Tag Archives: craft beer

Hot Happenings North of the Border!

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Attention Baja lovers! If you can’t head south, here are a few events coming up on this side of the border.

Chef Diego Hernandez of Valle de Guadalupe will be a special guest for the one-year anniversary of Crudo in Little Italy from 2pm until closing tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 28. Click here for details. 

The 2nd annual Baja Bound Baja Travel and Lifestyle Expo takes place this Saturday, Sept. 30 from 12-5pm at Crown Point Park. Check out more than 100 exhibitors, food & drinks, speakers and live music. Get more information here. 

Mexico Gourmet: A Day of the Dead Food and Spirits Festival is coming Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21 and 22, from 4-8pm at Fashion Valley. The event will feature chefs from Mexico, tequila, mezcal, beer, parades, and more. Click here for details and a 20% discount on admission. 

Michelin-starred Valle de Guadalupe chef Drew Deckman will finally open a San Diego restaurant! We just can’t get enough of his sustainable, community-based, rustic cuisine. Look for a February 2024 debut in North Park. Find more information by clicking here.  

And us? We’ll be heading to the Valle this weekend on a mission to visit some of the wineries we’ve never made it to in the past (yes, believe it or not, there are a few!) Stay tuned for a report..

Valle Food & Wine Fest nearly sold out!

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The third annual Valle Food & Wine Festival kicks off one week from tomorrow with an impressive lineup of all-star chefs, including Wolfgang Puck, Michael Cimarusti, Rick Bayless, and Nancy Silverton. There will be a Chefs Welcome Dinner at Deckman’s en el Mogor on Friday, October 4, but the main event takes place Saturday at Finca Altozano, owned by Chef Javier Plascencia, who happens to grace the cover of the current issue of Food & Wine En Espanol. Get there early to enjoy unlimited food from more than 40 tasting stations, plus wine, craft beer and Mexican spirits tastings until 6:30 pm. Mosey over to “Talks Under the Tree,” culinary conversations moderated by Saveur Magazine’s co-founder, Colman Andrews. Stick around for great music from Baja’s Takon Machine and (YES!) Ozomatli. A portion of the festival proceeds will benefit the Corazon de Vida Foundation. According to a nice write-up in today’s Union-Tribune, attendance will be capped at 2,500 and the event is very close to a sellout, so if you don’t have tickets yet, get on it! Team EatDrinkBaja had a great time last year; we look forward to this year’s Fest, as well as “glamping” on a friend’s land adjacent to the Fest! Always an adventure.

Getting to the Fest early pays off!
Early attendees with happy feet share the “dance floor” with one of Finca’s artsy cows.
The incredible chef, cookbook author and TV show host, Rick Bayless.
Cooking over open fire is a Valle tradition.
. . . more goodies on the grill.
Team EatDrinkBaja at the 2018 Valle Food & Wine Fest. Salud!

Gracias por photos by Bob Gove.

Counting down to Sabor de Baja!

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It’s just four weeks ’til Baja Norte’s gastro party of the year, Sabor de Baja. And, this is the fifth annual Sabor; all the more reason to attend! Sabor is a true labor of love by Chef Bo Bendana and her hubby, Dennis Sein. This dynamic duo pulls together Baja chefs, wineries, craft brewers and more for one fabulous evening in the gardens of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. And, Sabor is a friendly but serious competition; a panel of judges has the daunting task of sampling each dish along with its beverage pairing, and then selecting the best of the best. Attendees get to vote, too, as a People’s Choice Award is presented each year! We are excited that several new-ish restaurants will be participating this year:

Sabor takes place Wednesday, August 28 at the aforementioned RB Hotel. Spring for VIP tix at $90 and get early access at 5:30 pm, tastings and beverage pairings, plus seating at tables near the stage, waiter service, a goodie bag, and the commemorative wine glass. General admission guests ($70) will have access at 6 pm, tastings and beverage pairings, and the commemorative wine glass. Everyone can enjoy live music and dancing, including Rosarito favorite Maryam Malak, whom we were fortunate to hear during a delicious and very filling brunch at Ruben’s last Sunday! Read my recap of Sabor 2018, then click here for more information, including how to get tickets. See you at Sabor!   

Valley Girl Wines wins the 2018 People’s Choice Award!

BC in SD this week!

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BAJA-BEER-CRAFT-2015-EVENT-LOGO-2-NOV-13We’re really looking forward to the Baja Beer Craft event (SOLD OUT, sorry if you were shut out!) this Friday at Mingei International Museum, put on by Baja Test Kitchen. The great line-up of breweries includes our faves Agua Mala, Border Psycho & Wendlandt, plus newbies (to us) Muñeca Preita, Tres B + más y más y más. With food by Chef Chad White of Común & Chef Marco Rodriguez of La Justina – plus music by Quino of Big Mountain – how can this NOT be a good time? Check back for a recap soon!

Monday the SD Bay Wine & Food Fest opens with dinner and reception at the lovely (and tasty) new Bracero on the edge of Little Italy. We’re excited that Chef Rick Bayless – a well-respected relentless promoter of Mexican regional cuisine, including Baja, for decades – will join Chef Chad White and host Chef Javier Plasciencia for the events. Looks like both the $250 four-course dinner with paired wines from Valle de Guadalupe and the $100 reception with small plates are sold out. So glad the SD Bay Wine & Food Fest is spotlighting Baja food & wine; it’s well deserved, we applaud! While eatdrinkbaja will inform about such events, we’d like to clarify: our focus is promoting opportunities more accessible for “la gente,” and not so much on big ticket items. We LOVE and don’t want to lose the down-to-earth ambiance of the Baja we enjoy, want to share and help preserve and grow. We hope you’ll join us – ¡Salud!