Yes, Julia Child gave La Super Rica taco shop in Santa Barbara her nod of approval way before Katy Perry came on the scene but Julia Child, RIP, is not spitting out addictive pop tunes accompanied by catchy music videos, such as this one:
While our girls aren't as enthusiastic about “Dark Horse” as this baby, they do love Katy Perry's jams, especially “This is How We Do”, which gives a shout-out to La Super Rica in the second verse. So on our way back to LA from a fun weekend at the Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort in Solvang, we decided to take the kids for a detour in SB. Also, we were genuinely craving some good tacos.
WHEN TO GO: The first thing to know about La Super Rica is to get there early. We read Yelp reviews where people waited an hour before ordering. That won't cut it when you've got two toddlers in tow. Nevertheless, when we rolled up at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon, we only had to wait about 15 minutes. When we left the taco joint, it was probably about a 30-40-minute wait. We arrived just in time.
WHAT TO ORDER: The menu is posted inside La Super Rica on a giant chalkboard but you can't see it until you get closer in line. There's also no menu online. But again, we looked to Yelp for what to order. The #12 and the #16 are musts.
The #12 is a Pechuga Suiza ($3.50), grilled chicken breasts with melted cheese between two tortillas. Perfect for the kids. (They can even watch the tortillas being made as you wait in line to order.)
The #16 is the Super-Rica Especial, roasted chile pasilla stuffed with cheese and marinated pork. ($6.80) We also ordered simple chicken and beef tacos ($2.50 each) but our fave dish was obviously the #15, the Tocino Especial, melted cheese with bacon ($4.45) because, why not?
There are standard drink options available (Coke, Snapple, bottled water), along with cerveza (Pacifico, Dos Equis, Tecate, to name a few) but don't miss the Agua Frescas which include Horchata and daily specials.
WHY IT'S KID-FRIENDLY: Being a taco shop, of course the place is kid-friendly with very casual seating inside the shop and outside on the covered patio. And when our 3-year-old fell and dropped her Agua de Sandia, we walked over to the counter to apologize and ask for paper towels but they simply said, “Don't worry about it. We have someone coming to clean it.” We picked up what we could and left (another) tip. It was, “No. Big. Deal. This is how we do. Do, do-do-da-do.”
La Super Rica is closed on Wednesdays (according to the sign on their front door) and open from 11am to 9pm during the week. On the weekends, it's open until 9:30pm. Just remember, the earlier you arrive, the better.
