La Solera – Mexican-inspired seafood

Tino Baragas was 16 when his parents moved to the United States from Manzanillo, Mexico, a city known mainly for having the largest port in the country, as the “Sailfish Capitol of the World,” and as the location for the movie “10,” a film remembered forever because of a steamy jog on the beach by a young, corn-rowed, Bo Derek.

Young Tino loved to cook with his Mom at home, especially enjoying all the fresh seafood readily available in the port city. He got his first job working in a kitchen as a dishwasher the year he came to America, and over the years has worked just about every position in restaurants, including several stints cooking for a couple of California eateries, including a Mexican restaurant chain in Santa Rosa.

In 2009, the 35-year-old owner/chef opened La Solera in the shopping center on Main Street, replacing the California Chicken restaurant, and since then Tino has been building up a loyal cadre of customers who regularly fill the small restaurant, especially on weekends. This reporter was there on a rainy Thursday night and even then it was almost filled. Small by many standards, the 40-table place is homey, comfortable, and intimate.

True to his roots, La Solera’s menu features the regular retinue of Mexican foods; tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and such, but goes way further into Mexican home cooking, with an emphasis on the seafood dishes he learned cooking with his mother in Manzanillo.

Many of the seafood dishes, or those that rise above more common Hispanic fare, are his own recipes and the extensive menu also features “heart healthy” items and several dishes are displayed with colorful chili graphics depicting the fiery levels of that item that are available. Green for mild, yellow for a bit spicier, and red for those who crave peppery tastes. Some standouts include Mama’s Veggie Soup, Spinach Casserole, Veracruz and their own house-made Oaxacan molé sauce.

First, let me share that portions, at least of everything I saw or tasted, are very generous. One could easily split most entrée’s or take home at least another full meal from what you leave on your plate. The soup is a warming, flavorful and nutritious gathering of potatoes, onions, cilantro, sweet peppers, celery, cauliflower, tomato and broccoli in a rich tomato broth, garnished with slivered toasted almonds. 

While some “meat and potatoes” folks, mainly men, might be put off by the words spinach and casserole, I found this dish to be absolutely delicious, very filling, and the perfect antidote to a cold chilly evening. The muy caliente large bowl (warning to those who must move the plate after it’s placed in front of you) was overflowing with a generous helping of fresh spinach, tender chicken pieces, carrots, onion and melted cheese perched atop corn and rice. Alongside the casserole was a serving of crisp, buttery, and fragrant garlic bread. Absolutely delicious, as described above, could easily be shared by two or even three.

The Veracruz, one of their signature dishes and one of Tino’s own recipes, was yet another humongous serving.  But this plate was mounded with Spanish rice, refried beans, a small salad, and a mixture of shrimp, chicken, garlic, tomatoes, a mild and scrumptious green sauce, and was crowned with two fried calamari rings. A side order of three flour tortillas came wrapped in foil and was hot and steamy and perfect for sopping up the sauce that dripped off my fork. Another winner, and something you don’t find in most Mexican restaurants.

I wasn’t able, already bursting at the seams despite moderation in tasting each of the three dishes set before me, to taste the Pollo en Molé (chicken in chocolate sauce) but at Tino’s suggestion dipped a spoon into a small ramekin of the house-made sauce.

“We make this from scratch,” he beamed. I was stunned, it was perhaps the best version of this tangy, spicy chocolate sauce that I have ever enjoyed, and that includes two trips to Mexico. 

Many Mexican or Spanish restaurants, which offer this heady, pungent sweet/spicy sauce use, pre-packaged or canned versions, but not La Solera. One of the most complicated sauces in Mexican or any other cuisine’s dishes their version was simply spectacular. A magical blend of 6 kinds of chile peppers, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, broth, several kinds of nuts, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and the requisite bitter Mexican chocolate it had tons of character and a complex depth of flavors. I couldn’t stop dipping my spoon. Next visit I’ll order it covering the chicken. 

La Solera includes a full bar, and a large selection of both imported (many from Mexico of course) beers, as well as a half-dozen domestic brews, red and white wines, and soft drinks, tea and coffee. And, following a growing restaurant trend, they began offering a small gluten-free menu in November. 

Tino has several on-going promotions, including one of the cleverest marketing devices we’ve ever seen. If you buy one of La Solera’s “Party Time” t-shirts for $19.95 and wear it on each visit to the restaurant you are entitled to one free meal a month – for an entire year. With the average dinner going for between $11-$13 dollars that is quite a bargain. Again the only caveat is that you have to wear the shirt when you come to the restaurant each time, and you must make your visit on the 4th Monday of each month, and the offer does not include drinks.

Tino greets each customer and acts as a most congenial host while Chef Leo Vasquez, who has been with him “since day one,” is a blur in the small kitchen as he works the grills, ovens, and fryers, and their small staff of friendly servers efficiently and cheerily make each visit a most pleasant experience that will afford you a taste of Manzanillo on Battle Ground’s Main Street.

La Solera Restaurant is located at 2210 W. Main St. (Next to Albertsons), in Battle Ground and can be reached by phone at (360) 687-4500. Hours are Mon.-Thurs. 11a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. noon-9 p.m.

FH Browne is a Ridgefield resident and published author of several books on cuisine and restaurants.