Real, genuine
– authentic.
The authenticity of Dona Esther Restaurant is what won it the
honor of one of the top 50 Hispanic businesses in California.
Hispanic Business Magazine informed owner Al Castaneda of the
recognition and presented him with a plaque.
Real, genuine – authentic.
The authenticity of Dona Esther Restaurant is what won it the honor of one of the top 50 Hispanic businesses in California.
Hispanic Business Magazine informed owner Al Castaneda of the recognition and presented him with a plaque.
“They said our food was very authentic in their evaluation,” Castaneda said.
In March, the San Juan Bautista restaurant will celebrate 22 years in business. Castaneda said his success comes from the authenticity and consistency of the food.
The authenticity comes from how the food is made – from Castaneda’s grandmother, Esther. Although Esther didn’t have written-out recipes, Castaneda and his mother were able to reconstruct how she made her famous dishes.
“She was a good cook, very gracious – she would always offer people stuff to eat. She always had a lot of food cooking in her kitchen,” Castaneda said. “To this day, a lot of my friends remember that.”
Although Castaneda and his cooks stick to the recipes, they had to tone down the spiciness because of the high volume of tourists who eat in San Juan, he said.
The consistency comes from working with the same ingredients, which is made possible by Castaneda’s staff. Most of the restaurant’s 15 full-time employees have been with him for more than 10 years. In fact, the main cooks have been with Dona Esther for more than 15 years.
“That’s been the key to our success – we’ve managed to keep the food consistent because we have the same cooks,” Castaneda said.
The most popular dishes at Dona Esther are albondigas, a Mexican meatball soup with vegetables, Menudo, which the restaurant offers every day, and the chili relleno, stuffed chili. The restaurant is open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
After spending years in the meat industry, Castaneda is a stickler for using the best meats. He used to cut meat and worked out of a meat market.
“I got a pretty good feel for what (types of meat) they were using and a good feel for what I wouldn’t use,” Castaneda said.
For example, Castaneda only buys rib-eye steak for his carne asada where other restaurants will use boneless sirloin tip which has less tenderness. Also, he over-trims his pork to cut down on the amount of fat in dishes like the chili verde.
“I learned how to cut and what beef to purchase. Being a meat cutter made it so much easier for me,” he said.
Castaneda has spread around his success – in addition to his philanthropic activities, he buys local whenever possible, including buying his meat from a Santa Cruz meat company. He’s worked with the meat company since Dona Esther opened. Also, the restaurant is decorated with Mexican art, some of it from local artists.
His profession along with his grandmother’s recipes combined to make an ideal situation for Castaneda to open a restaurant.
“All I ever heard my grandma say is that we should open up a Mexican restaurant,” he said. “I made a commitment that if I ever had the opportunity, I would open a restaurant in her honor.”
