Baja Culinary and Wine Tour

When most people think of the Baja region of Mexico, what usually comes to mind are nights of partying, boozing and jumping from bar to bar by local college kids willing to cross the border to find a good time. Delicious food and culinary finds may not be words you'd associate with cities like Tijuana, Ensenada and any other small towns in between. It wasn't until I took a whirlwind one day excursion led by Blogger Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA down to Baja, that my eyes were finally opened to many tasty possibilities.

The morning started with us driving into Tijuana and starting with what I'll refer to as the "breakfast of champions" and what others may refer to as the ultimate hangover remedy. Our first stop was at a taco table called Tacos "Fitos", which is only open from 5 am to 1 pm. Only two kinds of tacos were on the menu, goat or tripe. I decided to go for one of each. Both hit the spot. The carmelization from the grilling and also the marinade that was used for both meats made my mouth sing. If I didn't have to pace myself for the rest of the day, I could have easily eaten a couple more tacos.

After our starter meal, we walked to Mercado Hidalgo to get a feel for a Mexican market. I've visited Mexican markets in LA like Alameda Swap Meet and El Mercadito and what was similar were the bright colors of the signage and the exterior walls of the various shops. I have only three words. Crayons gone wild! Just like back home, we saw foods that you normally wouldn't see at your local Ralphs, but we also saw items that you'd only be able to get while you were in Mexico. I'm speaking specifically to the variety of chili peppers and corn that we saw, in all shapes and colors.

Also present were lots of fresh and colorful produce and other foods like cheeses, big slabs of chicharon, candy, mole sauces as well as pinatas, kitchen ware and herbs and medicinals. While at the mercado, I sampled cactus fruit for the first time. Peeled and doused with lime and chili, it was quite refreshing even with the tartness of the lime and the heat of the chili.

Filled up with tacos and cactus fruit, we hit the road to Guadalupe Valley where we were going to visit 2 of the 27 wineries that are currently in that region. For those of you unfamiliar with the history of wine making in Guadalupe Valley, look below for some info, but click here and here to find out more.

Wine making came to Mexico in 1597 when the Spaniard Don Lorenzo Garcia started his winery in the Northern Mexican state of Coahuila. This winery, Casa Madero, was actually the oldest winery of the Americas. By mid 17th-century, fearing competition from this new world, Spain banned wine making in Mexico; however, many Spanish missionaries refused to obey this edict and continued to plant vines and produce wine on a small scale.

In 1791, Jesuit priests brought over the mission grape and finding the climate comparable to California's Napa Valley and France's Rhone Valley reactivated the production of wine in Mexico by planting them at the Saint Thomas Mission. In 1834, Dominican priests began growing grapes at the nearby Northern Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe, now known by the abbreviated name of the Guadalupe Valley. Between 1857 and 1888, due to Mexico's War of Reform, the Catholic church was stripped of its holdings and all property became part of the state.

Wine making again ceased until the Saint Thomas Mission was purchased by private buyers to become Bodegas Santo Tomas, the first large-scale winery in Mexico. In 1904, Russian immigrants moved into the area and they started purchasing land and devoting portions of it for harvesting grapes for wine making.

It wasn't until decades later when Hugo D'Acosta, a well-respected and well-known winemaker, started educating interested individuals into the world of grape growing and winemaking. He even established a winemaking educational facility where students can learn the trade and share information. Where before there were about 3 major wineries in the Baja region, there has been a renaissance of sorts where smaller, artisanal wineries are coming into existence. As mentioned before, there are now 27 different wineries that call Guadalupe Valley home.

Our first winery visit took us to La Casa Vieja, family-owned and only a year old. We sampled about 5 reds and roses, paired with cheeses and some of the best olives I've ever tasted. Olive farms also dot the Guadalupe Valley landscape, which is why the locally grown olives we sampled were stellar. As for the wine, I'm not really a wine expert so I can't give you a blow-by-blow account of what each wine tasted like but what I liked was their smoothness and also that the heavy oakiness that I normally associate with red wines was missing, which I appreciated.

Behind the tasting room, their vineyard could easily be seen, including a 200 year old grape vine that still produces grapes. The owner even let us pick a couple of bunches to take with us. There's just something about biting into a sun-touched, sweet, juicy grape from a two century old grapevine that's a little surreal.

From La Casa Vieja, we visited Tres Mujeres, so named because it's a vineyard owned by three women artists whose specialty is painting tiles. To get to this vineyard, you really had to veer from the paved road to a windy gravel road and to help guide you, there were tiles with painted hands to direct you along the way.

Tres Mujeres makes limited batches of wine every year. In fact, when we were led into their wine cave, geometric shelving housed all their wine for that season. The owners actually took classes from Hugo D'Acosta and in this, their second year, applied some of the techniques they learned from this famous wine master. For our tasting, we sampled two reds and when a couple of people in my group purchased wine to take home, one of the owners used a silver metallic pen to write in beautiful script, the name of the wine, its year and the name of the winery on each of the bottles.

After visiting Tres Mujeres, we veered again off the main road to check out La Casa de Dona Lupe, a small winery and gourmet food shop. Owner, Doña Lupe, is one of the first women to run a full-scale wine production, using sustainable practices since the 60's. Along with selling organic wines, this shop also sells fruit preserves, olives, olive oils, fragrant herbs and other items. My interest were geared towards the fruit preserves. I saw combinations there I've never seen before like nopales and green apple, mango and lime and then there was the tomato and chiltepin jam. Chiltepin, by the way, is a wild chile pepper that rate 50,000 to 100,000 scoville units.

The great thing about La Casa de Dona is that they weren't shy with the free samples. There were bread and crackers available to try out with the various jams. The would also pour their olive oil and vinaigrettes over bread and tomatoes so you could try those as well. If you wanted to try their wines, then you'd have to shell out the cash.

Afterwards, it was on to Ensenada. Thankfully, it was a nice little drive because between the goat and tripe tacos, the wines, the olives, the jams and jellies, etc., I needed a little break because what was waiting for us at our destination were true Ensenada fish and shrimp tacos. Yum!

While in Ensenada, we did an A to B comparison between two different taco stands where we sampled both a fish and shrimp taco from each location. One interesting tidbit that I learned from our guide, Bill, is that proper fish and shrimp tacos are double-fried, similar to Belgium fries. They're fried once, set aside to drain and cool and than re-fried right before serving. What you get is golden crispy seafood goodness.

The basic Ensenada fish taco starts off with naked fish on two corn tortillas. Your basic toppings will include shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and Mexican crema, a thin mayonnaise-based cream sauce. Squeeze some lime and you can chow down. However, if you're looking for more pizzazz, you can add any or all of the following: fresh onions, pickled carrots, onions and jalapenos and any number of fresh salsas.

After taste testing the two taco stands, I can say without a doubt that the first one we went to was the absolute best. The batter was amazing and was both light and non-greasy. All the condiments were fresh and even better, there were 7 or 8 different fresh salsas to choose from. I didn't even recognize half of them, but they all looked really good. I have to say that I'd almost be willing to make a special day trip back to Ensenada just for those tacos. They were just so unbelievably good.

Filled with fish and shrimp tacos, we stopped by Black Market, a local fish market, to check it out. Across the fish market were a whole row of taco joints so if you wanted to, you could actually do a fish taco crawl, but we've already had our fill. Whatever seafood fancy you had could be found at Black Market, from octopus with their long tentacles reaching out of boxes to sea snails to an endless variety of shellfish and fish.

Done with our Ensenada explorations, we hit the road back to Tijuana to end our tour with a delicious multi-course meal at La Diferencia. By the time, we got back to Tijuana, I wasn't sure if I could fit anything more in my system, but after perusing the menu, Bill placed our order and somehow, everyone was revitalized again. Our meal started with tamarind margaritas, a perfect combination of sour, tart and salty.

Not including the chips, salsa, black beans, dinner rolls, tortillas and rice, we shared 10 dishes, family-style. The highlights for me included:

Huitlacoche Crepes (crepes stuffed with cuitlacoche on top of poblano sauce) - I've only had huitlacoche a couple times back home and didn't understand the appeal, but fresh huitlacoche really makes a difference, because I really enjoyed the savory-earth flavors as I never had before.

Chiles en Nogada (poblano chile stuffed with ground pork, fruits and spices topped with walnut sauce and pomengranate seeds) - Luckily, this dish was still in season, so we were still able to order it. I recently found out that the poblano chile for this dish can either be battered and fried or not. The La Diferencia version was battered.

What made this dish a standout was a walnut sauce that wasn't overly sweet and with a distinct nutty flavor and a filling that was a great mixture of savory and sweet. Fruit and plump raisins definitely made an appearance; whereas, other chiles en nogada I've experienced in the past were usually too meaty.

Shrimp a L'Orange with Tequila (shrimp with spices, orange juice and tequila) - Normally, I don't really care for citrus sauces, because I find them too sweet, but let me tell you, I'd happily drink a glass of this particular sauce. The tequila added a body, a richness to the orange juice that was just addicting.

Chicken with Chipotle Cream (chicken breast chipotle cream, bacon, garlic and a white wine sauce) - Although I found the chicken itself a little dry, the combination of the other ingredients were like a fiesta in my mouth - savory, a little salty, smoky, a little fruity - simply amazing!

Tres Leches Cake (made with 3 types of milk: milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk) - creamy, creamy and creamy without being soggy, what more can you ask for?

After our meal and in fact, after our entire day of eating and drinking, we all could have been rolled out the restaurant doors quite easily, but we did make it back to the van under our own steam and what better way to rest from a food orgy than nap our way across the border and back home.

Overall, this was truly an unforgettable day and I really have to thank Bill Esparza, owner of Tasty Tours, for this awesome foodie experience. I look forward to doing a longer tour in the future for even more culinary adventures down Baja Way.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157602393781000/

President Square Food Court

Do you ever have that hankering for a Chinese meal, but for the life of you, you have no idea what it is

exactly you're craving? Maybe, pork stuffed bitter melon is tugging at your hunger pangs. Perhaps, you're hot for black mushroom and bamboo noodle soup? Whatever it is, you just know you want it.

Well, if you happen to be in the Eastside, I suggest you check out the President Square Food Court in Arcadia. Inside, there are 7 different food stalls to choose from. If all you're looking for is dessert, check out the beautiful tasty creations of RJ Patisserie. If you're on a mission in search of tea and/or boba drinks, be sure to visit Cloud 9 Station, whose owner was in an LA times article, proudly displayed at the counter.

But if that hungry beast inside of you can't wait any longer, get on over and take a look at the scrumptious offerings of the other 5 food stands, which are all Chinese, except for one stall that is Vietnamese. All of them have hot food all ready to go into the combination of your choice - a combo that will usually include rice and/or soup. However, the stalls also offer menu options that are cooked to order.

The photos, as seen in the link below, show two visits I made there. For the first visit, I had lunch at Zilin Noodle House where I ordered a black mushroom and bamboo noodle soup and what was referred to on the menu as a Leek Vege Box. Both were cooked to order and in fact, I had actually had to wait 20 minutes for the leek dish.

I'm still dreaming about that soup. The mushrooms were thick and meaty. They were generous with their bamboo and while the noodles could have been firmer, that was my only minor complaint about that soup. As for the leek dish, it was like an omelet, but firmer. The filling consisted of leeks, glass noodles, tofu and bean sprouts. I really wanted to like it, but it was greasy plus even the use of the spicy red sauce didn't really disguise its strange after taste.

My second meal was at Hsin Hsin Shau May Deli where I ordered a 3 combo plate that comes with soup and rice. I have to tell you that there were so many choices of hot items that I got almost dizzy. I had a hard time deciding. I finally settled on the tofu skin wrapped pork, the fried tofu and a green veggie.

The soup was a simple cabbage soup - nothing too exciting there. I tried the tofu skin wrapped pork first. The pork was more like a "meatloaf" or "meatball" and it was delicious. I found the texture to be light and the meat to be moist. The fried tofu was cooked in a soup of onions, bell peppers and possibly with a little bit of chili because it had a nice kick to it. One thing I found interesting was that the vegetables were served cold, which I didn't find too appealing.

On my way out, I couldn't resist going to Full House BBQ and after seeing that whole roasted pig hanging in the display with its deliciously crispy skin, I ordered some to take home. Even hours later, that skin was still crispy and how can you go wrong with roasted pork? Yum! What I really like about this food court is that you're not going to get Americanized Chinese dishes like you would get from a Panda Express where the food tends to be drowned in overly sweet sauces. Instead, when you walk inside the President Square Food Court, you'll see a lot of Asian customers which bodes well for the food that's sold there.

Still looking for other options? Next door, you can find the Full House Seafood Restaurant and a Ten Ren's Tea Time House. On the other side of this food court, there's a large 99 Ranch Market that also has a section where you can order hot food to go.

So if you're not exactly sure what you want for lunch or dinner, than stop by the President Square Food Court and maybe, you'll just find something that will hit the spot.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157602266012066/

President Square Food Court
next door to 99 Ranch Market and Full House
1220 S Golden West Avenue
Arcadia, CA 91066

Mexican Outdoor Food Stands in Boyle Heights

Every Thursday through Sunday in Boyle Heights, from 7pm to 10pm, you can feast on a variety of sopes, gorditas, huaraches, pozoles at food stands that line Breed Street, across from the Big Buy Foods grocery store. You may even encounter some things you won't normally find at regular sit down Mexican restaurants.

For example, there's the pambazo, which is a special bread (white bread with a crust) dipped in a red guajillo pepper sauce and filled with something like potatoes and Mexican sausage or refried beans and than is garnished with shredded lettuce, salsa, cream and queso fresco. By the time, we got to a stand that sold that, we were already too full, but there's always next time.

Than there was this unique and absolutely delicious salsa that I've never tasted before. Basically, it's salsa de semillas (seeds) and was made up of peanuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chile de arbol and peanut oil. It was nutty, flavorful, spicy, but not in an overboard sort of way. Truly amazing!

As for the various foods I tried, along with my 2 other fellow foodies (one of whom introduced us to this foodie lover's find), we started with a sope with tinga (spiced pork and beef stew), It was topped with refritos (refried beans), cabbage, crema mexicana and cotija cheese. By the way, a sope is like a thick cornmeal shell that "cups" the fillings.

It was with the sope that I first tried the salsa de semillas. The sope was absolutely delicious on its own, but I think the salsa de semillas took it to another level. I also found the meat to be tender and flavorful.

For our second round, we had a quesadilla with a potato and chorizo filling topped with lettuce, cotija cheese and a guajillo chile sauce. This quesadilla, by the way, is not the regular fan-shaped, folded flour tortilla that you're used to. True Mexican quesadillas are typically circles of uncooked corn masa folded in half and filled with cheese and other ingredients, sealed at the edges, then cooked (or in our case deep fried) until ready for eating.

Just an FYI, while online, I found out about a dish called "sincronizada" (Spanish for synchronized). Apparently, the sincronizada is a tortilla dish frequently confused with quesadillas by tourists because it is what is typically called a quesadilla in most Mexican restaurants outside of Mexico. Sincronizadas are made with a flour tortilla covered with cheese (and other ingredients) and then covered with another flour tortilla and than grilled or fried. A rose by any other name...well, you get the picture.

In my case, I've had previous experience with a Mexican quesadilla so I wasn't thrown by the appearance of the one we ate. Unfortunately, I wasn't too enthralled with it. The filling wasn't substantial enough and comprised more of potatoes than chorizo. Also, after the boldness of the salsa de semillas we had previously on our sope, this dish seemed almost bland in comparison. I would order this again, but with a different filling and a stronger salsa topping.

Third up was a gordita with squash blossoms. The squash blossoms were fried with tomato, onion, garlic,chile poblano and epazote.We topped it with both a salsa de aguacate (avocado) and a chile costeno sauce. For those of you who are unfamiliar with gorditas, think of them as thick corn tortillas that can either be folded over like regular tacos or served as a top and bottom to a sandwich, which is what we had.

Sides included a complimentary nopales salad and onions with habanero sauce. Speaking of nopales, usually, I can't tolerate them because I don't like how slimy they can get. Apparently, when prepared properly, you can say good-bye to slimy. This was the first time I ever enjoyed a nopales salad. I also loved the vinegary heat of the onions!

As for the gordita itself, it was tasty. The combination of the thick corn goodness of the tortilla and the flavorful squash blossom filling was a definite hit.

We ended our feasting with Red Pozole Soup. This soup starts off as white pozole which is a chicken-based broth. White pozole becomes red pozole when a sauce made from dried chiles is added to the soup. Our sauce had California chiles (either guajillo or ancho) that are soaked in hot water until softened.

The chiles are then pureed with onion and garlic and cooked in oil. This is added to the white pozole after adding the meat. The meats added to our particular soup included carnitas, pigs feet and pork skin. Additional flavors are added when you top your soup with chopped onion, radishes, chile de arbole, lime, etc.

Of everything I had, I totally fell in love with this soup. Every spoonful was pure heaven. I could taste the pork, the chile sauce, the lime. I'd go back just for that Red Pozole.

Overall, this was definitely an awesome street food experience and one I'm looking forward to experiencing time and time again.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157602043659024/

Food Stand Location:
Big Buy Foods
2233 E Cesar E Chavez Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033

The food stands are directly across from Big Buy Foods on Breed Street, which crosses the street address mentioned above.