New Season of PBS’s “Pati’s Mexican Table” Featuring Baja California
The PBS show “Pati’s Mexican Table” is featuring Baja California for all of season seven. Part travelogue, part cooking show, the episodes follow Pati as she explores the region and then cooks recipes inspired by her travels. From Tijuana to Cabo, the season covers the entire peninsula with each episode focusing on a specific town/region. The episodes air in San Diego on KPBS on Saturdays at 3pm (other regions can search HERE for local station and air time). You can learn more about the season on the KPBS site, and get the recipes from each episode on Pati’s website.
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Edible Native Plant Guide for Baja California
Tijuana’s Culinary Art School has published a beautiful guide to the edible plants of Baja California. The guide includes information and descriptions of the plants, vibrant color photos, traditional uses of the plants, as well as recipes. The guide was put together by Paula Pijoan, founder of Plantas Nativas de la Baja (and also of the Pijoan Winery family), and Ismene Venegas of El Pinar de 3 Mujeres. The guide can be downloaded as a PDF to your device. This is the second guide in this series (the first guide featured edible algaes). Available in Spanish only.
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Corazón de Tierra Remains on List of 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America
Once again, Chef Diego Hernández’s Corazón de Tierra restaurant has appeared on San Pellegrino’s list of the 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America. The Valle de Guadalupe restaurant is number #35 on the 2018 list, which was released on October 30. To visit Corazón de Tierra, be sure to make a reservation. There’s one option for dining—a multi-course tasting menu that changes on a regular basis. We highly recommend enjoying the wine pairing with your meal.
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New Foodgarden in Otay Now Open
A third location of the beloved Foodgarden has opened in Otay, Tijuana at the Alameda Otay Town Center, near the Tijuana airport. The 7,500-square-foot space features a variety of individual food stalls with international offerings as well as specialty stalls such as a wine store, donut bar, and pastry shop. The first location of Foodgarden opened in 2013 on Blvd Sanchez Taboada and the second location opened in the Plaza Rio mall in 2015. For more information about the new Foodgarden Otay, see their Facebook page.
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SouthNorte Brewery Collaboration with Chef Javier Plascencia
To celebrate the first anniversary of SouthNorth brewery, brewmaster Ryan Brooks took inspiration from one of Baja chef Javier Plascencia’s most well-known dishes, his grilled octopus. With the intention of creating a perfect beer and food pairing, the anniversary beer, “Aniversario 1,” is created to provide a perfect counterpoint to the rich flavors of the grilled octopus. Aniversario 1 will come in a 750ml bottle with a special hangtag printed with the recipe for Plascencia’s grilled octopus so that people can recreate the pairing at home. The limited-edition beer is currently available throughout San Diego. For more information visit www.southnorte.com
SouthNorte brewery, which takes inspiration from both sides of the border, is based in San Diego, but also brews at Telefonica Gastro Park in Tijuana, making them the first U.S. brewery to have a presence in Baja.
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Gourmet Awards Mexico Announces Three Winners from Valle de Guadalupe
The Gourmet Awards Mexico by Travel + Leisure announced three winners from Baja California in October. All winners were from Valle de Guadalupe—David Castro Hussong from Fauna as Rising Chef, Fauna Restaurante en Bruma as Best Hotel Restaurant, and Deckman’s en el Mogor as Best Regional Cuisine. For other recommendations in Northern Baja from Gourmet Awards Mexico, visit gourmetawards.mx
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Explore Northern Baja’s Culinary Scene with Baja Test Kitchen
Baja Test Kitchen is dedicated to the exploration of Baja California’s emergent culinary movement. We curate and share the distinct flavors of Baja California cuisine through our online community, our signature wine, craft beer, and culinary tasting tours, and cooking workshops. Our mission is to inspire others to develop an appreciation of Northern Baja’s unique culinary culture. For more information and news about the Baja culinary scene, follow Baja Test Kitchen on Facebook.