Food

Opened recently by a well-known Tijuana chef, Benny’s is offering a new and creative menu for Baja residents as well as tourists.  Even the tacos are not the same.  Genuine Marlin makes the difference, just one example of what’s new.  Our visit to this new and delightful restaurant included arriving at the 2 PM happy hour when four different flavored …

Although it is somewhat masked by the large dining canopy in front of Casa Magnolia, the main house is nearly 100 years old, and was relocated from its original location on Avenida Gastelum a few years ago just prior to the restaurant’s opening.  Originally prefabricated and assembled north of the border, it was moved to Ensenada in the early 1920’s …

Does anyone have honeybaked ham for a regular, ordinary, no-big-deal, middle of the week dinner?  Seriously, nobody’s coming over, but you go to the honey-baked ham store and take one home?  I don’t think so.  There are certain things that only seem to work for holidays.  For instance, turkey.  Have you ever bought a turkey in the middle of April, …

Aren’t we all looking for that perfect burger?  The one that exemplifies all we want in a burger?  I want my burger a bit thick, like a hockey puck…. and juicy, not perfectly round with the thickness of a CD case.  I shun those pre-made, perfectly formed frozen burgers that are typically thrown on the grill, sometimes even in the …

The same factors of high rent and escalating costs that have fostered a burgeoning in the appearance of upscale food trucks north of  the border are also driving the trend toward the culinary collectives that are now popping up  around Ensenada.  Both phenomenon allow restaurateurs the opportunity of staying in business with more manageable expenses, while at the same time …

For a slice of tucked away, unspoiled rural life of Mexico, look no further than the fishing village of Popotla.  Leaving the hustle and bustle of the free road, you turn in under the dilapidated arch adjacent to the Baja Studios.  Once you reach the end of the dirt road and politely decline offers of parking, as if by magic, …

It was like another world – away from everything we did or knew in our everyday lives.  This holiday was special.  All my relatives had their own take on what this holiday meant as well as what was allowed or forbidden on the Sabbath. My Mother, Rose, had her own religion that suited her lifestyle, and no one could tell …

When I pause to think about it, it was tomatoes that did it to me, really. That first bite of a vine-ripened-fresh-from-the-plantright-outside-the-front-door-onto-the-plate-tomato –it hooked me, caught me, captured me and coaxed me into becoming a gardener myself. “You mean this is what a tomato really tastes like?” I remember saying out loud, to no one in particular. “I never knew.” …

Just after this eatery opened David and I couldn’t wait to sample their fare, and it was not a happy experience.  Early this week we tried again.  We walked into their beautiful outdoor dining room very carefully and ordered our drinks.  After scanning the menu and seeing the humongous portions being delivered to other diners, we made our move and …