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Cesar’s Place.
updated: Dec 04, 2010, 9:00 AM
By Ms. Lemonjelly
Cesar's is part of my Taqueria Tour of Milpas, and I've been there twice now for lunch, once was a few months back when I didn't have my best camera, and once again in the last couple of weeks. Their front door sign says fish and chips and Mexican food, and it's unfortunate that fish and chips are placed at the top of the placard, because one might assume that this is their specialty. Really, the popular items there are the seafood cocktails. Any time I've gone, the ubiquitous large goblets filled with spicy tomato juice are on the tables, and the seats are filled with friends chattering, or families. On both occasions I asked the waitress what she thought Cesar's did best, and she was proud to say it was the seafood cocktails.
The first visit I shared the chilaquiles, an adobada taco, and the seafood cocktail of shrimp, octopus and small clams.
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Most chilaquiles I've had elsewhere incorporate the egg more into the sauce and tortillas, like a big scramble, so it's cool that Cesar's keeps their eggs intact on top, it makes the meal feel more substantial, although it's definitely a lot of food regardless, because it comes with rice and beans.
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The adobada taco was generous and fine, with factory-made tortillas. It comes with onion and cilantro on top, and two salsas on the side: a standard tomato, and a tomatillo salsa. I liked the tomatillo more.
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The seafood cocktail was good! We got the larger seafood assortment with a big dollop of avocado on top, and this one cost $11.50. There are simpler concoctions, like just shrimp, that cost a little less.
On my second trip, we decided to try out the fish and chips, seeing how it gets just as much space on their sign as all the rest of their Mexican food. And here it is.
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Lot of chips, and the most interesting thin and wide pieces of breaded fish I've ever seen, practically covering all the chips. The large surface area made for a lot of crunch! The dish also comes with a good portion of salad.
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Also on order was a torta, and we picked the milanesa as our meat, but there are a handful of other filling options. We went with milanesa because we'd never tried it before. It seems that torta bread comes in two shapes, the long roll variety and the round roll variety. I happen to like the round roll more, and this is how Cesar's does it - soft, but not doughy. Their torta includes normal sandwich fillings like lettuce, but also refried beans. It was oozy and yummy. The milanesa filling itself was tender spiced meat, pounded very thin. It reminded me of gyro meat. It cost about $6, making it one of the deals on the table.
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On both visits there was a basket of complimentary chips and salsa. Yum!
Overall, I liked Cesar's, although I wouldn't consider it to be the best food on the street, and the competition is indeed fierce. What's provided in exchange is an extensive menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it's a very family friendly place with full table service, comfortable and ample seating, while most of the Mexican restaurants around Milpas are very casual hole-in-the-wall types. In fact, I don't believe it's possible to declare any one place as "the best." There are favorites, and my favorites vary by what I'm looking for. I really liked Cesar's seafood cocktails and tortas!
Cesar's Place
712 N. Milpas Street
Santa Barbara
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