Husband and wife team Jerry and Chris Baker of The Food Matters catering company plan to debut their first ever brick and mortar establishment Tinga tomorrow on La Brea. How did this come to be? Jerry explains that "in 1986 my buddy went to UCSB. I came up to visit him. We went to La Super Rica and I had a number 16 and a number 14 and my life changed forever...the flavor, the simplicity and the authenticity blew me away." For those unfamiliar with the place, La Super Rica Taqueria was also a haunt of queen Julia Child and serves up incredible Mexican eats in a small unassuming Santa Barbara hut. Anyway, fast forward to 2008 and Jerry catered a wedding with a menu inspired by La Super Rica and "the response so ovewhelming positive we laughingly said some day we are gonna open a taqueria." And here we now are! In the space that once housed Urban Kabob comes La Super Rica Taqueria-inspired eats: "we have about 20 items that we think are seriously great. Gonna do specials too, but wanna for the most part consistently make 20 or so killer bites." Everything is made fresh from scratch, tortillas are house-made, with 15 different salsas in rotation.
On another note, Jerry explains that he is also a coffee nut and that he plans to roast his own beans: "so as wacky as it seems come in for a taco and order a pound and in 20 minutes we will have it for ya in most cases." And finally, the design. Jerry and Chris opted for the eco-friendly route. The space was crafted by Thomas Hayes of Thomas Hayes Gallery and Sherry Mckuin and incorporates LED lighting, tables and stools made from walnut cutting boards and reclaimed steel. Serving ware is Fallen Palm Leaf so it's reusable and also biodegradable. The soft opening happens tomorrow between 7 and midnight, and as if all that wasn't already enough Jerry adds, "Oh yeah Pastrami Sliders and Chicken and Waffles on Sundays too..." [EaterWire]
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