better living | dining

Simple doesn't cut it at
Las Campanas

By BETTS GRIFFONE, Photo by MEDIHA FEJZAGIC DIMARTINO

MEXICAN FOOD is not just tacos anymore. Nope! Gourmet Mexican cuisine has been discovered.

When Las Campanas opened its large, welcoming doors at the end of last summer in Rancho Cucamonga, a continental version of traditional Mexican food arrived on the scene.

Chef Aurelio Guardiola says he prefers cooking to planning and so considers his approach rather intuitive. He loves to cook and experiment with new ways to present his signature dishes.

When asked at what age he started to cook, the chef said he was about 14 or 15, living in Chihuahua, Mexico, when he watched his mother cooking tacos. He thought that would be a great job. He saw men working hard in the fields and figured an indoor job like cooking was a much better way to make a living. It was a good choice, not only for him, but for everyone who enjoys his sophisticated style of cuisine.

Much of the food at Las Campanas is seafood-based, cooked in the tropical style of Veracruz and Sonora, Mexico.

Chef Gaurdiola uses at least a dozen types of chiles for his creations, ranging from sweet peppers to the very hot habanero. His “huevos rancheros,” which are served at Sunday brunch, incorporate six different chiles.

The menu at Las Campanas changes quarterly to accommodate the changing seasons and the produce that is readily available. Everything is made fresh, from scratch — nothing semi-homemade. Lighter offerings like seafood and salads are found on the menu during the hot summer months; heavier, more complex dishes like mole are served during the cooler winter months. The flavor and heat of the chiles changes during the year, which is taken into account and recipes are adjusted accordingly.

The chef makes his own sauces and salsas from dried and fresh chiles — never dry chile powder. His enchilada sauce is created from whole dried red chile peppers that are cooked until soft and puréed to ensure an authentic Mexican flavor.

Chef Guardiola manages 17 people in his kitchen and meets regularly with manager Eduardo Pico to develop menus and discuss recipe possibilities. It was Pico who came up with the idea of Margarita Cheese Cake.

Together they experimented and finally came up with an original recipe that is served at brunch on Sundays. They are planning to add it to the full menu soon.

The chef feels it’s important to give customers something new every day, so his signature soups change daily. In his picadillo soup, which is usually made with ground beef, he uses skirt steak instead, to give it more flavor. Developing these recipes provides a creative outlet for him and a welcome surprise for his guests.

Las Campanas was started by the owners of the Mission Inn in Riverside. The original Las Campanas is located there and that is where about 50 percent of the recipes originated.

Chef Guardiola worked in the main kitchen at the Mission Inn for three years before taking over the inn’s Las Campanas kitchen.

Six months later he was asked to move to Las Campanas’ Rancho Cucamonga location to help develop a new menu and a new philosophy for the restaurant.

Guardiola has a rich background of cooking experience.

His first U.S. job was at Don Jose’s in 1973. He helped open and was the original chef at El Gato Gordo in Riverside, so he understands what it takes to run a successful, organized kitchen.

He has cooked for American Airlines, Flying Tiger and Pan Am and developed recipes for a major food production company. He has even cooked for celebrities and heads of state in Mexico.

When asked what tips the chef had for home cooks, he suggested that they come and eat with him. Pico, the manager, recommended that people need to start looking at Mexican food in a new way.

They should learn to experiment with flavors and methods to create their own signature dishes — get beyond simple tacos, enchiladas and burritos. There is a world of flavors to be discovered out there.

Las Campanas
8106 Milliken Ave., Rancho Cucamonga;
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; dining room 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., cantina open until midnight Friday-Saturday; (909) 466-2766, fax (909) 466-2770, http://lascampanasrestaurant.com

camarones al mojo de ajo
Serves 4
16 jumbo prawns U-10 size
4 oz white wine
4 oz tequila
4 teaspoon garlic
8 oz pico de gallo
4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
salt to taste
Saute prawns with garlic and pico de gallo.
Add white wine and tequila. Add butter and season to taste. Serve with rice.

lobster enchiladas with chipotle cream sauce
Serves 4
8 grilled flour tortillas
16-20 oz. fresh lobster meat
4 oz. pico de gallo
4 teaspoon garlic
4 oz. lime juice
4 oz. tequila
8 oz. cotija cheese
12 oz. chipotle cream sauce
Sauté lobster meat with pico de gallo and garlic.
Add lime juice and tequila and cook just until lobster is no longer translucent — two to three minutes.
Season to taste. Divide lobster between flour tortillas, add half the cheese to each and roll. Place on plate seam side down. Add chipotle cream sauce.

chipotle cream sauce
Heavy cream sauteed with garlic, white wine, salt, pepper, butter, and add pureed chipotle peppers to the amount of heat desired. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes and thicken with a roux to a desired thickness.