RASCALS in the kitchen

AFTER FIVE YEARS OF MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN THE SANTA BARBARA COMMUNITY, DALAN MORENO HAS BECOME A LEADER IN THE VEGAN FOOD SCENE WITH HIS RESTAURANT RASCAL’S

BY Maddy Sims | PHOTOGRAPHY Silas Fallstich

If you ask Dalan Moreno if his plan was always to own a vegan restaurant, he would tell you no. But if you spend 15 minutes talking to him, it’s clear this is exactly what he was meant to do. There are subtle signs, like the way he straightens his posture and looks you directly in the eye as he speaks about the suffering involved in industrial agriculture. There are less subtle signs, like the tattoo on his neck that reads “VEGAN'' or the way his entire face lights up with excitement as he describes the perfect vegan burger. But the real sign is the way he looks in his kitchen. Moving quickly from post to post—wrapping up a to-go order with care before stepping over to stir a pot and then turning to check on fresh tortillas.

As you watch Moreno in the kitchen at his restaurant, Rascal’s, it’s obvious: this was the plan all along.

Moreno, a Santa Barbara native, went vegan at 15 years old. “I still wanted all the things a 15-yearold wants, but there weren’t many options here,” he explains. “Back then, the only way to get [good vegan food] was to just make it.” So, he and his friends had pizza parties and taco nights, cooking plant-based dinners together.

Little did Moreno know that these Friday night gatherings would inspire the name of his all-vegan restaurant. “I felt like none of us knew what we were doing,” he laughs. “We were just a bunch of rascals making vegan food.”

Fast forward 10 years. Moreno was working as a carpenter and traveling around, tasting vegan food all over the continent. “I’d seen how much veganism had grown, but I felt like it hadn’t grown much in our community.” As he visited different restaurants, he found himself thinking the same thing: “There were places that were pretty good, but I'd been to other places that I thought weren’t as good as the stuff I was making myself.” So, he decided to host pop-ups.

Moreno knew he wanted to make American food (hence the excitement around vegan burgers), but he also wanted to create delicious vegan Mexican food. He spent his time traveling to foodie hot spots (such as Los Angeles and New York City) and working in the industry before focusing on Mexico City. He would go there for months at a time, learning as much as he could. It was there that he learned the true importance of tortillas. “It's part of our mission to make really good tortillas,” he says. “When you order tortillas here, they're made for your order.”

The first Rascal’s pop-up was in July 2018—and it was a hit. From there, as Moreno says, it snowballed. He hosted pop-ups all over Santa Barbara, showing the community just how delicious vegan food can be and building a strong following. Eventually, Alejandro Medina of Bibi Ji offered Moreno a residency, since they weren’t operating full-time due to COVID. Moreno jumped at the chance, taking over Tuesday and Wednesday service. He stayed there for a year until Bibi Ji opened back up full-time.

“We were scrambling because at that point, I had quit my other job,” he says. He turned to his supportive social community, asking if anyone knew of another residency. The people at Good Lion reached out, offering their portion of the kitchen at Venus In Furs.

His time at 18 E Cota Street, he says, prepared him for opening his own location. “It was the first time we had been able to have a space that was fully our own, at least kitchen-wise,” he says. “I wouldn't be prepared for what I'm doing right now if I didn't have that time, so I'm really thankful for that opportunity.”

When the time came to leave, Moreno turned to his support system again. “We built up a communal following of people, and we always put our laundry out to the world,” he says. He settled on 432 E Haley Street, getting the keys January 1, 2023 and opening the doors on March 11, 2023.

It took him some time to get the space ready. “I used all of my construction skills to revamp the dining room area,” he says. “We remodeled, we redid the bar, we put in new tables and shelving. All kinds of stuff like that.” It was just Moreno working tirelessly. He had sold his own tools after signing the lease at Venus In Furs, so he reached back out to his friends and old co-workers to see if they would lend him tools overnight. He smiles and shrugs, saying it was challenging—but as you look around at the beautifully-crafted bar and sleek modern tables, you can tell he poured his heart into the entire space.

Rascal’s is bright, open, and warm. The space is decorated with Mexican cookbooks, Topo Chico bottles, and plants (lots of them). The laid-back alternative music matches The Smiths poster on the wall perfectly. The tables are full of families and friend groups. The place is buzzing on a Wednesday night (and a cloudy, cold one at that). The people of Santa Barbara love Rascal’s—and it’s not hard to see why.

I start with the esquites, a mixture of steamed corn, veganaise, almond parmesan, and crushed takes. The dish melts in my mouth: a creamy balance of sweet, salty, citrus, and (just a little) spice. Next up is the infamous crunchwrap. Whether you’re vegan or not, this delectable creation hits the spot. Filled with lettuce, pico de gallo, refried beans, soy “asada,” and cashew crema, you wouldn’t believe it’s plant-based. I end with the Baja cauliflower tacos (they’re Moreno’s favorite, how could I not?!). After just one bite, I am in disbelief. The fried cauliflower is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, seasoned perfectly with nori to taste, just like your favorite shrimp tacos.

Moreno is on a mission to prove that vegan food isn’t gross, boring, or bland. And after tasting these dishes, it’s safe to say he’s succeeding. “My hope is to get people more open to trying vegan food,” he says. “I know some people won't go vegan as steadfast as me, but if they're open to trying it even two or three days a week, that's better than nothing.”

In terms of the future, Moreno dreams of opening up Burger Town, featuring his mouth-watering vegan burger, fries, and milkshakes (seriously, I dream about the shakes). Eventually, he’d like to expand across the country, continuing his pop-ups in different places, sharing his talent of vegan cooking with the world.

So while he claims he never thought he would open a vegan restaurant, it’s clear it was always meant to happen. When asked what being vegan means to him, he pauses, and shakes his head softly. “It's just who I am,” he replies.*