News from Mexico

Remembering Ray

March 20, 2017 // 11 Comments

Ray Magnussen, Lechuza Winery, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

VALLE DE GUADALUPE, B.C. – One of my favorite people in the Valle de Guadalupe winemaking community passed away suddenly yesterday. As the news and shock spread, I woke up to no less than a dozen tributes to Ray Magnussen on Facebook this morning, along with an outpouring of love for his wife and [Read More]

Around the World at Mantou Gastropub

March 15, 2017 // 0 Comments

Mantou Gastropub, Restaurant, Chef Omar Armas, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

ENSENADA, BC – “Mantou” are a type of Chinese steamed bun and a carb staple of northern China, where wheat is more readily available than the rice grown and consumed in the south. It’s believed that the Mongols introduced the meat-filled mantou to the region during the Yuan dynasty in the [Read More]

MXCNAS: Elevating Mexico’s Female Chefs

January 26, 2017 // 2 Comments

MXCNAS, Sergio Muñoz, Cintia Soto, Sabina Bandera, La Guerrerense, Baja California, Mexico

SAN DIEGO – “Female chefs have been sidelined by a misogynist media in Mexico and the US that tends to only talk about the same male chefs time and time again,” Sergio Muñoz, writer, businessman, and financier recently shared with us. His new project, MXCNAS (pronounced Mexicanas), focuses [Read More]

A Gringo in Mexico’s Top 25 Baja Bites 2016

December 29, 2016 // 2 Comments

As a San Diego-based writer of Mexican food, culture, and travel, I’m in a fortunate position both geographically and gastronomically. The international border and gateway to Baja California is only twenty tasty minutes away by car. Across the frontera lies a plethora of culinary delights — [Read More]

Baja California Cuisine Takes it’s Place on National Stage

December 3, 2016 // 0 Comments

Foro Mundial Gastronomia de la Mexicana, Mexico City, Mexico, Martin San Roman, Miguel Angel Guerrero

MEXICO CITY – Baja California and its cuisine were represented again this year at the World Forum on Mexican Gastronomy (FMGM) held at the National Arts Center (CENART) in Mexico City. The fourth annual event was conceived and presented by the Cultural Conservatory for Mexican [Read More]

KISS Army Mobilizes on Southern Border

November 22, 2016 // 0 Comments

KISS, Estadio Gasmart, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

TIJUANA – Explosions were heard in the vicinity of Estadio Gasmart in Tijuana’s del Cerro neighborhood Saturday night, as the city’s 10,000-strong battalion of the KISS Army massed to defend their right to Rock and Roll All Night – and presumably – Party Every Day. Making their landing on [Read More]

Javier Plascencia’s LUPE Opens in the Valle de Guadalupe

November 9, 2016 // 1 Comment

Lupe, Finca Altozano, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

VALLE DE GUADALUPE – Forget the Javier Plascencia you think you know: the celebrity chef who appears on national network cooking shows; the restaurateur and heir to the family business who deals with the details of his high-profile Bracero Cocina de Raiz in San Diego; the auteur who tweezed his [Read More]

Female Chefs Celebrated during 2016 Baja Culinary Fest

November 1, 2016 // 0 Comments

La Cocina Que Canta, Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Baja California, Mexico

TECATE – Held in and around the oak-shaded organic gardens of La Cocina Que Canta – the famous wellness retreat Rancho La Puerta’s cooking school – October 27th’s El Sabor de Mujeres de Baja featured dishes from 15 of Baja California’s top female chefs, Valle de Guadalupe [Read More]

¡La Pinche Linea! 10 Ways to Enjoy Your Wait at the San Ysidro Border Crossing

September 30, 2016 // 0 Comments

San Ysidro Border Crossing, Tijuana, San Diego, Baja California, Mexico

TIJUANA — The San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana is the world’s busiest point of entry — processing around 300,000 commuters daily. And today, as you return relaxed, refreshed, and reinvigorated from your long weekend in Baja California, it feels like every single one of [Read More]

El Clavo Nails It in the Valle de Guadalupe

August 8, 2016 // 0 Comments

El Clavo Cocina de Baja, Chef Ryan Steyn, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

VALLE DE GUADALUPE, B.C. – When I visited chef Ryan Steyn’s El Clavo Cocina de Baja last year at its former location next to winery Madera 5 in Ensenada’s industrial zone, I asked the chef about his new project’s name. He explained “El Clavo means to ‘nail it’, to do something really [Read More]