Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Mark Your Calendars!



A really good source told me that the second annual Valle Wine & Food Festival will be held on Saturday, October 13, 2018.

Due to a conflict, we were unable to attend the first VW&F Festival held in October, but I have heard from several people that it was an excellent event. 



Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Lodging: Hacienda Los Golfo

With new lodging options seemingly opening every hour in the Valle, it is very difficult to keep up.  Here's one that caught my eye: Hacienda Los Golfo.  It is centrally located (near La Lomita) and has a nice set of amenities.  The current room rate (1BR - $103) is very reasonable.





  

Monday, November 27, 2017

Brunch at Mixtura

This is very good news.

We usually take the free road to the Valle and like to make Mixtura our very first stop. Now that the kitchen opens at 10:00 AM on Saturdays and Sundays we can get a much earlier start.


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Event: Thanksgiving Dinner at Deckman's


This will be our third Thanksgiving dinner at Deckman's En El Mogor and is one of our favorite events of the year.


Friday, November 3, 2017

Restaurant Review: L.A. Times - Verlaine (Los Angeles)


Normally I wouldn't link to review of a restaurant in Los Angeles, but the chef of Verlaine is Diego Hernandez (Corazon de Tierra) and it is written by the great Jonathan Gold.


Friday, October 27, 2017

Próximamente (Coming Soon): Once Pueblos


Back in April I was told that Once Pueblos, a new restaurant that is part of the Sierra Vid Winery project, would open in July. That timeline has obviously slipped, but from all appearances the opening of Once Pueblos will add another quality dining experience to the Valle's already impressive roster.




Thursday, October 26, 2017

Special Events: Baja Wine + Food



If you are interested in special events with winemakers and chefs from Valle de Guadalupe, you should absolutely follow Baja Wine + Food on Facebook.  Fernando Gaxiola and his talented team organize and promote events in the Valle and Southern California.

Last night we attended a wine pairing dinner at Cueva Bar in San Diego featuring the wines from Viñedeos Montefiore.  Winemaker/owner Paolo Paoloni was there to tell his story and to present his wines that were paired with delicious dishes prepared by Chef Oz.

A good time was had by all.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Two Valle Restaurants in Top 50


In a ceremony on October 24 two Valle restaurants, Corazon de Tierra (34) and Laja (42), were named in S. Pellegrino's list of Latin America's Best 50 Restaurants.    


Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Dog Friendly Lodging - Skipper the Travel Dog - Casa Mayoral


I am often asked to recommend a dog friendly hotel in the Valle.  In the past I didn't have an answer, but today thanks to Skipper the Travel Dog I can say, Casa Mayoral.

Via Skipper the Travel Dog's Facebook page.

Casa Mayoral is one of the few dog friendly hotels or BnBs in Baja's lovely Valle de Guadalupe, and I had the best time there during my recent stay! I made lots of new friends, and got to speak in my native Dog Spanish with them. Even the humans who run the place were super cool! I highly recommend Casa Mayoral to my fellow dog travelers and their humans!!
Thanks Skipper!


Saturday, October 21, 2017

Friday, October 20, 2017

Thanksgiving at Malva


The Valle is a great place to celebrate Thanksgiving (we've done it the last couple of years).  This year dinner at Malva will be an option.



Thursday, October 19, 2017

Chef Profiles: KCET - Javier Plascencia • Diego Hernandez • Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins


Jackie Bryant who has written some of the best articles about Valle de Guadalupe talked to some of the Valle's best chefs about the obstacles of operating restaurants in the U.S.


Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Restaurant Guide: The Culture Trip


The title of this article is a tad misleading as I wouldn't characterize any of the listed places as a seafood restaurant. That being said, they all serve delicious seafood (among other things).




Monday, October 16, 2017

Notas del Valle

A few notes and reminders:


Restaurante Nómada the campestre that set up at Cava Maciel this summer has ended its 5th season.


As of today there were still a few tickets left for the Valle Wine & Food Festival to be held Sunday, October 22 at Finca Altozano.


Colección de Airstreams Glamping Ruta de Arte y Vino is hosting scary movie nights at their campground on October 28 and 29. 







Saturday, October 14, 2017

Restaurant Report: Mexico Cooks! - La Cocina de Doña Esthela


One of Doña Esthela's most impressive accomplishments is that she has been able to maintain the quality of her food as her restaurant has expanded from a table in her kitchen to 160 seats.


Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Monday, September 18, 2017

Chef Profile: San Diego City Beat - Doña Esthela


Doña Esthela was in San Diego last week for what I believe was her very first time.  She cooked at an event in Barrio Logan.   Here's hoping that will be the first of many more visits north of the border.


Monday, September 11, 2017

Restaurant Report: Expat in Baja Mexico - Nomada


As the name suggests Nomada changes location regularly.  This summer they've set up camp at Cava Maciel. 

Here's Baja Doc's report.


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Incendio!

This looks bad.


#valledeguadalupe

A post shared by Javier Oropeza 📍TIJUAS 🇲🇽🤙 (@lorolopeza) on



🔥

A post shared by G S (@tejotta) on

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Restaurant Report: Discover Baja - Malva

Photo credit: AGringoinMexico.com

I don't think Robert Alcocer's restaurant, Malva, gets the recognition for excellence it deserves.  W. Scott Koenig's report should start to provide a remedy for that situation.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Fire!

August 10 - Update: Other than a few pictures of smoke posted on various social media sites, I have not seen any additional reports about this fire.  I'm hopeful that the expression, "No news is good news" applies here.

Cinthia SZ posted these pictures on Facebook at approximately 3:30 PM today.  She reports that the fire is located behind Hacienda Guadalupe.






Sunday, August 6, 2017

Breakfast and Lunch at Rocas del Valle


You can now have breakfast and lunch at the hotel, Rocas del Valle.

Saturday and Sunday until 3:00 PM.


Saturday, August 5, 2017

Camping and Scary Movies - October 28


Camping and watching scary movies.  This sounds like the plot most of the horror movies I watched as a kid.



New Project: Agua de Vid


By chance I stumbled upon Agua de Vid's Facebook page.  Apparently the project will include a boutique hotel, a restaurant/bar, a spa, an event space, and a wine shop.

You can see what they are planning here:



Friday, August 4, 2017

Casa Colorada

Today's winery list addition is Casa Colorada




Shout Out: NBC Latino - Valle de Guadalupe

Animalón by Rebeka Sager
Most of the obvious places are mentioned in this article, but it's cool to see that Sager interviewed people who have a lot of first hand knowledge about the Valle.

Guadalupe Valley Fest 2017 Line-up Announced


Boom!  The Guadalupe Valley Festival announced their musical line-up today and I gotta say I'm very impressed with the music performers on the bill.  (Also bummed we will be in Portland that weekend.)