Baja Summer Trip - Corazón de Tierra's True Farm To Table
Our evening intro to Valle de Guadalupe was as dazzling as our afternoon stop. We arrived at Corazón de Tierra with some daylight, which allowed us to wander the grounds for at least an hour before dinner began.
The entrance contained a large lavender still, which they use to create the lavender oil soap and lotion, both available for sale and in use within the restrooms. The group loved the products.
Corn, sugarcane, rasdishes, eggplant, squash, pumpkin, pomegranates, grapes, olives and much more thrive in the gardens.
I was in awe of the lush gardens, views of the vineyards from the mountains and the sunset in this other-worldly setting. The boats add a dramatic touch to the setting.
They have just opened a new outdoor restaurant in this space under the black covering.
They have just opened a new outdoor restaurant in this space under the black covering.
I also wandered off to the adjacent La Villa del Valle luxury inn to check out their grounds.
 |
| Photo by Robert Hemedes |
One of my fellow travelers mentioned he read reviews of the place where people talked about its Ikea style furniture. Clearly they do not know their decorative arts, because my jaw almost dropped seeing the open space with striking long, wood tables.
A film crew also set up in the dining room, filming a media story so even after dusk we had some great lighting for photos!
After returning to our table, Chef Diego Hernandez and La Villa del Valle owner Eileen Gregory, greeted our table and chatted at length about the origins and future plans for their businesses, along with how they make the lavendar toilettriesFrom . She had a serene quality and told wonderful stories about meeting the love of her life and settling in the valley.
She said if her husband Phil were onsite, he could have taken us down to the vineyard. We were offered their winery's Vena Cava Big Blend.
And then the tasting dinner began.
I did not take meticulous notes on the dishes. Since I was photographing also, I wanted to enjoy some time just with the food and ambiance. There was no printed menu. I added rough descriptions as captions which I will update when I get notes from a fellow diner.
After our huge lunch, thankfully this dinner was light.One got the true farm to table essence from the just picked produce used throughout the meal. It was definitely an unforgettable experience.
 |
| Photo by Robert Hemedes |
She said if her husband Phil were onsite, he could have taken us down to the vineyard. We were offered their winery's Vena Cava Big Blend.
And then the tasting dinner began.
 |
| oysters, radish leaf pesto |
 |
| beet, greens and local cheese salad |
 |
| purslane salad with lamb |
 |
| rock fish, chard, lemon sauce |
 |
| pork belly squash blossoms |
 |
| sorbet and dessert with cardamom marshmallows, herbs |
After our huge lunch, thankfully this dinner was light.One got the true farm to table essence from the just picked produce used throughout the meal. It was definitely an unforgettable experience.
Baja Summer Trip - Popotla Fishermen's Village
set of Baja posts with the latest weekend adventure. In July a group of friends and I embarked on a short but packed trip to Baja California with San Diego based Club Tengo Hambre. The focus of this trip, besides the omnipresent food, was Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada wine country.
While I don't consider myself much of a "tour" type, and really enjoy exploring on my own, the advantages of this setup jumped out immediately.
We met with extraordinary guide Kristin at the San Ysidro McDonald's and walked across the border. A couple of blocks away we embarked on the bus where equally fabulous guide Antonio (they are husband and wife) greeted us with a tequila toast, loaded our luggage to take to the hotel and we road in the van to lunch.
I am an experienced and street smart traveler, but the sheer luxury of not having to worry about logistics, language barriers or finding access to the best sights and spots really elevates the experience. Not only that but our guides blended seamlessly with the group. It felt like a very cool friends were showing us around their town.
As far as finding the best spots, we stopped for lunch, within the hour of crossing the border, at Popotla Fisherman’s Village near Rosarito. I'd seen this ocean town on on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show and could not wait to eat oceanside. In fact he referred to Valle de Guadalupe as the Tuscanny of Mexico so we were eager to check it out ourselves.
We were so lucky to have cooler than expected, overcast weather. We parked on a dirt road and walked along a dirt road to the beach. Several boats displayed their daily catches.
Everybody looked so happy and smiling, it lifted my mood a lot.
Makes for a lot less gargbage for sure. You just have to get used to watching them pick at it, and you might come across the occasional head on the sand.
Before we sat down to lunch, my very enthusiastic friend ordered sea urchin, right out of the shell, to eat on the spot.
We chose our seafood right off the boat and headed over to El Mirador restaurant where they cleaned and cooked it right in the open air setting. It doesn't get fresher than that.
Not surprisingly the fish had the clearest eyes I've ever seen, indicating their freshness.
We feasted on spider crabs first.
Next came the blood clams, indigenous to this region. According to Bill Esparza, the pata de mula, or blood clams, are also known as concha negra, or black clams.
That's a huge lunch, and frankly, the only thing that stopped it was the fact that we had dinner in 3-4 hours!
With seafood this fresh, you just want it to last.
As you can see, our plates were wooden boards and our tool were rocks. We got to eat them old school by pounding on the very thick and hard shells.
At first I was wary of the labor and splashing, but enjoyed it as a stress reliever soon enough. And after one taste, it was all good.
At first I was wary of the labor and splashing, but enjoyed it as a stress reliever soon enough. And after one taste, it was all good.
The whole table happily ate it old school style.
Next came the blood clams, indigenous to this region. According to Bill Esparza, the pata de mula, or blood clams, are also known as concha negra, or black clams.
That's a lot of shucking. And he was fast.
I did a post including my first taste of the chocolata clams, as a ceviche. The blood clams are a bit more intense, slightly bitter. They tasted great straight out of the shell with a squeeze of lime.
We also had some fresh shrimp, in a spicy sauce with salad, rice with corn, warm tortillas and beans. The beans were as big a hit as the seafood.
Sally makes a pretty taco. Even the salsas were in symmetrical lines.
Our final course was the fried rock fish. Crunchy with a firm white meat. Simple and perfect. The table devoured pretty much everything, including the head.
That's a huge lunch, and frankly, the only thing that stopped it was the fact that we had dinner in 3-4 hours!
With seafood this fresh, you just want it to last.
