Popotla,Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada,

-
Oops I did it again. 

I went back down to Mexico after my first amazing trip to the Valle de Guadalupe that I had to return with others. 

This time, we stopped by the sleepy seaside town of Popotla first.

Here are the highlights:



my car, after it got stuck on the beach.

you roll your car right in front of the crashing waves, grab a table and order

We saw a fisherman get off his boat with this 
BOATLOAD of uni.

this is maria with her stash

They are ALIVE

my hungry companions

A fisherman with his boat

Before our feast

fresh fresh oysters

Oysters so fresh all you need is some lime and hot sauce.

In Popotla, you buy the seafood and bring it to a stand like this
and ask them to do whatever you want. You can also buy the
seafood from the stands as well.



Our bowl of Uni that we got from our purchase.

Everything is so so fresh.

The campechana we got.

Our Uni

Oysters

Ceviche

Spider Crabs




Rowdy people watching the butchering of fish.



This area was very masculine. 
We were the only women there apart from a 
couple of women who were managing the stands. 





The beautiful, dank chocolate mussels


Our spider crab deep fried

They gave us a rock to pound it with.

Maria is crying over how beautiful this lunch now dinner is.

We got another seafood cocktail.


Then we went to one of the restaurants there to check out the 
Rosarito style lobsters.

We got the smoked marlin tacos here but they weren't as good 
as the ones we had in TJ a while ago.

this rosarito style lobster was bomb.com.


The Spread



Then we went to see some dinosaurs before making our way down 
to the Valle de Guadalupe

*****

After driving around in the dark with no streetlights or GPS we somehow found our bed and breakfast!!! It was so charming and beautiful. It's called Casa Encinares and we found them on airbnb.com and got a great deal. For the three of us, we got the big house on top of the hill that was divided in half. We got lucky!!! Well, except for the hike up to our quarters but then again, we sorta needed the exercise seeing how much food we had just consumed and we were about to tackle way more.


In front of our quarters. Too bad I didn't get a good shot of the house.


The main area

We joined the other people who were there for some brekkie


BTW their breakfast was fantastic. 

We opted to do the wine tour with the b&b and oh look! 
You can see our house on top of the hill. 
Yup! Half of that was our quarters!

We made new friends quickly

This is inside our booze bus

Before the wine tour

LA Cetto Winery









Then we went to Endemico! Where I stayed the last time I was there.


So beautiful


Starting to get tipsy

quick cheese tasting

okay, drunk

At one of the 3 wineries we went to

***************

Before heading back to LA, we had to stop by Ensenada to eat at La Guerrerense. By far, this little stand is the most well-known seafood place from Ensenada in LA (and maybe anywhere outside of Ensenada). 


Typically in any port city where cruises dock, you wouldn't assume
that the best place to eat at in that city is right in the middle of
tourist central. But in this case, it is!!!

Just look for locals whenever you travel and you will be at a legit spot.

We got a variety of seafood tostadas and devoured everything




After, we drove down a couple blocks to get some 
amazing fish tacos, ensenada style.

This place was so legit, on the corner of the street.
Absolutely no tourists in sight.

There is no address for that fish taco spot but it was right next to this place

So we got some paletas...

and

Then we did some tourist shit:



Like order micheladas and get friendship bracelets.





It took forever to cross the border back to the U.S.
I think I have to get a SENTRY pass or a fast pass.
I can't deal with the wait and I'm itching to go back again.

My Loot:


Yes, I brought back ONE chair. 
some wine, olive oil, bread, cheese,
two vases, a blanket, 
some ceramics, ONE handmade glass.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Sesame - the food trend I love

-
Image
Black sesame ice cream, black sesame cake, black sesame creme brulee, black sesame mochi, black sesame mochi ice cream, black sesame sauce, black sesame paste, black sesame soup, black sesame dim sum, black sesame gelato.... Is it just me or is this the new trend in desserts? Especially among Asian (or Asian-inspired) restaurants, the black sesame could be the new red bean! According to Betty Hall from LA Times , not only is the black sesame taking America by storm, it's wildly popular in Europe as well. Growing up, I've always had black sesame in my food. Many Korean dishes call for it, but never had I had it in a delicious dessert until I tried the Sesame Bean Sensation ($7.50) at Royal/T cafe , located in Culver City, CA. It was a layered cake with gray sesame cream filling. The nutty and sophisticated taste of the black sesame with the girly sweetness of the fruity cake got me hooked. Ever since then, I've been on the look out for black sesame anything. When I went to L
Read more

Cuñape

-
Image
"Cuñape" is the best cheeseballs in the world, and it’s from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. These gooey and addictive cheese balls are similar to the Brazilian "pão de queijo" or the French "gougères" or the Colombian "pandebono" but all of these are different from each other as well. Gougères are lighter and more airy while the Brazilian ones are chewier but drier on the outside. I would say the pandebonos are closest in taste and texture to the Bolivian cuñape but it is slight more bready. In Bolivia, we use mennonite cheese (farmer's cheese) for this recipe and honestly without that cheese it will never be exactly like the original but you do what you can. I've been hunting down a similar cheese in the U.S. for ages but the closest I can get to it is to use the queso blanco or fresco and add some more salt (or even mix some feta into it). The history of the cuñape is very interesting. It is a Guaraní word that means "a woman's b
Read more

Making Mocochinchi

-
Image
I get really excited when I can think of a food or drink that is solely Bolivian. I admit there isn't too many Bolivian dishes that are not influenced by the many countries that it borders. Even the Saltena, Bolivia's most famous empanada looking pastry comes from a woman who came from Salta, Argentina, to Tarija, Bolivia.  So when I'm researching Mocochinchi, my favorite childhood and now adulthood drink, made from dehydrated whole peaches, sugar, and cinnamon, and I find that it's a "Bolivian"drink , I get really really excited. Bolivia Bella  goes on to describe regional favorites.  In Santa Cruz, you can buy the dehydrated peaches in the open markets. I snag a pound of dehydrated peaches because you really can't find these in the U.S. except maybe in Miami or Virginia, where there is a huge population of Bolivians. Using sliced dehydrated peaches don't really work for this particular drink because the fun is eating the reconstituted pe
Read more