El Toro Bravo — Restaurant in Capitola

I have to start this review by saying, humbly, that when it comes to Mexican food both north and south of the border I have some street cred. My first trip to Mexico was in 1959 when I was 8. During my college years I would go down in the summertime to stay with family friends. Cooking is my hobby. My avocation. And food history and food science are things I love to read up on. Additionally, I helped research and recipe test The Tex-Mex Cookbook.

So. I was curious to see how Cal-Mex differed from the Tex-Mex I know very well.

Mark Twain had a famous saying that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Supplementing that, I say that one of the finest Tex-Mex enchilada combo plates I have ever had was in Capitola, California.

This enchilada, with its use of Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese as a blend produced a spectacular enchilada. And the chili gravy, which was very mild, unsalty and roux-like without a heaviness from cumin was delicious.

I so thoroughly enjoyed my combo plate here that I had to write this report.

The recipes, I was told, came from the grandparents' generation. So this is historically significant Mexican food from California.

Mark Twain 's famous quote was "The coldest winter that I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". Well, I now have a supplement to that. "The best Tex-Mex enchilada that I have ever had was in Capitola, California". It was a religious experience. And we came across it by chance.

Now, I have to explain. I am, in all modesty, sort of a knowledgeable Tex-Mex geek. I have travelled in Mexico throughout my life as we have family friends in CDMX. In more recent years, I recipe tested for a friend's cookbook on Tex-Mex. I have a collection of vintage retro restaurant menus and memorabilia dating back to the early 1900's. And am pretty comfortable around the whole spectrum of Mexican and Tex-Mex food. What I loved about El Toro Bravo was that the chili gravy was very mild. It wasn't burned. It wasn't overly cumin-y or salty. And I learned there that I truly like a combination of cheddar, Monterrey Jack and American cheese results in a very gooey, melty mess of a cheese topping. Here in Texas we typically don't add Monterrey Jack. The default is the Kwik-Melt or American or sometimes...

One of the worst Mexican food that I had it in my life. If I could give 0 stars then I would have given it that also. We bought chicken tacos which had just chicken, avocado, and some lettuce (I requested guacamole but instead they put avocado). the veggie bowl was pathetic and the server told us that it is their best selling dish. In no way that feels true. Same with quesadillas which had just beans and lettuce. There was no cheese, no sour cream, guacamole, no salsa on any of the dishes. The chicken burrito was ok not that great. In all of our dishes there was no salsa, no sour cream, no guacamole. I also requested grilled chicken but I received shredded chicken. No salsa or any kind of sauce in the food or on the side. Unfortunately we did a take out and decided to eat it at the beach. However we realized all this at the beach and it was so horrible food that we could not have shared this feedback directly to the server or the owner of the restaurant. We probably might have or I issues address if we might have dine in. However I am not too sure about that. I am not sure if they deliberately did this to us.

I suggest you to go to some other place rather than coming here. I will never...

I was their first customer of the day, arriving before they opened at 11:30. Greeted cheerfully by the person who would be my server I was told I could wait inside if I wanted to, so I snapped a few pictures with their permission. The chef was ready to serve before normal opening time and I was able to order quickly from the server, making a couple minor requests outside the standard items that were no problem for them to accommodate. The chips were crispy, sturdy, and, in my opinion, some of the best I've ever had. The salsa, though not my favorite style, was traditional and flavorful. I informed the server that I had a coupon from the "Santa Cruz You're Invited" coupon book, ordered the ground beef chimichanga and nachos con todo with a couple drinks, for myself and partner. The chimichanga was a sight to behold, and quite tasty, though I think next time I'll upcharge to shredded beef or asada. The nachos were the best I've had in a loooooong time, and cooked in an oven without a microwave at any stage. All the food was fresh and seasoned well. Healthy portions, reasonable prices, exceptional service, positive reputation in the community, and likely my new go to for...