My tough work in Baja California, Mexico

What about a JOB eating and drinking your way through Baja California, Mexico? Don't hate me.  I just spent the last few weeks on a scout for "Mexico: One Plate at a Time" with Rick Bayless.  For those non-foodies out there, it's a PBS show in its 8th season, hosted by Top Chef Master-winner Rick Bayless, who also happens to own 3 acclaimed Mexican restaurants in Chicago.

Rick Bayless in front of El Caja Art Gallery, Tijuana
I was in charge of prepping the scout, which entailed research for 13 separate episodes with stories related to the cuisine of both northern and southern Baja. I can't tell you all the secrets of the upcoming shows, but I will say this: expect to be pleasantly surprised.  Northern Baja especially is leading the way in creating innovative Mediterranean - inspired cuisine. And, Mexico's wine country-- yes you heard right, wine country (Valle de Guadalupe)  is producing some spectacular world-class wines, mostly red blends.

Like many Americans, I had heard lots of negative things recently about Tijuana and Northern Mexico.  The reality was that I never felt unsafe, and I came to realize that unless you're a drug dealer, there is nothing risky about traveling there.  They need the tourism, and the Mexican people are the warmest and most welcoming you'll ever find.  Yelp doesn't have a Mexico division unfortunately, so I'll just list a few must-sees for those of you bold people who will take my advice and venture to Baja!

Baja California Sur (Southern State)

San Jose del Cabo--San Jose del Cabo is the quiet, charming cousin to disney-like Cabo San Lucas. Visit Don Emiliano run by Chef Margarita Carillo, one of the leaders in the "Slow Food" movement.  She serves damiana margaritas-- with a triple sec-like liquor made from the local herb damiana.

Todos Santos-- Travel around the cape to Todos Santos, a small beach town on the West coast, and visit the Cafe Santa Fe- not Mexican but Italian, but some of the best Italian, and seafood, you'll ever eat.  On the way, be sure to make a surreal stop at the Art and Beer Cafe, where the $20 Margaritas made with Kiwi, Guayaba, or Mango are worth the price given the added experience of the weird Twilight Zone quality of the place. More Hotel California than Hotel California, where by the way some of us stayed in Todos Santos and it was amazing, in a good way. : )


La Paz -- Drive across the state and you find La Paz, a seaside town on the Sea of Cortez.  We all marveled at how clean it was, stayed at the charming Posada de las Flores on the Malecon (waterfront) and ventured out to Isla Espiritu Santo with Baja Expeditions. Oh yeah, the food! You can't miss Las Tres Virgenes, led by chef Jesus Martinez--they have an outdoor mesquite grill and more of the most amazing seafood...(do you see a trend here?)

Baja del Norte (Northern)

Tijuana -- Rick said and Tweeted it as well, that "Tijuana is one of the world best food cities." The 4 or 5 shows there will prove his point, but just to give you an appetizer:

El Mision is Chef Javier Plascencia's new restaurant. He's one of the Mexico's premiere chefs, and specializes in the northern "nouveau" cuisine. The Mexicans like to call it auteur cooking, but whatever it's called, it's delicious.  It's on the 15th floor of this new green building in Zone Rio, along with El Cielo (another cool joint) and a great funky wine bar. It's lit up with purple and blue lights so you can't really  miss it, and if you go to the roof, you can view the entire city from the outdoor running track.

El Taller "Baja Med" - Run by Miguel Angel Guerrero, a chef with a "man's man" persona of hunting and grilling but an artist's flair for flavoring. We met some of the ingredients in his dishes first hand.  Rick looked at one of the free-range sheep and said: "That one looks delicious." They also have 100,000 olive trees on the farm and press them for oil.

And of course, there is the best in lower end in Tijuana too, as in the amazing taquerias! Try 15 Lettres (Quince Lettres) which is part of the group Las Humadores, El Mazateno, and Tacos Salceados. Also, not to be missed, on the road to Ensenada in Rosarito Beach is Taqueria Yaquis--they have a taco called the Perron-- not in reference to the Argentinian leader but rather a big, fat dog.  Make sure you roll your rr's when you ask for a Perrrrrron. They're made of thick slices of grilled marinated flank steak on a flour tortilla with fresh guacamole, roasted sweet jalepenos, habanero sauce, and a generous helping of pinto beans. 
This stop was not originally in the plan, but Citlaliti, our local guide, was insistent. With one collective burp we agreed.

Ensenada--

The best fish tacos anywhere, in fact they invented them-- rumored to be some kind of influence from Japanese tempura.  YUM.  Try any of the little restaurants adjacent to the main fish market, or Tacos Mi Ranchito El Fenix, in town. 


On the charming malecon in Ensenada is a place called Muelle Tres.  This is hands down, the freshest seafood you'll eat (have I said that before?) in Baja, aside from taking your spoon to the beach and digging up clams. They also serve Hugo d'Agosta's wines, Valle de Guadelupe's wine officiando, winery and winemaking school owner.  On that note...
Valle de Guadalupe--here are some wineries you might like to visit, and/or buy some wine, unfortunately only Cetto is avail outside Mexico, for tax reasons. Wah. : ( Hopefully that will change soon. 

Adobe Guadalupe, Cetto, San Rafael (actually in Ojos Negros, a neighboring valley), and Casa de Piedra (Hugo d'Acosta).

And for the finale, but certainly not least important stop- my favorite meal of all of the 50 or so we had: Laja, located in Valle de Guadalupe.  Chef Jair Tellez and his business partner and winemaker Andres Blanco will literally amaze you with their talent- and you can chose how many courses they will amaze you with.  They also bought a bread-oven off E-bay so the bread is fresh out of that, along with all the vegetables, out of the organic garden outside.  Stunning. Check their site for hours to make sure they'll be open when you go: www.lajamexico.com.