Mexican Spice and Everything Nice Fri, May 17, 2019 Eat & Drink Add to trip Remove from trip A Conversation with Felipe Castañeda, owner of El Mirasol. By Kevin Perry The next time you’re inundated by the vibrant Palm Springs sun, pause for a moment to consider how much wonder and beauty it propagates. Just take it from Felipe Castañeda, owner of two El Mirasol restaurants in Palm Springs that’s become a thriving family business. A Journey from Guadalajara What a tantalizing appetizer from the maestro of Mexican cuisine. “I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco” Castañeda narrates. “I came to Palm Springs in 1985. There was a little kitchen available at the time, where I started here at 140 East Palm Canyon Drive. Starting back then was easier than what it would be to start right now because the town has grown into a city – a lot bigger than what it used to be. Probably right now, there is a whole lot more competition than back then.” So how did he maneuver the barren foodie landscape to cultivate his signature brand? He let his fingers do the walking. “After I looked in the yellow pages and saw only three Mexican restaurants in town, I thought there was a little place for me, a nice place to start right here.” After finding his footing in SoCal, Felipe scoped out the competition by infiltrating the restaurants where he worked, Undercover Boss style. “I worked as a waiter in some places in Encino and the valley area in Los Angeles. I looked at what they were doing in the kitchen; it was good, it was quality and all that. But something was missing. It was a fresher approach to cooking.” Making A Change at El Mirasol Slicing into an example, Castañeda continues, “Chile Rellenos back then were a slice of Ortega chile wrapped around a long piece of Monterey Jack cheese and dipped into a thick egg batter and fried in oil. When I started my restaurant, I changed that. Instead of what I just described to you, I started using the fresh poblano chile, that deep green, delicious chile, which Chile Rellenos are made from when you’re cooking seriously.” Despite his use of the word ‘seriously’, Felipe erupts in a fit of involuntary laughter as warm as his tortillas. He then invites us into his culinary creativity by issuing a step-by-step breakdown of how he perfected his Chile Relleno recipe. “I started with those chiles, threw them on the open fire, sweating them, cleaning them, taking all the seeds out, stuffing them with a nice amount of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and using the egg batter. But not as thick as I saw them doing it everywhere else. We still make these fresh every day.” The Business Grows With the help of the rest of the Castañeda family, Felipe has leveraged his authenticity into ascendancy. They now run two award-winning El Mirasol’s that will make you do a delicious double take. “We do cook a lot in our kitchens; we have two restaurants here in Palm Springs. El Mirasol at Los Arbolos and El Mirasol at Concina Mixicana. We use fresh chiles to make our sauces – the enchilada sauce is an example of that. It’s important not to cut corners, that’s for sure. People taste that. They’re able to distinguish between one thing and the other.” As Palm Springs has evolved since Felipe Castañeda’s arrival in 1985, so too has our collective palate. He has successfully spiced up our lives and increased our threshold for fiery euphoria. “Back then, the Anglo community, they were not used to the hot chiles that now they’re consuming like crazy! Back then, they said they didn’t want bell peppers on Steak Picado because they were too hot. Can you imagine? And right now they’re eating chiles, even some habanero sauces. And you know, habanero is a very hot chile.” Good Service Matters Oh, we know, Felipe. Btw, pass the water, please? And as we extinguish our glorious, capsaicin-induced meal aftershocks, we yield the floor to Mr. Castañeda. Tapping into his overflowing sense of Palm Springs pride, Felipe asserts, “We’re a service-oriented community. The merchants of this town are service oriented. We pay attention to details. Everything we do is to keep the tourists coming back because that’s our bread and butter. That’s what we do. Every meal, we improve and get better at this service we provide. All of us.” Castañeda brought his hearty heritage from Guadalajara to Palm Springs, erasing borders and embracing unity. “I think we’ve been working hard to bring the flavors of my country to this corner of the United States. We receive very positive feedback from our customers. People like it.” You took the words right out of our pleasantly singed mouths, Felipe. We like it too. El Mirasol (two locations) El Mirasol at Los Arbolas – 140 E Palm Canyon | 760.323.0721 El Mirasol at Cocina Mexicana – 266 E Vía Altamira | 760.459.3136 More From Eat & Drink View All Posts Summer Fun Guide to Palm Springs Welcome to Palm Springs, where the sun shines bright, and the fun never stops! While… Read More Palm Springs Asian Restaurant Guide Palm Springs offers a diverse culinary scene that caters to various tastes and preferences. Among… Read More Exploring Palm Springs Beyond Coachella’s April Beats Local’s guide to making the most of Coachella weekends without the festival frenzy. Palm Springs… Read More
Mexican Spice and Everything Nice - Visit Palm Springs
