Cuban Home Cooking
If your palette has fallen into a coma and you're
in need of a new culinary adventure, then consider
a trip to Alpine Avenue in Stockton. There, you'll
find Elsa's Paladar, a new eatery that specializes
in authentic, homemade Cuban food, lovingly
prepared and served by one man in charge of it all:
Domingo Santiuste.
Having grown up in Havana, Santiuste moved to America in 1994 looking to expand his career opportunities and create a new life for himself. His cooking skills were passed down to him by his mother, Elsa, who he named the restaurant after. "This is tradition in my house," says Santiuste. "When you turn six, you start to cook, to make sure you'll be independent in your life."
The word paladar means a little restaurant in a small house, which is fitting, since Elsa's is located in a tiny Mexican ice cream shop that doesn't look like much. The small brick building used to only be known as Tocumbo Paleteria y Neveria, where locals could get fresh helado, but now it's shared by both businesses. Santiuste knows the place is small and a little out of date, but it's the food that keeps people coming back and he's had no shortage of business. In fact, since he began cooking out of his Cuban food truck last year, Santiuste has quickly gained a following. According to him, his new steady location has brought hungry diners from San Francisco, Sacramento, and even Los Angeles, all in search of authentic Cuban cuisine.
If you've never had Cuban food before, think of fresh ingredients like tropical fruit, garden veggies, meat that came from the butcher that very morning, and a combination of savory and sweet flavors. Santiuste says in Cuba, chefs rely on locallygrown food and he maintains that practice here, shopping for his ingredients each morning before service. "Every morning people are sleeping, but I'm buying the meat," he says. "All the time, I cut the vegetables when you order your dish. People have to wait a bit for their food because it's fresh. It takes a little bit of time, but it's worth it." The menu is small, but the specials change every day to keep regulars coming back for more. The items that have made it to the "regular" menu are all noteworthy, so newcomers can't go wrong when ordering. We recommend the tender and meaty pork BBQ ribs, served with rice (Santiuste cooks a different type of rice each day) and a sweet guava barbecue sauce. The Cuban hamburger is also a must-try. It's a combination of 100 percent ground beef, mixed and marinated with red wine, onion, cumin, garlic, red and green peppers, and oregano. After the burger is grilled, it's drizzled with orange and lemon juice and topped with tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber, cabbage, and olive oil mayonnaise. The result is something unexpected - a burger that's soft, slightly sweet and smoky with an almost middle-eastern flavor to it. It's perfect for people who love burgers but want to try something new. Finally, the Cuban sandwich is a popular choice for lunch. Fresh baked French bread is filled with tender slow-cooked pork that has been marinated with garlic, pepper and wine. Then Santiuste adds ham, Swiss cheese, sweet pickles, and mustard for a bite that's crispy, chewy tangy, and meaty.
Santiuste prides himself on keeping local diners excited with his ever-changing specials, though one of his most desired dishes is his paella. Made with five different types of seafood, chicken, chorizo, rice, and vegetables, Santiuste only serves the dish a few times each month and makes a limited number of servings. Locals have to check the Elsa's Paladar Facebook page in order to find out when it's available next and must call in advance to reserve a helping.
For Santiuste, Elsa's Paladar is a symbol of home, comfort food, and friendship. Those who stop by for a meal are treated like honorary family members, a trademark that Santiuste says will never go out of style, no matter how popular Elsa's becomes. He hopes to open a larger restaurant and bar in the future, but for now his following continues to grow as he happily shares his home-cooked comfort food with the community, chatting up diners between dishes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Elsa's Paladar, 2219 W. Alpine Ave., Stockton, (209) 507-6920 wix.com/elsaspaladar/tocumbo
