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