Ensenada/Guadalupe Valley, Baja, MX (and San Diego)

In mid-July, I have occasion to attend a wedding in San Diego. I'll be there for three days, largely attending to the groom and wedding-related duties, no doubt, but I may have some free time, so San Diego recs are appreciated.

But more importantly, my wife and I are taking the opportunity to drive south and spend four nights in Baja Norte. Right now the plan is to spend a couple nights in Ensenada and a couple nights at a vineyard/inn in the Guadalupe Valley. Some of our time will be devoted to sampling Mexican wines and touring wineries. Some of our time will be eating fish tacos and the famed lobster of Puerto Nuevo. Any specific recommendations for these specialties or others would be most welcome. Our itinerary is pretty flexible and still quite free.

(A one-time JeffB post--not sure where--has me considering a stop at Costco in Tijuana , though that's probably not a priority.)

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

Aaron, I asked the fish taco question on Chowhound California back in January. Below is a link to the answers I got.

Truth be told, in my experience, LA has much better fish tacos than any I found in San Diego. Fortunately for you, there are a few In N Outs in the area. There's also a FatBurger in Pacific Beach on the PCH where Grand intersects into it and the Pacific Ocean.

http://www.chowhound.com/california/boa ... 18894.html

Thanks, Will. Glad to know there's an In 'N Out, as I've not had the pleasure previously and wasn't about to travel 5,000 miles just to try a 4x4 animal style.

Did you try the fish taco recs in San Diego? I figure I'll at least sample them there since I've got a few days, but I'm really most keen on particular recs in Mexico, since it sounds like the goods are a bit better. Did you make it to Rosarito Beach?

Sadly, the best of the fish tacos I had in San Diego came from the mega chain Rubio's. And they weren't that great.

San Diego has never bowled me over as a great food town. That's probably why there are so many skiiny people there.

Here's a thread from about a year ago from when I was planning my trip to SD http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1523&highlight=san+diego. For some reason, I can't find the post I made after the trip, but in SD, I highly recommend the Sunday Brunch at the Crown Room in the Hotel Del Coronado if you have the time & budget. I don't usually go in for hotel brunches, but this one is something special. The spread goes on forever and features everything from King Crab Legs, to sushi, to fresh strawberries that you dip in any of three types of melted chocolate (and anything in between). The chandeliers in the room were designed by L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Del Coronado


Bring Your Bankroll


If it's not Sunday, there is a little restaurant on Coronado Island called the Crown Bistro which has truly outstanding breakfasts (sorry, no picture).

On your way down to Mexico, don't forget a stop in Tijuana.

Which One is the Ass?


The best fish tacos I found on my trip were in Rosarita Beach, a town I highly recommend visiting for it's 50's time warp feel and laid back atmosphere. This is the town where Wolfman Jack used to have his pirate radio station, and Marilyn Monroe used to come down for weekend romps.

Rosarita Beach Fish Tacos


Enjoy the trip!

Yowza. The Rosarita beach tacos look much like those from Siete Mares in LA which I love. The fish tacos in SD, lacked that great beer type batter that you see in your picture, Steve.

hi: so it's been almost a decade since I did serious time doing fish taco weekends in Baja, lthough I bristle at thinking that LA tacos are better than the real deal. Rosarito is the closest place to the border for fish tacos and Mexican style lobster dinners. For fish tacos look for a roadside stand that is busy or at least tidy and welcoming and if you get a sense that the oil is tired or murky move on along. I am not squeamish in any way, my favorite fish taco stand consisted of a lady chopping the veggies on a beautiful old weathered stump of a log but bad oil will ruin your trip for about 72 hours. When you eat the tacos lean out over your belly so the milky white juice mingling with the grease can drip down on the dust. Now you know you're in fish taco land (try doing that at a Rubios!)

Rosarito is also known for its Mexican style lobster. That mean they deep fry the lobster and serve it family style with beans, rice, tortillas and a TJ style Caeser salad and yes, Caeser salad was invented in TJ. Make yourself a lobster burrito/taco and again, enjoy the butter/grease goodness dripping but this time you'll be sitting down. If the thought of deep fried lobster doesn't work for you you can ask for it to be boiled or baked but you will have to wait longer than anyone else around you.

If you head down to Ensenada, this is fish taco heaven, Go to the large seafood market and all around it there are fish taco stalls. If I remember correctly my favorites were those closest to the entrance to the market.

Somewhere between Rosarito and Ensanada is a hotel called I think, La Fonda, very popular in the 40s with Hollywood stars wanting to get away. It hugs the cliffs above the ocean, and is all pink and stucco. Do a google or look in a travel book. My sister charmed the Mexican chef into taking us into the kitchen showing a whole pig, talking lechon, drinking tequila . . . we were treated very well simply for showing interest the food and this was way back in 88 before food blogs and such.

If you want to contact me at my personal e-mail I can reach into the dusty corners of my mind, I know Baja has changed in the last 10 years but I am sure there is still a lot enjoy.

bjt

"San Diego has never bowled me over as a great food town."

In my experience, SD is a remarkably boring town in many respects, including food. For chrissakes, it was boring for the Super Bowl a few years back. That's hard to pull off. (Though the Atlanta Olympics, which I did not attend, sounded even more pitiful, which makes sense to me also.) This is pretty much a dead horse topic, though. It's relatively conservative (and some might say reactionary as regards the neighbors to the south). Then again, who needs character in SD when TJ is right there?

Lovely place, though, with some swell people. I'll be nearby this summer for a wedding.

but there are some great watering holes in SD. The Waterfront is a great old man's tavern that has been there forever and they have Jimmy Woodlawn Tap style little greasy burgers and if the Princess of Wales still exists, there's nothing like drinking with super large images of Princess Di floating above your head. It was owned by Brits and they made real fish and chips (might be a nice comparison to your fish taco adventure). Long before the Gaslamp got all gussied up and trendy there was a teeny Spanish tapas place called Cafe Seville, it was owned by a couple from Spain, they had true tapas, an excellent room temp tortilla, jamon y manchego, really good garlicky olives. Again not sure if it's still there but if you're in that 'hood check it out.

bjt

Funny you mention Seville. I liked it lots, and suggested that SteveZ go there. A true Spanish restaurant (as opposed to a "tapas" concept).

I didn't mean to be too harsh about SD. To be honest, SD very much reminds me of my own beloved hometown of Tampa. Most of the Bucs fans that went to the glorious event felt the same.

The downtowns are nearly identical, and the Gas Lamp/Ybor City parallel is striking. The beaches are close and the golf is good. The main difference is, in Tampa the seedy fun of TJ is in town, not across the boarder.

The similarities were striking, sort of like the Chicago/Toronto comparison folks make.

Steve,

Another phenomenal brunch in San Diego is the Fountainbleu Room at the Westgate Hotel downtown. A great spread for probably $45-50 these days.

$150?? Wow.

jlawrence01 wrote:Steve,

Another phenomenal beunch in San Diego is the Fountainbleu Room at the Westgate Hotel downtown. A great spread for probably $45-50 these days.

$150?? Wow.

To be clear, that $150 was for 3 people.

bjt wrote:Somewhere between Rosarito and Ensanada is a hotel called I think, La Fonda, very popular in the 40s with Hollywood stars wanting to get away. It hugs the cliffs above the ocean, and is all pink and stucco. Do a google or look in a travel book. My sister charmed the Mexican chef into taking us into the kitchen showing a whole pig, talking lechon, drinking tequila . . . we were treated very well simply for showing interest the food and this was way back in 88 before food blogs and such.

I have actually been to La Fonda and what I enjoy about it so much is that the four or five times I have been there, the food has been consistently good. Eating succulent (and ridiculously cheap!) lobster and the best tortillas my mouth has had the good fortune to close upon, drinking a nice margarita, all while overlooking the ocean and dolphins in the distance? Heaven.