The early bird gets the worm – or in this case, the paella and wine! The inaugural, sold out SD International Paella & Wine Fest took place yesterday from noon to 6pm at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Thirty-some booths prepared and served various versions of the rice and seafood dish, with a number of wineries from Baja to Napa represented, offering tastes including some wines made with grapes from France & Spain. Because paella is not a fast food, at any given time a number of booths were not serving; instead, new pans of paella were on the fire. Eatdrinkbaja was excited to see Tijuana’s venerable Chiki Jai represented, but sad to be faced with an empty paella pan once we got to the head of the line. Prettiest paella? Booth 29, Los Azafranes, decked out with whole octopus and flower-like bell peppers. Haven’t heard yet who the celebrity judges chose as winners. BUMMER: some wineries didn’t bring enough product; Valle de Guadalupe’s Las Nubes was one of a few that were OUT as early as 2pm. Best wines in our book?  Both from Napa – the Delgadillo 2006 Cab Sauv (retail: $85!) and the Encanto Cab Sauv (retail: $75) were superb. But also enjoyed tastes from the Valle’s Lomita (love the Pagano), Baron Balche & Monte Xanic. Kudos to the SD Regional Chamber for bringing a Paella Fest to SD; I’m confident they will learn from this year’s experience and tweak to improve next year!

OK, this is a first-time event, but insider sources have told me it’s being produced by the folks who put on the annual Valle de Guadalupe paella fest each August, which sells out in mere minutes and I can personally vouch for being FABULOUS. Enjoy a taste of Baja (and Napa/Sonoma) w/o crossing the  border this Saturday, noon to 6 pm. Especially if you’re a Chamber member, it’s a great deal, and so close to home! HINT: Have a light breakfast. DETAILS & TICKETS 

We really look forward to the Rosarito Art Fest, always held Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. This year, however, we were extraordinarily busy, with Steve Poltz tix on Friday, wanting to visit with Bob’s son Jamie Saturday evening before he headed back to Oahu, and (YES!) tix for the Rolling Stones on Sunday. But we managed to work in a quick run to ‘Rito for a delicious breakfast on the oceanfront deck of my fave, Los Pelicanos (omelet de rajas de chile poblano, elote y queso, and TIP: don’t forget to ask for “toreados,” the sweated serrano chiles! And if there’s a better margarita – en las rocas sin sal, por supesto – in Rosarito, I haven’t found it.) The Art Fest didn’t let us down – it’s getting better every year. On the main drag, Boulevard Juarez, in front of Festival Plaza, it’s free, there’s music, entertainment and eating & drinking opptys. We sipped Tango Pasion, a delicious Nebbiolo from Vintango, the boutique winery of our longtime Baja buddy, JoAnn Knox-Martino, while we perused the art and visited with artisans before we had to make a run for the border.

Because our buddy, Tommy Beaudwin, feels fortunate to have been born on Cinco de Mayo, he traditionally celebrates in Baja and invites friends to join the fun. We connect with him on the annual adventure whenever we can! This year we met up with Tommy’s entourage in downtown Rosarito Beach, where we did some shopping and dropped into the venerable Papas & Beer (first time I’ve been to Papas in more than a decade! We were far too mellow and WAY too early for drunken debauchery.) Later we hooked up with Team Tommy at the beautiful new cliffside restaurant at Castillos del Mar, just south of town, where Tommy was staying. It was the night of the big Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, so things were a bit crazy. Bob and I loved our shared grilled pulpo (octopus – outrageous looking, huh?) and I was intrigued by these Out of Mexico spices!

In April we made the journey to Hotel Coral, just north of Ensenada for the Festival de las Conchas y el Vino Nuevo. Apparently it’s been held annually, but this was the first time we heard about it. Ticket were available online, and once I was able to convince Wells Fargo that the charge to a Tijuana-based promotion agency was not fradulent, we scored. With the currency conversion fee, worked out to about $35 per person. What a great event! Probably 40 Baja restaurants offering oyster, clam, mussel and abalone tastes; at least as many wineries pouring delicious vino. Chef Javier Plascencia was on hand representing my fave, Finca Altozano; reconnected with Javier Martinez of Ensenada’s Boules; was stoked to meet Drew Deckman and Natalia Badan. Lots of open space and tables; not too crowded when searching out samples. Cooking demos, too! A good value, lovely venue down by the Coral’s marina and a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. TIP: BYO wine glass or you’ll need to buy one; it’s not included in the ticket price.