It’s not a big room but there’s a lot going on at Baja Cali – including a plethora of sauces (11 in all) that add layers of flavor to every dish. The regulars know what they like, but newcomers might want to try some ceviche or one of the many burritos on offer.
Seven days a week. Ten hours a day. Eleven different sauces.
That’s just part of what it takes to run Baja Cali, a Mexican restaurant tucked away in the Orinda Village. But Mauro and Allison Cazarez have kept at it for nine years now, surviving the pandemic and the ups and downs of a chancy business – and they’ve found a home in Orinda.
And even though most of us tend to think there’s not much more to Mexican flavors than red or green sauce, with maybe a salsa thrown in, Mauro (who does the cooking) has to have all 11. In fact, he makes them fresh pretty much daily, mixing up a new batch whenever needed, whether it be at the height of the lunch rush or when the dinner-time crowd arrives.
Yet those two high-traffic teams also cater to different groups.
“We get a lot of Hispanics at lunchtime,” Mauro said, who tend to order seafood and specialties like the quesabirria.
At night, the customer base shifts to older Orindans who go for combination plates, chile rellenos and blackened salmon.
“The regulars,” said Allison, “know exactly what they want,” but newcomers should check out the wide variety of burritos, the ceviches and the battered fish taco, all of which reflect Mauro’s Mexican roots.
He was born in Baja California – hence the name – but moved to the East Bay at age five. He learned the business in his father’s restaurant in Hercules, Mazatlán, and also still draws on his extended family.
The battered fish tacos come from a recipe from his aunt Gaby, who runs a restaurant in Las Palmas, and his focus on seafood comes from his father’s specialties at Mazatlán.
Then there are the sauces.
A simple, or so we think, carne asada burrito uses three of those 11 sauces, and he also has a special black sauce from Sinaloa that can be found in several dishes. And yes, there are the typical red and green sauces, but Mauro keeps the ranchera sauce, the fajita sauce, the chipotle sauce, the diablo sauce, the mega sauce (the spiciest) and the others always at hand – of course, always fresh.
“Each sauce has its own recipe and process,” said Mauro, who’s meticulous about their preparation.
The meat and fish are also carefully selected, with Angus beef and quality seafood in every dish. Even the refried beans are a cut above, made with olive oil rather than lard.
But all of these details take time.
“We sauté everything,” said Mauro. “Sometimes our food takes longer because we cook the meat as the orders come in. Some places cook all the meat at the start of the day, but we never have more meat than for four or five orders at any one time.”
Unlike some of the smaller Mexican places, Baja Cali also serves beer and wine – but the attraction of this small space (next to Siam Orchid) is the food. And, of course, the sauces.
