Secret No More
Written by Caitlin White | Photography by @Datsufilms, Courtesy of Visit Santa Barbara
Peter Lee and Felicia Medina have turned a pandemic pop-up into one of Santa Barbara’s most playful Asian-fusion concepts: SECRET BAO. The name refers to when the pair were surreptitiously cooking out of their apartment. Their fluffy mini sandwiches are now a staple for Santa Barbara foodies and a treat for out-of-town visitors, too.
Although Lee, who is Korean, and Medina, who is Mexican, Cuban, and Chinese, both have extensive backgrounds working in restaurants, neither had worked in an Asian restaurant before opening one. That’s likely why they weren’t too precious about crafting a Pan-Asian menu that travels from highbrow to lowbrow and back without missing a beat.
Consider the KFC bao: Korean fried chicken, umami coleslaw, pickled red onions, and mayo, all spilling out of a pillowy bao bun. These days the menu leans less on the PB&J or grilled-cheese bao and more toward udon carbonara, curry crab noodles, and honey-walnut shrimp. The tongue-in-cheek baos were fun; the new menu is a joy. 1201 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, 805-259-3226, secretbaosb.com
