I discovered a new food this week. Adobada.
What is adobada? It’s marinated meat (often pork) in a flavorful, chile-based mixture. It’s chopped into chunks and cooked on a hot grill or pan so it chars on the outside and is tender and juicy inside. The taco and burritos I had included a citrusy flavor and chunks of pineapple.
Before we took our son to the airport to fly home to the Bay Area, we stopped at La Super Rica. It’s a taco stand with a line out the door from the time they open to closing. It became famous as Julia Child’s favorite restaurant.
When our son went to UC Santa Barbara he told us about the best Mexican food that we had to try. It was La Super Rica — our favorite Santa Barbara Mexican restaurant for 25 years before he discovered it!
Sunday, we waited 40 minutes to get inside to order at the window. Then we waited longer than than that to get our food. By the time it arrived, I was famished. I had the adobada taco and a chile relleno. It was so delicious, I wolfed it down. The wait was worth it.
The other adobada I had was in a burrito the day before from a liquor store in Carpinteria. They’ve been there for 25 years and we’ve been ordering breakfast burritos from them for that long. We’re trying to convince the owner to open a store in Arizona! Our son introduced us to the adobada burrito and we’re hooked. The line isn’t nearly as long as La Super Rica, either.
The wait at La Super Rica reminded me of waiting for pizza where our kids live. Although my son’s girlfriend commented that the Cheeseboard’s line goes around the block and has about 100 people and La Super Rica’s line is only about 20 deep. I wrote about waiting in line for pizza HERE.
How long are you willing to wait for a taco? How about a pizza? What other food would you wait for?
I can’t stand in a line and while sitting at a table, 30 minutes is the max that I’ll be happy to wait for good food
I usually don’t like to wait, but with my son I enjoyed the whole experience.
That’s cool.
🙂
First off…you talked about Mexican food a few weeks ago and I’ve been craving ever since. Oddly, I had adobada taco the other day. Delicious. But the place I had it did it on a spit, with pineapple on top dripping down… as for waiting…I don’t like to wait so I get to places that get crowded as soon as they open. I’m willing to wait on line for 20 minutes
Yes, that’s the traditional way to cook adobada. Back in So Cal we have amazing Mexican food! 😊
It is all about the timing when you arrive there. Last time I was there we didn’t havet to wait but about 3 minutes later there was a long line.
That’s pure luck! I’ve always waited in line. But during Covid, we’d call in our order and pick it up without waiting.
I’m not a patient wait-in-line person. The food may be great, but I’m pretty unwilling to wait for it. I’d just move on and settle for something else. I guess that means I’m not a foodie but just willing to accept something to stop my hunger!
That’s how I usually am. My husband is very impatient normally. But we chose to enjoy the experience with our son and his girlfriend. I don’t know if we’d wait on our own.
I haven’t waited that long for a taco but I have waited that long to sit at a pizza place on Brooklyn
I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the total experience.
In Florida, the only two things that seem to be in abundance (other than stupidity) are Churches and Taco Stands. So to your question – 3 minutes. If they cannot meet that timeline, I can just go 57.5 feet to the next place that serves out-of-this-world taco’s served by a little Mexican Couple that speaks no Anglais.
I’m so jealous of your abundance of taco stands!
It seems as if the establishment should consider expanding so the wait isn’t so long? It makes you wonder how many customers they lose because people choose not to wait? Seems there is some untapped opportunity here. Hugs, C
They’ve been there for forty years or more. Maybe they don’t care?
Sorry, no. I’d rather cook it myself if it’s going to take that long!😆
Normally we wouldn’t wait and I’d agree with you. But we waited with our son and girlfriend and enjoyed spending time with them. They were reliving their college years experience.