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El Paseo Restaurant executive chef Alex Castillo's specialties include pescado en hoja de platano, fresh dorado baked in a banana leaf, served Veracruz style, and and huachinango al mojo de ajo, crispy whole red snapper served on a sizzling skillet with a garlic-herb butter sauce. Photo by Victor Maccharoli.

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El Paseo chef serves world of cuisine

By RAY ESTRADA — Feb. 4, 2010

El Paseo Restaurant’s new Executive Chef Alex Castillo brings a world of flavors to his latest position.

Since coming to Santa Barbara after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, Castillo has created some ground-shaking flavors to the mouths of many gourmands at restaurants such as the Wine Cask, Piatti’s Ristorante and other South Coast fine-dining spots.

“It’s classic cuisine with a new, unique presentation,” Castillo said of his creations, which include many styles of Mexican, but also Chinese, Japanese and, of course, his main training in French food.

“The French style may mean taking 30 minutes to make one item,” he said.

Castillo is the third generation of a family of chefs who work at restaurants around the world. His formal training includes graduating in 1989 from the culinary program at Santa Barbara City College, which has launched the careers of many top young chefs including Joel Huff, at the Coral Casino’s Tydes Restaurant.

Castillo’s versatility is put to wide use since historic El Paseo – built in 1922 – is still used for many wedding receptions each year. Sometimes, he said, wedding guests want something other than Mexican food. So, he can ably provide them with sushi or other specialties.

With the re-opening of El Paseo Restaurant late last year, Castillo has revamped its menu along with general manager and co-owner Paul Jakubowski who worked with co-owner John Scott to return the venue to its past glory. Scott’s company, Scott Co. Hospitality, also owns and operates Harry’s Plaza Café, the Tee-Off, The Harbor Restaurant, Longboard’s Grill and Scotch & Sirloin in Ventura.

“Everything is less than $20,” Castillo said of the new menu, which includes enchiladas de filet mignon, wrapped in flour tortillas with a black-bean risotto and a red-pepper sauce; pescado en hoja de platano, fresh dorado baked in a banana leaf, served Veracruz style; alambras de camaron, adobo glazed shrimp, served with chorizo mashed potatoes; mole poblano, sauteed chicken breast in original mole; chile verde, braised pork in a tomatillo, onion, garlic and cilantro chili sauce; and huachinango al mojo de ajo, crispy whole red snapper served on a sizzling skillet with a garlic-herb butter sauce.

“He makes stuff that tastes good,” Jakubowski said of the chef.

Castillo said he feels he can easily expand upon his brand of “Santa Barbara cuisine,” which is known for its diversity far beyond the confines of Spanish, early Californian and traditional Mexican food.

Key to his style of cooking is the freshness of the ingredients. His salsas, for example, are made from scratch with what he said are the freshest available items. Unfortunately, Castillo lamented, too many other restaurants only offer a bottle of Tabasco sauce in place of authentic salsa.

Castillo also is working on a chef dinner series, as well as private cooking courses in which a group of friends can take one-on-one cooking lessons with the chef, and prepare and enjoy a meal together in the restaurant.

Along with the updated menu, new tequila cocktails – some as yet unnamed, including one made with cucumber – will be served to complement Castillo’s dishes. A $1.95 happy hour margarita – served Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. is sure to be a favorite as El Paseo Restaurant has always been for casual dining, exotic festivities and Old Spanish Days fiestas.

The restaurant was first built as part of the 1826 El Paseo adobe complex, which housed the commander of the Presidio Royale de Santa Barbara.

According to historical accounts, the original restaurant dining patio was shaded by Venetian sailing cloth and featured a tiled pool where roses floated. Mexican bowls with trailing plants and strands of chili peppers garnished the courtyard arches.

It was the setting for the infamous three-day wedding fiesta described by Richard Henry Dana in the novel “Two Years Before the Mast.”

During the past century, El Paseo Restaurant has been host to dignitaries, luminaries and legends, including Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, Jean Harlow, William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Salvador Dali, Stravinsky, Will Rogers, Howard Hughes and Charles Lindbergh.

Because it is registered on the national list of historic monuments, little has changed on the titled floors and white-washed walls in the restaurant.

For more information about El Paseo, see www.elpaseosb.com.

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great news : 2/4/2010

Go Alex! Great chef in a great location...bring her back to glory dude.

Steve

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: 2/4/2010

Might be worth trying the El Paseo again! The food there has been so blah in recent years, that locals simply went to the bar, or had salsa and chips. I'd like to try the Sunday brunch buffet again....we'll see. Good luck to the new chef, at any rate. Maybe we'll have a good Fiesta again!

local girl

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