Owner and head chef of Olitas, Steve Elb.
Chef Steve Elb has been coming to work in the same place for 29 years. For the first 19, that special spot was called the Sea Cloud, a sister restaurant of Lou Caviglia’s Clouds Downtown. Elb opened Olitas in the same spot in 2003. Elb is unabashedly proud of his specials menu and the contemporary spin he brings to Mexican seafood with his specials menu. Later, Elb also took over as head chef and updated the food.
SCW: How did you flip the menu?
STEVE ELB: I started changing things and getting more of a contemporary Mexican thing going on. We’ve had enchiladas and tacos. We have taco Tuesdays and Thursdays, which everybody loves. We didn’t mess with that. But I started putting more salads on the menu, appetizers, small plates, ravioli and pork sausages. Everything’s made in-house. The only thing we don’t make is tortillas. I get those from La Rosa.
What’s your top seller?
We sell a lot of tacos. We’re a Mexican restaurant. We’ve got beef, chicken and pork. But we also have duck tacos. We’ve got mahi mahi and cabrito tacos. We’ve got popcorn shrimp tacos. We’ve got lobster tacos. We sell a lot of lobster quesadillas.
How long do your specials last?
Two to three weeks. In about a week, salmon season starts, and shit really gets busy. I love fresh salmon. I know tons of different preparations. Everything from grilled to raw. I’ll be excited about that. I don’t buy farm-raised salmon during the offseason. I only use the real life case. We try to be friendly with the ocean as much as we can.
How did you pick the name Olitas?
It was called Las Olas, and apparently there’s a restaurant in the San Diego area called Las Olas. Little did we know, they had it trademarked, so they sent us a cease-and-desist after we opened for about six months. Why they trademarked it, God only knows. We decided let’s just call it Olitas, which means “little waves.” I’m an ex-surfer, so I always had an affinity for the ocean.
Do you like watching the surfers out there?
All the time. That’s why I’ve been out here since 1984, in some form or fashion.
