Inspired by his childhood memories of cooking alongside his mother and grandmother, Chef Ramón Velazquez has doubled down on the homage to his culinary roots in Guadalajara, Mexico, with a newly refreshed menu at Corazón Comedor, his standalone spot at 29 East Victoria Street in downtown Santa Barbara.
While the new brunch menu looked enticing — chilaquiles with crispy tortillas, two fried eggs, frijoles de rancho, crema, queso fresco, avocado, and pickled onions; huevos rancheros with eggs, crispy tortilla, frijoles de rancho, fire-roasted salsa, Jack or Oaxacan cheese, crema, and queso fresco; and the Los Alamos Burrito made with eggs, tater tots, peppers, Jack cheese, bacon, and pico de gallo — we were there for the dinner hour. So, I started my night with the refreshing Tradicional Margarita, which they make with Sabe Tequila, a brand that blends premium-grade Japanese sake with blanco tequila from Jalisco, Mexico. At the manager Ray’s suggestion, we also had the potato and cheese flautas, served with two delicious salsas, which have become one of the hallmarks of Velazquez’s food.
Chef Velazquez, who moved to Santa Barbara from Mexico in 1989, developed his culinary skills at local restaurants, including as a sushi chef at Arigato for almost nine years and as executive chef at the now-closed Cielito in La Arcada. He realized his lifelong dream of opening a restaurant that celebrated the richness of his culture and its bold flavors, first with Corazón Cocina in the Santa Barbara Public Market (which began as a pop-up at Three Pickles deli in 2014) and then expanded his reach with additional locations in Ventura and Carpinteria, as well as with the restaurants Little Heart Cafecito (also in the Public Market), Alma Fonda Fina (in Montecito), Cocina Jaguar (in Ventura), Beast Taqueria (recently closed, was inside M. Special Brewery), and the recently rejuvenated Corazón Comedor.
Digging deeper into Comedor’s new menu, the Enchiladas Rancheras plate with grilled skirt steak was delicious, and we substituted plantains for the rice and beans, which brought a nice sweetness to contrast with the grilled meat. We also tried two of the new “special” tacos: the Campechano, made with braised brisket, longaniza, papitas, onions, and seared cheese on a flour tortilla (excellent, especially when balanced with the fire-roasted tomato salsa); and my favorite, the milanesa with breaded chicken breast, papitas, Oaxacan beans, seared cheese, and avocado salsa cruda on a flour tortilla with fries on top. Milanesa is very popular in Mexico, especially in the Yucatán, explained Ray. Both of these tacos are under $10 (as is the Camarones Gobernador with seared shrimp), while two others are just $10.50 (Mulita de Asada with skirt steak and quesabirria with slow-braised short-rib), because with the refresh they made the menu less expensive. They also have an assortment of simpler tacos ($5.50-$6.75 each) made with everything from rajas and chile relleno to pork belly, shredded chicken, beef tongue, smoked mushrooms, birria, brisket, skirt steak, and barbacoa…