Taco Maria restaurateur makes list of nation’s top new chefs
When Carlos Salgado opened his Costa Mesa restaurant two years ago, his goal was to give customers traditional taco meats with an innovative combination of ingredients. Think oranges, kumquats, shiitake mushrooms and applewood bacon.
Food & Wine magazine recognized Salgado’s style and declared him one of this year’s 10 Best New Chefs in America.
Salgado is no stranger to the many facets of running a restaurant. His mother and father have almost 40 years’ experience.
“I grew up in my parents’ restaurant … literally,” Salgado said of his upbringing in Garden Grove and Orange. “We had a family table in the corner where I’d do my homework before and after school.”
During his high school years, Salgado developed a liking for technology. He began a series of jobs as a programmer and graphic designer. His career took him to San Francisco, where he became enveloped in the restaurant culture.
The distance from home and family led him to cook for himself. After eight years in the tech field, he decided it was time for a change.
“On a whim, I wanted to switch careers,” said Salgado, 35. “I discovered [that] the complexity and progressiveness of the tech industry could also be found in cooking.”
He stayed in San Francisco and devoted the next year and a half to culinary studies.
In 2011, he returned to Orange County and reconnected with his family’s business. He realized he wanted to carry on the legacy somehow. He and his family began building Taco Maria, named after Salgado’s mother. Salgado is the owner, operator and chef.
Food & Wine noted Taco Maria for its self-described “Chicano cuisine.” The magazine’s past selections for best new chefs usually were from French or Italian restaurants. But this year’s list acknowledges the sophisticated food that can emerge from other cultures.
Anne-Marie Schiefer said she has been a Taco Maria customer since its opening in 2013.
“There’s not one wrong thing to order here,” Schiefer said. “The taste combines a classic taco with a rich mix of ingredients.”
When George Skandalos, a vacationer from Idaho, was looking for a place to eat in Orange County, he recalled seeing Salgado’s name on Food & Wine’s chefs list.
“The food here is awesome and very creative,” Skandalos said.
Prices on the a la carte menu range from $8 to $16. The restaurant’s taco bar puts customers face to face with members of the kitchen staff as they cook.
“I work with a team of very devoted young men and women here,” Salgado said. “We have this common goal of artistic sensibility and to give a quality that our guests can trust.”
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Taco Maria
Address: 3313 Hyland Ave., Suite C21, inside the OC Mix at SoCo Collection in Costa Mesa
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays
Information: (714) 538-8444, https://www.tacomaria.com