tacos, so you might have a tough time deciding on one. If you want my two cents, I would go with these Cadillac Tacos ($15.50). One of my favorite tacos at Sol Cocina is their El Jefe Taco, and this is kind of Solita's version of that taco. This surf and turf taco combines wood grilled carne asada and chipotle shrimp. These proteins go great together, and will leave you satisfied.

Solita is not just all about tacos either. They have other Mexican restaurant staples as well. Their Burritos ($11.00) come with your choice of meat, and are filled with cheese, beans, rice, and sour cream, lettuce, and salsa fresca on the side. You also have the option of having your burrito wet, wet with cheese, green sauce or red sauce, or all three, which they call El Flag style, because it resembles the Mexican flag I am sure. These pictures do not show how big this burrito actually was, it was a good size.

Enchiladas are also on the menu at Solita. These Lazy Enchiladas ($12.75) use corn tortillas folded over your choice of meat, then are topped with either red or green sauce, sour cream, cotixa cheese, lettuce, and salsa fresca. I think these are called lazy enchiladas because they are not rolled, but they were still delicious even without being rolled.

The last food item that I tried was the Quesadilla ($11.00). This is not your typical fast food variety quesadilla either. They use two flour tortillas, which are buttered crisped, then filled with Mexican cheeses, and the meat of your choice, with salsa fresca and guacamole on the side. This was a lighter than you would think quesadilla, without sacrificing flavor. The carnitas are the meat to get in this. So good.

The bar program at Solita is not to be overlooked by any means. I am not much of a margarita guy, but the Solita House Margarita ($8.00 got rave reviews from the assembled media on this night. They also have frozen drinks, which are much more my style. The bartenders were busy experimenting with their slushy machine, whipping up kiwi-strawberry, guava, and watermelon frozen margaritas. My favorite drink of the night was the Horchata Cocktail ($10.00). Solita uses their house made horchata, which is mixed with Agavales blanca tequila, 1921 Crema, and is topped with cinnamon. I usually get tired of horchata after a few sips, but I drank two of these on this night. Kind of like an adult milkshake, but lighter. These could get me into some trouble.

I think the brain trust at Solita nailed what they were trying to accomplish here. Chef Deb has created a great menu that will not only keep people coming back, but they will become regulars here. The menu has items that customers will recognize, but they have their own Solita twist to them. I am really looking forward to coming back. Wish I lived closer so I could become one of the regular customers that they are trying to grab, but Solita is definitely worth the drive up from South OC. With so many good restaurants coming to OC this year, you can definitely count Solita among them.

For more information on Solita Tacos and Margaritas, go to their website here: http://solitatacos.com/