FOOD &DRINK
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DANIEL DREIFUSS
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FOOD FOR ALL: Dylan Locker hands out food at I.V. Elementary.
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ELUBIA’S KITCHEN Serves Central American Classics
Raza community center, Elubia Orozco prepares iconic pupusas from scratch three days a week. The process is deceptively simple: Flattened masa dough is packed with savory fillings like meat and vegetables, rolled into a ball to seal the contents, and then pressed into the shape of a tortilla. Then, the batter is pan-fried to crispy, gooey perfection and served with a refreshing side of Salvadoran cabbage slaw and salsa roja. One of the only Santa Barbara restaurants to serve these savory treats, Elubia’s Kitchen was opened by Elubia and her husband, Ruben Orozco, in November 2019. But her pupusas started making waves in Santa Barbara six years ago, when she was working as an after-school teacher at Peabody Charter School and sold some as part of a fundraiser. They were an instant hit. “The line was at least 50 people,” said Ruben. “And that’s how we knew: Maybe there is a need for this.” After successful runs during 2019’s Old Spanish Days and Solvang Fall Festival, the Orozcos rented affordable kitchen space in La Casa de la Raza. As popularity grew, the restaurant went from being open one day a week to three, and they plan to open a Goleta location this month at 152 Aero Camino to serve on Wednesdays. As of press time, Elubia’s Kitchen is still operating at the La Casa location even after the recent sale of the community center’s building, and the Oro-
NOW OPEN THREE DAYS A WEEK AT
LA CASA DE LA RAZA BY SHEILA TRAN
zcos plan to do so as long as they can keep their lease under the new owner. Elubia’s cooking expertise traces back to her childhood in Guatemala, where she helped elderly women in her neighborhood make food to sell in markets. “For years, they [taught] me how to make different kinds of foods,” she explained. “I’ve been cooking since I was maybe 10 years old.” A woman from El Salvador taught her how to make pupusas, and the rest is history. Other than the Salvadoran pupusa, Elubia’s Kitchen also serves a variety of Latin-American dishes. There’s the Mexican mulita and dobladita, the Guatemalan garnacha and empanada, and a variety of aguas frescas, with plans to introduce more dishes in the future. They’re also committed to ensuring that the entire menu remains gluten-free. That’s important because Elubia herself suffered from an undiagnosed wheat allergy for more than a year, struggling with hives and shortness of breath before an allergy test pinpointed the issue. When Elubia’s Kitchen opened, the couple went gluten-free to
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THE INDEPENDENT
MAY 14, 2020
FELIX DONG PHOTOS
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n the little kitchen of Santa Barbara’s La Casa de la
GUATEMALAN GOODS: Elubia and Ruben Orozco serve Salvadoran pupusas, Mexican mulitas, Guatemalan garnachas, and more.
protect her health and differentiate themselves from other eateries. “That feedback has been tremendous,” Ruben said. “At every festival, there are always tons of people coming up and saying, ‘God, this is the first time I can go somewhere and eat the whole menu.’ ” It’s not the only way that Elubia’s Kitchen is helping the community. They’ve donated a portion of their profits to nonprofit organizations since their very first food festival. The expansive list of organizations they’ve helped includes the Cottage Children’s Medical Center, Domestic Violence Solutions, and the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re now donating to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County every weekend. Serving authentic, hard-to-find Latin-American dishes is an immensely rewarding experience for the couple. Ruben recalled serving Guatemalan customers who hadn’t eaten authentic garnachas in decades. “They said, ‘Thank you very much for taking me back to my country,’ ” he explained. Elubia, meanwhile, enjoys being told that her dishes remind customers of their mother’s tortillas or grandma’s taquitos. In these situations, the Orozcos are reminded that Elubia’s Kitchen is more than just a restaurant — it’s also a place of connection and cultural community. “I am very lucky to [be able to] share my food to the Santa Barbara community, and that they can enjoy my culture,” said Elubia. “Because this is a part of Guatemala, of me, of my town.” Elubia’s Kitchen is located at 601 East Montecito Street and is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. During the pandemic, they are doing takeout and delivery via Grubhub, DoorDash, UberEats, and Postmates. n See elubiaskitchen.com.
INDEPENDENT.COM
FEEDING
Goleta’s Students
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chools may be empty for now, but Goleta Union School District
(GUSD) employees and volunteers are hard at work to ensure students are still being fed. In response to school closures in late March, the school district launched a grab-and-go bagged meals program to provide free breakfast and lunch to anyone 18 or under. The program is open to anyone in need, regardless of their school registration or meal-plan status; no sign-up or application is required. Meals can be picked up on weekdays 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at five Goleta distribution sites: Isla Vista, Ellwood, El Camino, and La Patera elementary schools, as well as the Goleta Valley Community Center. “We just saw a need in our community and wanted to be able to fill that need,” said GUSD Food Services Director Kim Leung. With 40 percent of students in the district qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the shift to online instruction also led to an increased risk of food insecurity. So the school district applied for a waiver from the USDA that helped expand the program to serve anyone 18 and under, not just registered BY SHEILA TRAN students. They’re now serving an average of 1,400 free meals per day, a number that has steadily grown over the past six weeks. Participants can either walk up to distribution stations or use a curbside drive-through system, which allows people to receive meals without leaving their cars. The process is simple and quick: Staffers ask how many meals are needed and then hand out preproportioned breakfast and lunch bags, as well as fresh produce and canned goods. Those who can’t access distribution sites are encouraged to reach out to their GUSD principal or email Leung directly for assistance. “If they can’t find a way to get there, we do have community liaisons and services that will find a way to get through to them,” said Leung. While the school district has made minor adjustments to the menu to maintain quality and food safety, all meals are still being cooked from scratch with nutrition in mind. Meals served over the past two weeks include chicken Spanish rice bowls, pulled pork sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce, and meatball pasta with a five-vegetable marinara sauce. The school district typically runs a minimal feeding program during the summer, but anticipates that COVID-19 will greatly increase the demand for food assistance. Most of the school district’s program funding ends in June — additional funding and resources are currently being located to continue the meal program at a similar capacity through the summer. “We definitely want to ensure that no kids go hungry and that access to nutrition continues,” said Leung. “But it all comes down to what available resources we have.”
GOLETA UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT’S
GRAB-AND-GO MEALS FOR ANYONE 18 AND UNDER
Support this project by emailing Kim Leung at kleung@goleta 4∙1∙1 .k12.ca.us. Keep up with Goleta Union Food Services on Instagram via @gusdfood.