![]() Not just Puerto Rican gifts, mind you, but take a look at the main wall at Conchita and it will remind you of the storefronts in Old San Juan.Īnd right next door to the The Big Place is La Bodega, Sol’s take-out kitchen that’s also replete with authentic Puerto Rican artifacts.Īnd not too far away from this busy corner is The Small Place, the new spot for Sol's first restaurant which has its own vibe and clientele. Just recently, she opened Conchita, a cultural gift store that sits caddy-corner to the The Big Place on Lincoln. In the end, Sol Food is a great California eatery that serves Puerto Rican food, not just a great Puerto Rican eatery in California.īut the Puerto Rican element truly matters, and it factors into Sol’s bigger business strategy. People come from all over Northern and Central California - from Salinas to Sacramento - for the vibe and the quality of the food. The eggs (try the jamon, queso, y huevo for breakfast) are organic. The mofongo is vegan (gasp – it’s an iconic plantain dish known for its heavy reliance on fatback) but it is spectacular. ![]() The result: amazing Puerto Rican food that’s also hip to Marin. But as the daughter of a Puerto Rico-born father, she also knows the real thing when it comes to Puerto Rican cooking (she also spent a few years on the island learning the craft). She was born and raised in Marin County, so it’s not exactly like she needed to adjust to the natives she is a native of Marin. Second, Sol has adapted her menu to the local culture, without sacrificing authenticity. You’ll adjust quickly, and perhaps even feel thankful that the music is amped loud enough to create a semi-private dome over your party. If you are feeling less-than-social, you won’t probably mind the arrangement. In the new tradition of fast-casual dining, you get on line to order and the food is brought to you at large communal tables. The music over the PA, loud enough to assert itself into your conversation, but not so loud as to overwhelm it. The greens, blues and orange you’d see in great island bistros but rarely here in the US. When you first walk into The Big Place on 901 Lincoln Avenue (the largest of the three food-related businesses), you are immediately taken in. A recent visit to Sol Food – a wildly popular group of restaurant-and-takeout properties in downtown San Rafael – is growing fast (not just in income, but physically) by experimenting with space in a deeply social way.įirst, owner/chef Marisol Hernandez and husband Victor Cielo have created a vibe in each of their properties that makes for a big part of the Sol Food experience. But what if one were to exploit that asset in ways that are social? The asset, of course, is physical space. ![]()
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