¡Latin Food Fest! this weekend

We’re looking forward to the 4th Annual Latin Food Fest this weekend! Although the Friday Chef’s Night Out Kickoff Party and Monday’s Latin Caribbean Supper Club events are sold out, tix are still available for the Grande Tasting this Saturday (21+) & Sunday (All Ages).

Embarcadero Marina Park North is the new venue for both days. We love the fact that it’s all-inclusive; once you’re in, all your tastes/samples are free, and promoters tout 100 food, wine and spirits tasting stations. The cooking demos are fun, and have you ever been to a Michelada contest? Can’t wait to see who wins! Music will be provided by Cuba’s Amistad Cubana.

Participating chefs include Martin San Roman of Valle de Guadalupe’s La Terrasse San Roman & San Diego’s Dobson’s; Jaime Chavez of Little Italy’s Sirena; Claudia Sandoval, winner of Master Chef Season 6; and Sandra Vazquez of Tijuana’s La Mestiza. We also want to check out Martin Omar, a strong advocate of Dominican cuisine, and Felipe Raul, who incorporates Puerto Rican influences into his dishes.

You can get tickets by clicking here. Hope to see you at the ¡Latin Food Fest! this weekend!

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What’s Happening/¿Que Onda?

We’re heading into high season for Baja food & drink-related festivals on both sides of the border! Follow along, amigos/as . . .

Saturday, April 30: Fiesta del Mar, Imperial Beach Pier Plaza
Noon to 7pm, free admission! Kudos to Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina and Rosarito Beach Mayor Silvano Abarca for collaborating on this cross-border celebration of friendship. It will feature Baja-inspired cuisine from chefs, including Javier Plasciencia (Misión 19, Finca Altozano, Bracero + more), beer and wine from Baja, and music including Todo Mundo. How cool is that? More info>>

Saturday, May 7: San Diego Paella & Wine Fest, Waterfront Park, Embarcadero, San Diego
Noon to 7pm, tix $64+. Paella-cooking teams will vie in a number of categories, and beer, wine and tequila tastes will be offered. HINT: go early; at last year’s event, many wineries ran out of product in less than two hours. The paella servings will likely be staggered, so pay attention to the schedule! More info>>

Saturday, May 14: Viñedos en Flor, Vinícola Bibayoff, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California
Noon; tix online approx. $20. Put on by Baja’s Comite ProVino, this benefit, a campestre or “country” festival, promises to be family-oriented, but will also feature plenty of wine tasting and local food products for purchase. We’ll be checking it out for the first time ourselves! More info>>

Saturday, May 21: San Diego Taco Fest, Waterfront Park, Embarcadero, San Diego
11am to 10pm, GA tix $22, does NOT include food and/or beverage. But a portion of the door benefits San Diego Music Foundation! 20+ restaurants; fun bands, including B*Side Players, Todo Mundo + the ever-popular El Vez. More info>>

Saturday, May 28 & Sunday, May 29: Rosarito Art Festival, Rosarito Beach, Baja California
11am to 8pm, FREE event that is moving this year from Blvd. Benito Juarez near the RB Hotel to Castillos del Mar, KM 30 on the free (Popotla Blvd.) road south! It’s been getting better each year; we’ll see how it shapes up in the new location. There have been great local cheeses, salsas and wines – as well as art, music and dance – in past years. More info>>

And stay tuned for posts about more events and happenings in the San Diego/Northern Baja region, as well as our recommendations and reviews!

Rosarito & Conchas: What a Weekend!

We picked the perfect weekend for our stay at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, won at last year’s Baja Blues Fest raffle. Heading south on April Fool’s Day, we stopped at Mariscos Tito’s for a late lunch. It’s the big blue canopy-covered establishment east of McDonald’s in Rosarito, on the right just after you cross the bridge. Bob warned me about large servings, so I thought I was being conservative when I ordered just one shrimp tostada and one mariscos al ajillo taco.

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One shrimp tostada easily turns into three @ Mariscos Tito’s

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Mariscos al Ajillo taco @ Mariscos Tito’s

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Part of the offerings at Mariscos Tito’s

HA! One would have been PLENTY. Tito’s tostadas come with two ADDITIONAL crispy tortillas, since the main one is heaped SO high, you need to spread the topping around. They were both delicious and fresh; the mariscos ajillo was definitely the most interesting. I’ll be back to try their almejas gratinadas, the pescado sarandeado and the molcajete de camaron. It’s a family atmosphere, kind funky (tacos are served on plates covered with plastic bags for easy clean-up), but the flavors – and the values – are incredible.

Highlights of our Rosarito Beach stay included a beautiful sunset from our balcony, great breakfast at Los Pelicanos (who knew they had such a wonderful fruit plate?), relaxing massages in RBH’s Casa Playa Spa (I pray the Familia Torres never tears down that lovely building), and dinner at Ollie’s Pizza with friends Ron & Terri Raposa.

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Sunset from our room at the Rosarito Beach Hotel

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Fruit plate at Los Pelicanos in Rosarito Beach

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A relaxed Bob in the lobby of the lovely Casa Playa Spa @ RB Hotel

The REAL reason we chose this weekend? Festival de las Conchas y el Vino Nuevo at Hotel Coral, just north of Ensenada. We spread word about the fantastic time we had last year, and were were THRILLED when two groups of friends joined us this year, increasing our entourage to nearly a dozen. The well-organized event was WAY more crowded than last year, but food (oysters, mussels, clams and an occasional paella), wine, chefs and winemakers were still VERY accessible. I love the educational component (chef demos, displays of Baja seafood products) and the opportunity to meet interesting attendees. We loved seeing and/or chatting with everyone, including Drew Deckman of Deckman’s, Diego Hernandez of Corazon de Tierra, Adria Marina of Don Ramen, Javier Plasciencia of Finca Altozano and Memo Ramirez of La Concheria (among others, to be sure). Tru Miller of Adobe Guadalupe was proudly pouring the latest release of her Uriel rosé (DELICIOUS!); great to see Natalia Badan of Mogor Badan and folks from faves Rondo del Valle, Finca la Carrodilla, Cava Maciel, Relieve Vinicola and Vinicola Retorno on hand.

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It got a bit crowded, but there was plenty of food, wine and fun to go around

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Gotta love these local products!

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Chef Drew serving up oysters

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17-year-old winemaker (Ana Sofia?) proudly showing off her tasty Flor de Roca Cabernet

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Part of Team EatDrinkBaja!

The 2016 Baja festival season is JUST beginning. Stay tuned for a look ahead at the fun and delicious opportunities, and I hope you will attend the Festival de las Conchas y el Vino Nuevo in 2017!

Gracias for photos by Bob Gove & Rafael Rush 

 

 

Why you need to visit Baja this weekend

We’re really looking forward to the weekend! At last year’s Baja Blues Fest we bought a single raffle ticket and (hooray, luck!) won the grand prize, so we’ll stay at the Rosarito Beach Hotel (a tiny upgrade from Bob’s palatial seaside estate) and enjoy a couples’ massage at the RBH spa, in the beautiful edifice that was formerly the home of the RBH’s owners. The main reason we’re heading south this weekend is the Festival de las Conchas y El Vino Nuevo. It’s the culmination of four days in Baja, including abalone cultivation site visits, workshops + more. Ensenada/Valle restaurants (Boules, Malva, Manzanilla, Deckman’s, Corazon de Tierra + Traslomita) are also planning special dinners Thursday + Saturday. We’ll enjoy the Grand Festival at a lovely setting just outside Hotel Coral, north of Ensenada on Sunday, April 3 starting @ noon; it was one of our fave Baja fests last year, well organized, not too crowded, everyone in a great mood and opportunity to chat w/chefs. More than 40 restaurants (offering varied treatments of clams, mussels, oysters and abalone) + 54 wineries will participate! And tix are reasonable: about $30 online including service charge + currency conversion. HINT: pack a wine glass to avoid buying one onsite. WILL WE SEE YOU THERE?

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Gracias por fotos from 2015 Festival de las Conchas y el Vino Nuevo by Bob Gove.

Upcoming Events in SD + BC

Spring has almost sprung. What does that mean? Festival season is upon us! Here are a few events on the eatdrinkbaja radar screen. Check back again, as more events will be posted soon!

Saturday, March 19 Sabor Latino, Fashion Valley

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This event, benefiting Media Arts Center San Diego’s youth media scholarships and part of the San Diego Latino Film Festival, boasts some great Baja chefs, including Miguel Angel Guerrero of La Querencia + La Esperanza, Diego Hernandez of Corazon de Tierra, Oso Campos of Tacos Kokopelli + Martin San Roman of La Terrasse San Roman PLUS Border X Brewery, Adobe Guadalupe, Villa Montefiori, Lomita + Vena Cava. $35/advance seems quite reasonable!

Saturday, March 19 + Sunday, March 20, Latin American Art Festival, Liberty Station

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We were unable to attend last year, but this FREE festival claims to feature Baja chefs + wines in addition to more than 100 artists. We think it’s worth a check-out!

Sunday, April 3, Festival de Las Conchas y El Vino Nuevo, Ensenada

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This grand tasting was our runner-up for fave event of 2015, second only to the Vendimia Paella Fest, the granddaddy of all Baja food fests. At Conchas you’ll find more than 40 chefs serving up clams, mussels, oysters + abalone, raw & cooked to perfection, with about as many wineries pouring. Food station, winery lines were not long; chefs were happy to meet/chat; a great mix of locals + gringos in attendance; entertaining + educational cooking  demos. A fantastic way to spend the first Sunday in April for about $30 US! Highly recommended. Read about our visit last year. 

Girls’ Weekend in the Valle: A Trilogy (Part III)

After our tasting at Mogor Badan, we stopped by Deckman’s to put in our dinner reservation. Returning after our visits to 3 Mujeres, Viñas de Garza, Finca Altozano & La Esperanza, the sun was slipping behind the hills. Deckman’s is certainly the lowest key of the “high” cuisine restaurants I’ve visited in the Valle. Its intimacy makes Finca Altozano and La Esperanza seem rather large and, in comparison, somewhat commercial.

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Deckman’s is nestled under pine trees; the dining area’s walls are hay bales; its wooden tables rest upon a carpet of fallen leaves and pine needles. We felt fortunate that Chef Drew himself was in the house, diligently slaving over the firewood-fueled grill that is the restaurant’s centerpiece. Since he is a Michelin-starred chef, we HAD to go with the five-course tasting menu, which worked out to a very reasonable $45. We began with a fish sope (compliments of the casa), continued with delicious oysters mignonette, clam salpicon, quail with delicate mole and black beans, very moist and tender lobina (fish) and a decadent dessert. All the dishes were so beautifully presented!  A very memorable meal; after paying our tab, we paid our respects to Chef Drew.

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Sunday morning was our last at Casa Mayoral. We walked down to get a closer look at the ostriches (como se dice “ostrich” en español? Avestruz – thank you Eduardo Mayoral!) in a large pen on their neighbor’s property. From time to time the big birds would preen and bellow – quite interesting!

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After another great breakfast – this time, huevos a la mexicana – we packed up to journey out of the Valle. When we stopped in to say goodbye to Eduardo, we met Ismene Venegas, the chef at El Pintar de 3 Mujeres, which was closed for the winter. We look forward to sampling her cuisine on a future Valle visit!

Adios, Casa Mayoral! But we weren’t done eating and drinking our way through the Valle. We checked out the nearby Clos de Tres Cantos, which is artsy (love the cement easy chairs) yet casually elegant. But their wines? For us at least, not terribly memorable. Maybe we need to make a second visit . . .

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Speaking of low-key, we sought – and eventually found – Lechuza. I loved their wines I’d sampled at events, but had never visited their winery. Alas – they were closed! Hopefully you can catch them at KM 82.5. But don’t expect a lot of signage to help you find ’em!

Heading west, we stopped to peek at Finca La Divina on the outskirts of San Antonio de las Minas. This three-bedroom B&B opened about a year ago by fave Baja chef, Javier Plasciencia. Rita and her husband, from Mission Valley, were the only guests, and she encouraged us to snoop around. One look at La Finca’s great room – a lovely chef’s kitchen at one end, fireplace with sheepskin-strewn chairs clustered about in the middle, a bar well-stocked with Baja wines at the other end and cool art sprinkled in between – made me want to move in!

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The pool, jacuzzi and groovy chairs outside aren’t bad, either. According to Rita, stays at La Finca include breakfast whipped up by the onsite caretaker/manager, and guests can order food from Plasciencia’s Finca Altozano to be delivered! What a wonderful refuge right outside San Antonio, which felt like a bustling city after two bucolic days deeper in the Valle.

We found our way to Vinícola Retorno, which has to get the award for the funkiest winery we visited. But their wines: great! We enjoyed chatting with our young hosts and would have purchased a bottle, but were already at our limit for taking back to the U.S. We also stopped at Los Globos, the venerable cheese and gourmet goodies shop in San Antonio; we sampled a few and bought a big slice of their cheese with a crust of rosemary and other herbs. It’s called “greñudo,” which loosely translates to “shaggy” or “hippie” – imagine, a hippie cheese!

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I’d heard great things about Malva, named Baja’s best restaurant in 2014. Malva is just west of San Antonio, perched above the Mina Penelope winery. It’s on the first curve heading west; don’t blink or you’ll miss the turnoff! What a hidden gem with a fantastic vibe. Wish we’d been hungrier: Malva’s seven-course tasting menu was going for 600 pesos, or just $35 U.S! In my opinion, Malva’s grilled oysters won the prize for best dish on this trip. We also shared the duck carnitas sopes, which were very tasty and generous. Our server told us about the chowder with chicharrón de crab; I hope it will be on the menu when I return!

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We’d planned to stop at Madera 5 on our way back to El Sauzal; we know Chef Ryan Steyn had El Clavo, outside their tasting room. Alas, Madero 5 was locked up and from what we’ve learned, El Clavo has moved off the premises. Bummer – I love Madera’s Nebbiolo and Chef Ryan’s cuisine! We headed north, stopping at Popotla to visit with Bob and friends and catch a bit of the Super Bowl on our way back to San Diego. Although we gathered an awesome assortment of Baja wines, gourmet, bath & body products during our adventure, we kept talking about the things we should have bought.

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Photos by Patti Anderson, Carole Ravago & Bob Gove.

 

Girls’ Weekend in the Valle: A Trilogy (Part II)

It’s always great to visit the Valle; it’s even nicer to stay in the Valle. I highly recommend Casa Mayoral as your base camp for explorations. Casa’s four modern-yet-rustic cabins/casitas are about a mile off Highway 3, so it’s uber quiet and ultra comfortable. It’s also perfectly situated, near Clos de Tres Cantos, El Mogor, Deckman’s, Tres Mujeres, and not far from Laja and the road to Finca Altozano.

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We loved our delicious breakfast of chilaquiles, and enjoyed chatting with Casa’s only other guests, Devin and Beth from Colorado. We told them about the Mercado Orgánico on Saturday mornings at El Mogor. By the time we made it to the Mercado, we weren’t surprised to see them there!

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The Mercado Orgánico runs from 11am to 1pm Wednesdays and Saturdays. Not a traditional farmers market, wonderful merchandise is displayed on a variety of baskets and tables. We admired fresh greens and veggies, cheeses, olives, salsas, eggs, honey, olive oil, Mexican vanilla and Viniphera bath/body products. But the piece d’resistance? The super-fresh, still-warm bread that arrived from Laja. The Mercado is a great experience; don’t miss it if you’re in the Valle Wednesday or Saturday.

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Our good fortune continued as we caught Natalia Badan ready to pour at El Mogor’s outdoor tasting room. Again, the only customers (Super Bowl weekend ROCKS!) we bantered with this Valle matriarch and enjoyed hearing tales of then vs. now. It seems like Saturdays are the best time to catch El Mogor open – Natalia shared that at least 50% of her wine sales are to fancy restaurants in Mexico City, so she doesn’t rely too heavily on tastings by visitors like us.

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Badan 2We felt very special when Natalia invited us to their the barrel room. We bought the top-of-the-line Mogor-Badan 2012, which Natalia called a “Sunday wine” – not an everyday bottle, bound to get better with age (but can we resist consuming it sooner?)

We continued to Tres Mujeres, tasting in the artsy cave and chatting with Yvette, one of the tres mujeres (three women owners/winemakers). I tried to visit Tres Mujeres about four years ago but they were closed; we really enjoyed our visit, and their wines, especially their Merlot.

Tres MujeresNext we dropped in on one of the newer Hwy 3 wineries. Viñas de Garza was a culture shock; it’s one of the few wineries in the Valle I consider to be “Temeculized.” The grounds are big and manicured; there’s room to park a number of buses; you gotta to pay at the register before they drop the velvet rope to let you into the tasting area, and they mark off every tasting. I’m sorry, the vibe at Viñas de Garza is NOT why I come to the Valle.

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We shot over to my fave, Finca Altozano, for a some tasty snacks and sips; our food was delicious and La Finca was doing boom business on Saturday afternoon.

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Then we jetted down to La Esperanza to check them out; we were fortunate to meet the father and mother of Chef Miguel Angel Guerrero’s wife, Judith, in the process! Hopefully, I’ll be able to sample La Esperanza’s cuisine soon; we love Chef Miguel’s La Querencia in Tijuana.IMG_20160206_161730

To be continued soon! In Part III, read about dinner at Deckman’s and visits to Clos de Tres Cantos, Finca La Divina, Vinicola Retorno, Los Globos and Malva. Stay tuned.

Photos by Patti Anderson & Carole Ravago

BC in SD this week!

BAJA-BEER-CRAFT-2015-EVENT-LOGO-2-NOV-13We’re really looking forward to the Baja Beer Craft event (SOLD OUT, sorry if you were shut out!) this Friday at Mingei International Museum, put on by Baja Test Kitchen. The great line-up of breweries includes our faves Agua Mala, Border Psycho & Wendlandt, plus newbies (to us) Muñeca Preita, Tres B + más y más y más. With food by Chef Chad White of Común & Chef Marco Rodriguez of La Justina – plus music by Quino of Big Mountain – how can this NOT be a good time? Check back for a recap soon!

Monday the SD Bay Wine & Food Fest opens with dinner and reception at the lovely (and tasty) new Bracero on the edge of Little Italy. We’re excited that Chef Rick Bayless – a well-respected relentless promoter of Mexican regional cuisine, including Baja, for decades – will join Chef Chad White and host Chef Javier Plasciencia for the events. Looks like both the $250 four-course dinner with paired wines from Valle de Guadalupe and the $100 reception with small plates are sold out. So glad the SD Bay Wine & Food Fest is spotlighting Baja food & wine; it’s well deserved, we applaud! While eatdrinkbaja will inform about such events, we’d like to clarify: our focus is promoting opportunities more accessible for “la gente,” and not so much on big ticket items. We LOVE and don’t want to lose the down-to-earth ambiance of the Baja we enjoy, want to share and help preserve and grow. We hope you’ll join us – ¡Salud!

Taking Pride in Baja’s Culinary Community

The recent Baja Culinary Fest featured cooking demos, panel discussions and the opportunity to sample tasty tidbits, beer, wine and products from some of Baja’s best. And at this year’s Fest, I witnessed not only a recognition of the exploding Baja culinary scene, but also a true feeling of pride among all, including presenters, exhibitors and attendees.

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Saturday morning’s program at Tijuana’s CECUT was eye-opening. Chef Daniel Ovadia, best known for restaurants Paxia and Nudo Negro in el D.F. (aka Mexico City), plated interesting and lovely dishes (I must try his chicharrón de pescado!) while sharing stories and philosophies (todo en español) with the mostly young, local crowd of about 150 who hung on to his every word. The professional and polished videos he showed documented the popularity of Paxia, as well as the hard work but also incredible camaraderie and pride of his staff. How can a chef so young have built such an empire? Must be his talent, passion and dexterity in blending Pre-Columbian ingredients and recipes with edgy, up-to-date techniques and touches.

Chef Darren Walsh of Lula Bistro in Guadalajara was equally as entertaining. During his “Arte en Plato” demonstration, Chef Darren regaled us with stories of his passions for languages, cultures and cuisine while he created culinary masterpieces that were literally suitable for framing.

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These presentations provided a solid foundation on Mexico’s current culinary scene. But being a cross-border fan, I was most excited to be present for the “Alta California meets Baja California” panel . . . and it did not disappoint.

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Moderator Bill Esparza opened with the thought-provoking comment that for many years, Mexican food in the U.S. has been defined not by Mexicanos, but by Americans, like Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless. And for many years, Mexico looked to Europe (France, Italy) for high cuisine, rather than embracing its own. The panelists – Ray Garcia of Broken Spanish, Wes Avila of Guerrilla Tacos (both in L.A.) plus Carlos Salgado of Taco Maria and Eduardo Ruiz of Corazon y Miel (both in Orange County) – joined prominent and popular Baja/San Diego Chef Javier Plascencia to discuss their individual mash-ups of cultures/cuisines. All grew up with Mexican/Latino cultures and incorporated those roots, but evolved into a new style without walls or rules, learning from each other and making this cuisine their own. After providing many interesting insights – including tales of patrons with very narrow views and expectations of Mexican food – the panelists closed by agreeing that it’s their responsibility to change perceptions about Mexican cuisine while continuing to promote and provide new dining experiences.

Baja’s been the brunt of negative publicity the past several years, keeping many tourists away. But those of us who never stopped crossing south have witnessed (and been willing participants in) the evolution of Baja’s cutting-edge culinary scene. The 2015 Baja Culinary Fest – well-organized and professionally staged – demonstrated the locals’ recognition of and profound pride in what is now globally renowned. They’ve been in on the ground floor and are now basking in the spotlight. Right on; ¡sí se puede! If you’ve not experienced the Baja culinary revolution – and its counterparts in Alta California – you’re missing out. Now’s the time!

Food, Wine . . . and Film!

Last week brought a double shot of Baja to La Jolla! eatdrinkbaja felt fortunate to attend an event by The Baja Kitchen at PIRCH, the super high-end kitchen-bath-and-more-store at UTC. The well-organized events, hosted by the Mexico Tourism Board-San DiegoConservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana Región Baja California and Rancho La Puerta, are free but fill up VERY quickly.

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Chef Ryan Steyn – originally from South Africa but now at the helm of El Jardin de Adobe at Adobe Guadalupe in Valle de Guadalupe, owner of The CookBook culinary school in Ensenada and more – got the party started, regaling us with tales of a chef’s life in Baja while he prepared a cold salmon dish with oyster sauce, persian cucumber, grape tomatoes, red onion and chile güero from Mexicali, topped with a crisp chicharrón.

IMG_20151001_183246The delicious dish was paired with Herencia, a blend of Cabernet, Merlot & Malbec from Bodegas F. Rubio in the Valle, poured by Francisco Rubio Rangel. Chef Ryan also prepared a risotto with king trumpet mushrooms that I can’t stop thinking about!

IMG_20151001_185417He showed us how to very lightly score the cut side of the mushroom and place it face down on the plancha to bring out the full flavor. The finished dish was paired with F. Rubio’s tasty Malbec, a varietal I haven’t seen often from Baja wineries. Our group was then greeted by Tru Miller of Adobe Guadalupe – the Valle’s pioneer bed & breakfast inn and winery – and Chef Denise Roa of Rancho La Puerta – a place that’s been on my personal bucket list for years.

IMG_20151001_191213Chef Denise fed us her chayote “lasagna;” roasted red & yellow tomatoes; fresh heirloom and black truffle tomatoes from The Ranch; and a gluten-free brownie, all served with Kerubiel and Rafael wines from AG. Quite the feast! Sunday found us at the San Diego Film Festival’s new culinary track, with screenings at Arclight UTC of two chef-related films, King Georges and Cooking Up a Tribute. After each film was a fun panel discussion and Q&A;IMG_0958[1]then we were treated to (YES!) nibbles by French Chef Yannick Alleno, Chef Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room, Chef Aron Schwartz of Marina Kitchen, and Chef Chad White of East Village’s Común & Tijuana’s La Justina, who served up a zesty cobia aguachile.

IMG_0961[1]We were fortunate to have the friendly Fernando Gaxiola of Baja Wine + Food pouring our vino, and an encore appearance by Tru Miller, who brought AG’s Gabriel, Kerubiel and even the mescal, Lucifer. Isn’t it appropriate that all Adobe’s wines are named after archangels . . . and their mescal is named for the devil?

Muchas gracias for photos by Patti Anderson.