If you head into San Jose del Cabo, be sure to have dinner at Don Emiliano. The chef/owner there is brilliant and passionate about regional Mexican food.

We were there twice in November, 2008.

chopps, thanks for this reminder. Don Emiliano was the place my wife and I ate on our recent trip.

http://www.donemiliano.com.mx/

JoelF wrote:Willie,
My sister-in-law rented a car which we shared while we were down there. I don't remember the cost.

We made it up to Todos Santos which consists of two kinds of shops: places which have the same ceramic and glass as everybody else (80%) and places which have unique stuff (20%). The "everybody else" places have stuff you can find in CSL, the "unique" places run to very, very pricey stuff -- art from actual artists and artisans who know what kind of people come down to Baja to buy art.

Joel

better late than never to reply, thanks Joel.

We found Todos Santos not worth the drive. The beaches a long the way and drive itself were fine but the town & art, ehh.

I will echo the positive comments on Don Emiliano, the chef is wonderful, she was so pleasant and came out and spent 20 minutes with us at our table. We took her suggestion and ordered a Mexican red which went terrific with our meal. IIRC, we split the fresh caught yellow fin grilled tuna that was laced with her homemade Mexican chile oil. I also had a lamb dish in banana leaf (Hildalgo? based). both were excellent.

--

Just got back from a week in Cabo. Eating-wise, the highpoint of the week was Don Emiliano. It was probably the best, and most interesting meal that I've eaten in Cabo. Unfortunately the restaurant was practically deserted on a Saturday night, but it looked like most places down there were hurting.

On the other end of the scale, we tried Jean-George's Market which has replaced Charlie Trotter's restaurant at the Palmilla. It was absolutely terrible. My full description would likely offend people and spark a new thread in the Site Chat forum, so let's just leave it as I was deeply unhappy paying what I paid.

jesteinf wrote:On the other end of the scale, we tried Jean-George's Market which has replaced Charlie Trotter's restaurant at the Palmilla. It was absolutely terrible. My full description would likely offend people and spark a new thread in the Site Chat forum, so let's just leave it as I was deeply unhappy paying what I paid.

Having stayed at the Palmilla with vivid memories of what we paid at the "mid-price" restaurant there I can only imagine what Jean George's prices must have looked like. I absolutely loved Palmilla and intend to return sometime in the future so I actually am curious about more of the details regarding your Jean George dinner. C'mon, get fired up!

PitaChip wrote:

jesteinf wrote:On the other end of the scale, we tried Jean-George's Market which has replaced Charlie Trotter's restaurant at the Palmilla. It was absolutely terrible. My full description would likely offend people and spark a new thread in the Site Chat forum, so let's just leave it as I was deeply unhappy paying what I paid.

Having stayed at the Palmilla with vivid memories of what we paid at the "mid-price" restaurant there I can only imagine what Jean George's prices must have looked like. I absolutely loved Palmilla and intend to return sometime in the future so I actually am curious about more of the details regarding your Jean George dinner. C'mon, get fired up!

First, the good. We had a black truffle pizza for an appetizer that was pretty killer. We also had the staple tuna/rice cracker dish, which was executed well but right out of the JG playbook (i.e., you certainly don't need to be in Mexico to eat this dish).

The pricing, though, is just obscene. The wife had a beef tenderloin main course that was $53. Tea after dinner was $9. The wine markups were beyond ridiculous, with very few bottles priced under $100. There were two major timing issues during our meal (a side dish appeared about 10 minutes after our main courses were served, tea appeared about 5 minutes after desserts were served). Dinner for the two of us was a little over $400 all in, which is usually what we would spend at places like Alinea or L20 here. This meal did not even come close to being as enjoyable as Alinea or L20 from either a food or service standpoint. I would avoid Market at all costs.

jesteinf wrote:The pricing, though, is just obscene. The wife had a beef tenderloin main course that was $53. Tea after dinner was $9. The wine markups were beyond ridiculous, with very few bottles priced under $100. There were two major timing issues during our meal (a side dish appeared about 10 minutes after our main courses were served, tea appeared about 5 minutes after desserts were served). Dinner for the two of us was a little over $400 all in, which is usually what we would spend at places like Alinea or L20 here. This meal did not even come close to being as enjoyable as Alinea or L20 from either a food or service standpoint. I would avoid Market at all costs.

Thanks for this. Now I don't feel that bad about missing both the Trotter and Jean George restaurants.

Everything at the One and Only is really expensive, i.e. not just the Jean George restaurant. The wine prices at the mid-priced restaurant, Agua, are similarly shocking with few wines under $100 a bottle. Curiously, beer -- even imported beer delivered to your room -- is quite cheap. Our meals at Agua were very good, but not a good deal by any stretch.

The Spa Cuisine at the One and Only was incredibly good and actually seemed nicely priced. We had lunch there a few times, but should have tried their dinner.

jesteinf wrote:Just got back from a week in Cabo. Eating-wise, the highpoint of the week was Don Emiliano. It was probably the best, and most interesting meal that I've eaten in Cabo. Unfortunately the restaurant was practically deserted on a Saturday night, but it looked like most places down there were hurting.

Food Nut wrote:Hello. When in Cabo last summer, at a terrific dinner in San Jose Del Cabo at Don Emiliano, I ordered what the menu called a "shrimp steak" with sea asparagus and guajillo chile in broth.

I'm wondering if sea asparagus is available locally. Anyone seen it anywhere for purchase?

Shrimp steak with sea asparagus and guajillo chile

I still dream of the wonderful outdoor meal I had at Don Emiliano.
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=17777&hilit=sea+asparagus

We had a really fantastic meal at Don Emiliano. We started with appetizers of shaved octopus and tamales representing 4 different regions of Mexico. The octopus was among the best octopus preparations I've ever had. The octopus had this rich, buttery flavor that I've never picked up before. The tamales were great too, but that octopus stole the show.

My main course was rabbit in what was described as a beer and 3 chili sauce, which turned out to be more of a mole. The chef came out while I was eating, very excited that someone (especially an American) had ordered the rabbit. Even though there were quite a few bones, the dish was excellent. The rabbit itself actually tasted quite a bit like duck and the sauce had a wonderful rich heat.

Dinner was about $150 for the two of us (two appetizers, two main courses, two desserts and a bottle of wine). Pretty reasonable by Cabo standards for this level of cooking. Don Emiliano is one of the very, very few can't miss places down there (IMO).

We just got back from our annual trip to Cabo and there were the usual highs and lows foodwise.

Don Emiliano remains a huge standout. Our dinner there was just as good as last year. I had a main course of roasted duck, wrapped in tortillas with a black mole that was pretty fantastic.

Other highlights included El Grill (some of the best arrachera I've ever had) and La Dolce. La Dolce is great for pizza (it's basically Neapolitan style, but with a crispier crust), and this year we had the added highlight of listening to wandering musicians play a mash-up of Oye Como Va and Guantamera while we ate our pizza. Pancho's is a total tourist trap but I ordered well so I was happy (pozole and chicken in mole).

The worst disappointment was Nicksan (the Palmilla branch). Even the fish that they claimed was local and fresh was sort of off-tasting. I've never really been a fan of Nicksan and hopefully we won't be going back.

Sad news from Cabo...Don Emiliano has closed. Apparently there were plans to relocate but those didn't pan out and now the restaurant is closed for good.

Two standout meals from this year's trip to Cabo.

First was brunch at Flora Farms



Flora Farms is on the outskirts of San Jose del Cabo and is an actual working farm. They have a small restaurant that's open for lunch as well as brunch on Sunday's. We went for the Sunday brunch which was served family style and was absolutely delicious. The highlights were some outstanding housemade sausage and fresh, creamy greens.



As is tradition in the area, they're more than happy to sell you some property. For a cool $650K you can own your own cottage with full access to the farm (and unlimited yoga classes!).

The other highlight was Los Tres Gallos which is in Cabo San Lucas, but a little bit off the main drag.



Los Tres Gallos opened last Spring and is currently the number 1 rated restaurant in Cabo according to Trip Advisor, which is how we found it. The inside is very small, only a few tables, but they just opened a nice patio which has greatly expanded their seating capacity. The patio also houses a grill with an elderly Mexican lady grilling various meats. This was the first thing I saw when we walked into the place so I was pretty much sold on the place instantly.

We started with a squash blossom quesadilla and a huitlacoche gordita. They make their own tortillas (rare at the places we tend to go in Cabo) so both the quesadilla and the gordita were excellent. I'd put the quesadilla right up against Zaragoza, which is my gold standard. For my main course I had the cochinita pibil which was out of this world. Rich, nicely spicy and fatty chunks of pork served with onions marinated in lime and habanero. I could have spent hours mopping up my plate of pork with housemade tortilla. You also get a nice variety of table salsas, including a salsa verde made with habanero, a red salsa made with tequila, and an oily mix of ground chiles de arbol with olive oil and garlic. Dessert was a gratis small bowl of rice pudding and a warm glass of ponche, which were both perfect ways to end the meal.

Service was some of the friendliest we've experienced in Cabo and prices were exceptionally reasonable. With drinks and tip I think it was about $35 per person. With Don Emiliano sadly closed I would say that Los Tres Gallos is now the mandatory stop when eating in Cabo.

Couple of updates from this year's trip:

The word is out on Los Tres Gallos. They've significantly enlarged their dining area and it was full of gringos the night we went (including a lovely table of Jersey Shore rejects loading up on Long Island iced teas). The menu and food are the same (I had an outstanding bowl of pozole), but the experience isn't the same.

The best meal of this year's trip was at Los Tamarindos. It's a working farm that runs cooking classes and also has a restaurant. You eat almost right next to the crops. The produce served is all grown on the farm and the meat/fish are all local. We had several appetizers all highlighting the great zucchini, tomatoes, etc that the farm grows and then I had baby goat for my main course (served with housemade tortillas, a barley salad, and ratatouille). Absolutely the best goat I've had (with all apologies to the Zaragoza family). The farm can be a little tricky to find (it's outside of San Jose and you have to go down some dirt roads that are marked with signs for the farm), but it's definitely worth seeking out.

...saw this and was reminded to drop a note about a long weekend in Los Cabos a few months back. It wasn't a particularly noteworthy eating trip, but people go there plenty and I will do my part to contribute to board knowledge.

Having been to other places in Mexico and fearing that Cabo would be overrun by Sammy Hagar loving morons, I can now say some nice things about Cabo-- nice weather, nice waves, nice places to stay, nice hardworking Mexican folks from around the country there working hard for the ever-dwindling tourist buck.

But I found the town of Cabo San Lucas on a slow weekend to be one of the saddest places I've visited in Mexico or anywhere else. And I just got back from the Youngstown, Ohio metro. If you've only been to Cabo or Cancun, please do yourself a favor and visit a less sealed-off, gringo-centric place in the country. I walked mostly empty streets along the malecon at 8 pm on a Saturday with my small kids - with Mexican kids barely older than mine shilling for others selling cheap Viagra, Xanax, all-u-can-drink, phony Cuban cigars, weed, and the crap strip clubs that occupy the neon floors of the malls above the tourist trap restaurants. Pure shit, really. Later in the night hundreds of sloppy Sammy Hagar fans actually did emerge from his bar, where Mr. Wabo himself had held a pop-up concert. The "artsy" town of San Jose had seemingly no there there - its streets even emptier than those in CSL and virtually nothing open. I've been to Mexican seaside towns during slow times, indeed, just after 9/11, but to walk along a main waterfront drag on a weekend night in Mexico with no one around was truly strange. Getting away from these little towns, the sprawl is familiar - Best Buy, Costco, Wal-Mart, gated communities (including our place for the weekend), and concept restaurants plopped into the center of asphalt.

Through some digging, we ate pretty well nonetheless. Not including the fantastic stuff made for breakfast by the talented Oaxacan housekeeper (fairly common in Mexican resorts for housekeepers to show up and make breakfast, and almost always great), here's what we had. I ignored the fancy and/or non-Mexican, trying my best to find local flavor in a place that really didn't much exist pre-tourism. NB: I am not dissing Baja, an incredible place that is huge and varied, nor its produce, its people, nor its natural beauty, which is remarkable. And great, consistent surf with a local scene that's tolerant of gringo kooks, like me. I just hated everything about the town of Cabo San Lucas. (And this from a native Floridian who can find something to like in the Wisconsin Dells, Vegas, Atlantic City (but not Times Square).)

Vagabundos del Mar (Trailer Park Restaurant)

Forget everything I said above. This one place encapsulated everything good one might conjure about the Baja gringo ex-pat experience. It is an outdoor bar hard by the pool and management office at the center of an RV park and low-rent marina run by some of the sweetest folks you'd ever meet. The place is possible because it is not in town - it's a mile or two out, across from the Target or the Wal Mart or something. Vagabundos seems to be a slice of Cabo circa 1975 frozen in time - when intrepid surfers, retirees and other visionaries from the north drove to the tip of the Cape. Nothing revelatory, but everything from the kitchen was good to great, including my catch of the day (often Mahi as it was that day) with a sauce similar to the chile oil served on Sarandeado style fish. No idea what beer actually costs there - the owners kept sending free rounds. The crowd is a mix of American and Mexican locals, many of which showed up on Sunday decked out in gear from their respective hometown or adopted NFL teams to watch the games on the big screens set up outside (it rains maybe once a year, so not a problem). The place is almost too good to be real, especially in Cabo.

http://vagabundosrestaurant.com/about_us.htm

We also hit up the semi-famous taco place, Guacamayas over in San Jose. Very much off the beaten path, Guacamayas did a nice job with pastor and a new-to-me taco cut: grilled bone-in porkchops. The Maxwell Street deja vu of a bone-in pork chop sandwich was doubled down when our excellent server turned out to be a kid from Little Village who spends some months down there waiting when not in school. He agreed with us that there are better tacos, including pastor, to be had in Chicago. Looking at the online reviews, folks go nuts over the "unique" pastor, which highlights both the superiority of that taco filling and its rarity in the states. Nice spot to visit when in or near San Jose, but I would not make a special trip for it. No seafood at all, either, which is a big minus when you have limited meals to eat in Cabo.

The last place of any note was Mariscos Tres Islas, a palapa topped spot on a side street in CSL that looks like a typical Nayarit seafood joint and has that menu. Very hit or miss, with the recommended shrimp dishes all being well overcooked and drenched in cheap "butter" (unfortunately "authentic" among Pacific Mexican seafood), but the snapper sarendeado was one of the tastier versions I've enjoyed. Most of the other patrons were local and Mexican, with a few other tourists. If you enjoy Islas Marias, El Barco or Veneno, Tres Islas is just that.

These 3 places are among the most casual and inexpensive that you are likely to find in what is a very, very pricy place owing to its remote position (might as well be an island in the middle of the Pacific) and tourist-only economy.



JJB

I’m not crazy about Cabo, but recently met up with some Mexico City based family members who have a house there. So, okay….a place to stay. I’m in. We ate and drank very well. My most memorable places were Mariscos las Tres Islas and Los Tres Gallos. We ordered several items from the menu at Tres Islas and passed them all around. I must’ve eaten 2-dozen shrimp. These buggers were delicious and simple – sprinkled with lime juice and accompanied with cucumber. Other stand outs were the pulpo and shrimp cocktail along pulpo ajillo sprinkled with chilies. I was completely gluttonous here. Be warned – the margaritas were very potent and large.

Los Tres Gallos is an ideal little Mexican restaurant with an open courtyard with fruit trees hanging overhead. There is a small and open kitchen where you can watch the ladies at work. The food is authentic and excellent. Everyone ordered for themselves but there was a lot of sharing going on. The chile relleno was an absolute standout as was the conchinita pibil. My bistec arrachera (served with nopales and green onions) was flavorful but came out a little cold. Fresh tortillas made in house and excellent salsas. Service was a little unfocused.

We also went to a place in San Jose (which I prefer over San Lucas) called Habanero’s. The food was meh, but was very kid friendly. It was not our first choice as we were driving around looking for a restaurant that is now closed….. Don Emiliano’s. And yes, I see that up thread now….. dammit!

Anybody been to Cabo recently with a recommendation?

jesteinf wrote:Sad news from Cabo...Don Emiliano has closed. Apparently there were plans to relocate but those didn't pan out and now the restaurant is closed for good.

I don't get to the CSL/SJC area often (as evidenced by my late posting to this news) but the dining highlight for us in the area was always Don Emilianos, so bummed to hear.

I just got back from Cabo a couple weeks ago. I was a guest of my boyfriend's family and we were staying in a timeshare, so we didn't get to eat out as much as I would have liked, but I do have one casual recommendation: Vicky's Tacos. It is right across from the marina on the main street, Blvd. Lazaro Cardenas. Small, extremely no-frills place. Don't be afraid of the touristy location--the fish and especially the shrimp tacos were great and just 20-22 pesos each. You add your own toppings and salsas from a little set-up they have. They have beer, and the waiter even went out and bought some Clamato so I could have a michelada. We went back three times! I think if you go even further off the main drag tacos go down to 10-15 pesos but we decided to stick with a good thing in our limited time.

We ate at our resort mostly (amazingly mediocre...), but had a great meal out at Maro's Shrimp House in the marina area. Cheap and delicious lobster tails and shrimp, the four of us ate heartily and drank plenty for under $100 after tax and tip. Well worth a visit.

JeffB wrote:But I found the town of Cabo San Lucas on a slow weekend to be one of the saddest places I've visited in Mexico or anywhere else. And I just got back from the Youngstown, Ohio metro. If you've only been to Cabo or Cancun, please do yourself a favor and visit a less sealed-off, gringo-centric place in the country. I walked mostly empty streets along the malecon at 8 pm on a Saturday with my small kids - with Mexican kids barely older than mine shilling for others selling cheap Viagra, Xanax, all-u-can-drink, phony Cuban cigars, weed, and the crap strip clubs that occupy the neon floors of the malls above the tourist trap restaurants. Pure shit, really.

geebus Jeff, that makes me REALLY want to go..

cheap viagra though.. that's better than cheap al pastor, amiright?

The chow Poodle has finally convinced me to take her there this winter. Neither one of us has ever been to Cabo. I fear finding exactly what JeffB reported above, but I'm hoping for the best. It looked like there were at least a few places to check out, based on the earlier posts in this thread, but those were all mostly several years old. Anything new to report?

Steve, a co-worker had suggested Las Guacamayas in San Jose del Cabo, stated he had an excellent pastor, also huitlacoche choices.

JeffB wrote:...But I found the town of Cabo San Lucas on a slow weekend to be one of the saddest places I've visited in Mexico or anywhere else. And I just got back from the Youngstown, Ohio metro. If you've only been to Cabo or Cancun, please do yourself a favor and visit a less sealed-off, gringo-centric place in the country....JJB

Haha, couldn't agree more. I went to Cabo for the first time last winter, what a disappointment - the town is a dump, it's like a smaller Tijuana. The outlying area isn't much too look at either, like taking a generic Phoenix suburb and giving it an ocean view.

Our resort was nice, but once you're off the reservation forget about it. Flora Farms was am efficiently run gringo complete cash removal machine, and that was the best meal! But that was one of those place where the most memorable part of dinner was the check.

There's countless nice places to go in Mexico, I'd advise any first timers to stay away from here. Seems like the only people who visit are cruise boaters (oh, cruise dock - great!) and chumps who got sucked into buying a time share.

Wow, so much negativity here!

It's been quite some time since I've contributed to LTH, but I have to lend my 2 cents to this conversation. My wife and I have been vacationing in Baja Sur for some years, and we have relatives who live in SJdC as well. There are many sections of this dual city region to explore, some are more built up than others, and some are a bit downtrodden - just like any city anywhere amiright?

For those bashing Flora Farms Kitchen, I must disagree. Guillermo and Leslie have a fantastic operation going (he worked under Charlie Trotter for many years here) and if you're going to complain about paying more here because they have their own farm, make their own breads, sauces, etc. then maybe you should just stick to cheap fast food joints. As an example, they have to bring all of their flour down from San Diego by truck since that's the only way they can ensure getting the best quality without paying through the nose.

Other places that we've enjoyed great food and service:

Taqueria Rossy, SJdC - very nondescript spot with excellent Baja fish tacos, shrimp or scallop aguachiles, and plenty of cold beer to keep you happy.

La Marea, SJdC - a more modern spot in a strip mall off the main highway next to an Applebee's, they have very good cocktails and beer to wash down the delicious ceviches, aguachiles, tacos, etc. that are served by an attentive staff.

Casa Mariposa, SJdC - off the beaten path, but a great little spot that specializes in local quesadillas and liquados. Super nice people, and tasty coffee too.

Taqueria Las Gardenias, CSL - another great little taco shack that has excellent Baja fish tacos, ceviches, and cold beer. Cheap and delicious.

If you're in the mood for upscale, then make a reservation at Manta, the main restaurant at the Thompson Hotel. Reknown chef Enrique Olvera is the force here, although he spends most of his time in DF (Pujol) and NYC (Cosme). Excellent food and wine, a great view of the ocean, and not exorbitant pricing...not cheap, but not crazy.