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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IMG_1196Hey, there’s always a reason to return to Baja and Valle de Guadalupe!

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

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

My good friend Patti and I have been talking about a girls’ trip to Valle de Guadalupe for ages. She hadn’t been in more than a decade, and after hearing my tales of fabulous new places in which to eat, drink and stay, she wanted to experience it for herself. Once Patti got her GOES card and could cross in my SENTRI-fied vehicle . . . game ON! Speaking of game, we chose Super Bowl weekend for our Friday-to-Sunday adventure, figuring the football-frenzied fans would be glued to their big-screen TVs and out of our way. And, although weather can be a crap shoot in February – especially during a much-ballyhooed El Niño year – we lucked out, with beautiful, summery, sun-splashed days and clear, star-studded nights.

We moseyed down the coast, turning inland at La Misión in order to approach the Valle via the El Tigre/El Porvenir/Francisco Zarco road – my favorite way to arrive. The hillsides were beautiful and green – not something you see during the summer! Our inaugural tasting was at Lomita, a favorite Valle first stop. The only customers, we enjoyed having our run of the tasting room. Our host suggested Finca La Carrodilla as our next stop – turns out they are sister wineries.

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Again, the only customers at La Carodilla, we enjoyed chatting with our hostess, Jasmine (with the sparkly sneakers and Jude the cat) and checking out the lovely garden patio. The ambiance was great and the wines, very tasty!

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Stop number three was Adobe Guadalupe; since I last visited, AG has added a new chapel-like tasting room in front of the B&B. AG’s red blends, named for archangels, were as delicious as ever; I was tempted, but had to stop myself, from tasting Lucifer, their mezcal. We enjoyed their shopping opportunities and bought a bottle of Miguel – a wonderful blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache & Merlot – for our casita. TIP: if you can get reservations for the VIP tasting at AG, DO IT: the special experience is well worth it.

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AG horses

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Time to travel to Viníphera for our spa appointment! This tiny refuge, located in modified shipping containers perched against a Valle hillside behind Quinta Monasterio, is a true gem. At first I thought their package prices were a bit high by Mexico standards, but now I understand – each is intended to be a true experience – Viníphera is not a massage-by-the-minute machine.

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In the past, I had purchased their wine-infused bath & body products (including my favorite exfoliating scrub with grape seeds & peels) at the Rosarito Art Fair, and when I learned they opened a spa, I HAD to visit! Patti and I were the only customers in the facility, which has a changing area, bath with indoor/outdoor showers, sauna, two massage tables and a lovely terraza. We enjoyed our hands-and-feet ritual (soak, scrub, massage, moisturize) while watching the sun slip behind the hills. This was followed by a special request “fango” (mud) treatment, and a neck/shoulder massage to conclude. Feeling ultra-relaxed, we pulled on our clothes and headed to the cozy tasting room for the delicious glass of wine and salad included in our spa package.

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One disadvantage of staying in the Valle in wintertime: the days are short. And, it REALLY gets dark in the Valle once that sun goes down! Plus, even if it doesn’t rain while you’re visiting, mud abounds, since nothing is paved once you get off the three main roads.

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We left the spa in pitch darkness. I had planned to cut across the Valle to stop at Finca Altozano  – but we were faced with a HUGE mud bog, stretching from edge to edge of the dirt road to La Finca. Begrudgingly, we turned around and stayed on pavement through Francisco Zarco to Highway 3, hell-bent on finding Casa Mayoral, our lodging.

This was not easy. It was super dark, no moonlight and traffic on the highway does not tolerate those who don’t know where the heck they’re going! I pulled off on the shoulder, realizing we were close . . . and lo and behold, the access road to Casa was right across the highway. Now, Casa Mayoral is not big; it consists of four modern & comfortable cabins/casitas approximately one mile off the highway toward the hills, hidden behind a cluster of trees. We followed the low-key signage and, gracias a dios, safely arrived at Casa! We were warmly welcomed by Eduardo Mayoral, the wonderful host who speaks excellent English. Gratefully, we checked in, made ourselves at home in our cabin/casita, and uncorked a bottle of wine. We’d already had a grand adventure, and this was just Day One!

NEXT UP: More on Casa Mayoral; Mercado Orgánico; El Mogor & Natalia Badan; Tres Mujeres; Viñas de Garza; Finca Altozano; Deckman’s; Clos de Tres Cantos; Vinícola Retorno; Malva. Stay tuned!

Photos by Patti Anderson & Carole Ravago

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. 

Winning Wine

We were excited to see one of our favorite wines from one of our favorite wineries – Lomita in Valle de Guadalupe – spotlighted as Wine of the Week by Michele Parente in The San Diego Union-Tribune. To quote Michele, Pagano is “made of 100 percent grenache . . . a crimson-colored pleaser with a youthful brightness in the glass and red berries and smoky caramel undertones on the palate.” Pagano is available on this side of the border for $28 at Whole Foods, 3rd Corner in OB and via OWC wines; frankly, I don’t believe we paid more than $18 when we purchased it after tasting at the beautiful Lomita winery. Definitely a worthy wine, and a recommended stop when you are in the Valle!

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Bonus Baja: Michele also reports that the Baja Wine Club will hold its first anniversary tasting Thursday, September 24 (tomorrow!) at Savoie French Italian Eatery at Otay Ranch Center. Sounds like a deal: five wines (from Vena Cava, Legado Sais, Bodegas San Rafael, Bodegas de Santo Tomas & Emeve) for $25 advance/$30 door. And the tasting benefits Dr. Betty Jones’ wonderful Hospital Infantil de las Californias!

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End-of-Summer Baja Blitz!

We in the U.S. may be back to work and school, but the fun in Baja is never-ending. Here’s a quick look at happenings on the eatdrinkbaja radar screen. And I hope you’ll subscribe to receive future posts via email! Click on the “subscribe” button on the “rail” on the right side of my home page. Gracias!!

TJ Beer Fest11th Annual TJ Beer Fest this Friday 9/18 & Saturday 9/19. Caliente Stadium in Tijuana. About $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Organizers claim there will be 200+ beers. An event worth checking out!

Festival de Queso, Vino y Cerveza Artesanal this Saturday 9/19, noon – 9 pm at the Baja California Queso-Vino-FestCenter just north of Rosarito. FREE, but not sure – do you pay for your tastes? Live music! Local productos artesenales! And a good reason to check out the beautiful new Convention Center.

Ensenada International Seafood Festival this Sunday, 9/20, spotlights local restaurants and celebrates the treasures of the sea. We hear this will be across from Riveria del Pacifico on Blvd. Costero. We believe this is free; you pay for individual tastes/drinks, but usually prices are low and portions are grande. Warning: it is listed in San Diego Magazine, but we can’t find anything else about it online. Hope it wasn’t on hold this year due to . . .

Festival Baja Seafood, culminating in the Baja Seafood Trucks Festival Sunday, 9/27 from noon at the Museo el Caracol, which (I believe) is also acrossFestival Baja Seafood Trucks from Riviera del Pacifico on Blvd. Costero in Ensenada. FREE event; betcha gotta to pay for your tastes, but they are usually reasonably priced, delish and substantial.

 

Bajamar Wine Tasting, Saturday 10/3, 3 pm. Sounds like a nice event! Six wines from Nativo in Valle de Guadalupe, with food pairings and live jazz at Bajamar, north of Ensenada. Bajamar Nativo eventLooks like Nativo’s Benjamin Pena (one of our new BFFs) will be pouring and serving as your wine concierge. $50 for the experience.

 

7th Annual Fiesta de la Paella, Folklore y Vino, Sunday 10/4 from 1 pm. This event, in the Jardines del Riviera in Ensenada, looks fun! Paella Fest Oct 4 2015About $10, not sure what’s included. If you check it out, let us know how it goes!

 

Baja Culinary Fest, Thursday 10/ 8 through Sunday 10/11. This annual event toggles between Tijuana and Valle de Guadalupe. This year, looks like most events will be in/around Tijuana’s CECUT. Traditionally there is a public tasting event to close the Fest; Baja-Culinary-Fest-2we’ve been to them @ Encuentro & Vinas la Erre in the Valle, as well as @ CECUT in TJ. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about this year’s events!

14th Annual Tequila  Expo Tijuana, Wednesday 10/14 – Sunday 10/18 – Right on Revolucion @ 7th, bigger every year and now five days!! A nominal cover charge ($6,tequila-expo-TJ mas o menos) gets you plenty of tastes from dozens of tequilarias. Food, full-sized beverages available for purchase; fun music and entertainment provided, and some of the best people-watching on the west coast.

 

Baja Bits & Bites

We made the rounds of Rosarito on Labor Day weekend. Three great breakfasts: Los Pelicanos, La EstanciaCafe Conrado (in San Antonio del Mar).

Los Pelicanos' chile poblano, mushroom, corn & cheese omeletLos Pelicanos' "toreados" - great on anything! You've got to ask for them.

A La Estancia waterwheelConrado SignVeggie Scramble w/Oaxaca cheese & avocado at Cafe Conrado

Saturday afternoon found us at The Lighthouse in La Misión for a tasting of wines from Valle de Guadalupe’s Nativo, paired with tasty (and beautifully presented) tidbits from Rosarito’s Aki Va! (a restaurant we are not familiar with!)

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With Benjamin of Vinicola NativoThe Aki Va chef serves yummy & beautiful polenta

The polenta from Rosarito's Aki Va!Ravioli from Aki Va!

While we waited for the tasting to set up, we ordered some Lighthouse bar botanas – jalapeño poppers (stuffed with yummy tuna) and spicy chicken wings. Always good to chat with Lighthouse proprietor, George! And good to know they are expanding beyond their sports-bar image. Of the four Nativo wines offered, we loved the Cucapah 2013 (Nebbiolo); first runner-up was the Pai-Pai 2012 (Cabernet Sauvignon & Monastrell, which we learned from Nativo’s Benjamin Pena Guerrero is same as Mourvedre). The others: not as good.

Bob @ Calafia (shot from my comfy, shady perch)Ollie's salmon pizza

Yummy!Our neighbors' table @ Ollie's

While Bob surfed Calafia Sunday afternoon, I sauntered up to the restaurant/bar’s balcony to relax with margaritas in the shade, a great live band (covers of Enanitos Verdes & Soda Stereo!) and a wonderful view of the line-up. Later we headed to Ollie’s Pizza, where we petted Ollie (a large, fluffy black dog), chatted with owner Richard, and scarfed down a fantastic pizza with smoked salmon, cream cheese, fresh tomatoes and capers. Perfect summer dinner! GREAT FIND: on our way to drop in on friends Rafael, Shelly & Marie in Rancho Reynoso, we stopped at the Don Pisto in Puerto Nuevo (Lobster Town was going off!) to discover they carry an all-star selection of Baja wines. My new BFF Vera at the store told me they recently amped up their selection.

El Cielo wines @ Don Pisto Puerto NuevoSanto Tomas wines @ Don Pisto Puerto Nuevo

Another successful weekend eating and drinking in Baja. ¡Salud!

Muchas gracias for photos by Bob Gove.

One Fun Sunday: Mi Casa & Nogada Fest

We planned to be a support boat for our fave paddler, Jon Loren, in last weekend’s Catalina Classic. But due to unfortunate last-min problems, Bob’s boat, the “Wave Magnet” was not up for the task. Plan B = BAJA! Headed down early Sunday AM; while Bob surfed, I enjoyed a nice low-tide beach walk. On our way to Tijuana for the Chile en Nogada Fest, we stopped in San Antonio del Mar, where we were immediately attracted to Mi Casa Supper Club, open now for one year.

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I’d heard great things about these folks, Chef Bo Bendana & Dennis – and, I know and respect the fact that they organize the successful sold-out Sabor de Baja @ Rosarito Beach Hotel every August, so it was a no-brainer to visit their spot and enjoy a rooftop brunch.

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We shared a smoked salmon omelet, but the real stars were the insane San Quintin oysters; WOW, what a great example of delicious Baja products and beautiful presentation. Can’t wait to return to Mi Casa Supper Club for dinner!

On to Tijuana’s Avenida Revolucion for chiles en nogada. This is a very traditional dish, often associated with Mexican Independence Day, coming up Sept.16.

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And this was our first visit to Tijuana’s fest, the 6th annual, with free admission (one needs to buy one’s own food & bev). The revered dish consists of a poblano chile, roasted & peeled, stuffed with a mixture of meat (usually beef & pork), fruit & spices, topped with a cream sauce containing ground walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

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More than a dozen competitors vied in the contest to be deemed the best! We enjoyed the onstage demonstrations, and were happy to recognize Scott Koenig of A Gringo in Mexico.com among the judges (we met Scott over mescal tasting @ the Baja Culinary Fest two years ago). The dish is visually stunning, mirroring the colors of the Mexican flag (Que Viva La Patria!) The dutiful judges sampled more than a dozen chiles; we could only handle one, from Tijuana restaurant Cien Anos, which was lovely and delicious.

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Personally, I would have LOVED to have seen some more “breakout” treatments of the nogada, stuffed with chicken, turkey or seafood. Beverage options at the fest abounded: Palomas! Sangria! Wine! Beer! We enjoyed tastings from Mundano winery, who has a vineyard

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in the Valle and (if I understood correctly) will soon offer tastings; we brought home a $17 bottle of their tasty 2012 Nebbiolo. One fun Sunday: we love and highly recommend Baja food fests!

Muchas gracias for photos by Bob Gove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blues + Paella = A Very Filling Weekend

We survived – even thrived – during our Baja mega-weekend. Our first visit to the annual Baja Blues Fest @ Rosarito Beach Hotel was thoroughly enjoyable. We grooved to Missy Andersen, the Bayou Brothers w/our friend Sista Judy Seid (rubboard player extraordinaire) + Michelle Lundeen, Backwater Blues Band, Tijuana-based Hola Soy Lola and headliner Tommy Castro + The Painkillers. Great set up/sound, not crowded, colorful folks, great friends and reasonably-priced beverages.

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Then to Tapanco south of Rosarito for a lovely dinner with a great bottle of Emeve wine (which we won as part of a fantastic raffle prize at the Blues Fest) followed by a sampling of Tapanco’s secret delicious housemade ice cream: pumpkin, coconut, beet, tres quesos & tequila.

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But hey, the fun didn’t stop there! Sunday: Valle de Guadalupe for the Granddaddy of all Baja food fests: the Vendimia Paella Contest. What a wonderful scene! With 80 paella-making teams, 50 wineries, 2 live music stages + (my estimate) 2,000 attendees, it was well-organized with plenty of food, drink + fun to go around. Paella is, however, very filling and after two to three bowls, it can be a bit difficult to differentiate.

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My favorite team names? Las Ovejitas Disobedientes (the Disobedient Lambs) and La Flaca + El Gordo (the Skinny Gal & Fat Guy). And altho we didn’t sample his paella, always great to see favorite Baja Chef Javier Plasciencia participating. Don’t miss this fantastic festival next year! Thanks to technology, tix were available online in May, but sell out as fast as a Rolling Stones concert. If you’re interested in going next year, let me know soon; wouldn’t it be fun to put an eatdrinkbaja group together?

Muchas gracias for photos by Bob Gove.

Big Baja weekend: Blues Fest & Vendimia Paella Contest

What a weekend we have in store! Saturday is the Baja Blues Fest at Rosarito Beach Hotel, with music from noon to 8pm. Hope we’ll get there for Bayou Brothers w/Michelle Lundeen, and gotta stay for headliner Tommy Castro. Then Sunday we’re down to Viñas de Liceaga in Valle de Guadalupe for the venerable, ever-popular and sold out Fiestas de la Vendimia Paella Contest. It’s been more than 15 years since I last attended; will it be as cool? Maybe even better? 50 wineries, 80 paella-making teams! Check back for the scoop.

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