When I excitedly told my mother that I was heading down to Baja for the weekend on a food and media trip courtesy of the Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau, she told me to avoid SUVs. The horror stories surrounding drug cartels and murders coming out of Tijuana had my mother convinced that anyone riding around in a Lincoln Navigator would soon be staring into the barrel of a gun. I promised her I’d be very careful.
Grossly skewed media reports, like the ones my mother was reading, inspired Bill of Street Gourmet LA to work in concert with the Crossborder Agency, Cotuco (Tijuana Tourism Board), and Tijuana Canirac (Tijuana Restaurant Association) to spearhead a gastronomical dash through the region. While the mainstream media was fixated on the dark side of Baja, Bill wanted to share the more hospitable and delicious side.
I was joined on this journey by fellow bloggers, acclaimed food writers, chefs, and restaurateurs, including Eddie of Deep End Dining, Anna of Across the Border, Josh of FoodGPS, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, H.C. of LA-OC Foodventures, Matt of Mattatouille, Pat of Eating L.A., Nancy of NancyZaslavsky.com, Abby of Pleasure Palate, Javier of Teenage Glutster, Noah of Man Bites World and Squid Ink, Barbara of TableConversation, and culinary professionals from Las Cabronas, La Casita Mexicana, Ciudad and Border Grill
I’ve experienced my share of gorge fests these past couple of years (See: Saigon, Bangkok, and Hong Kong), but nothing, and I mean nothing, can compare to the forty-eight hours I spent in Baja. Donkeys painted to look like zebras are cool and all, but you ain’t seen anothing yet!
—
BAJA BITES: 2 Days, 3 Cities, 18 Meals
Introduction > 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6 > 7 > 8 > 9 > 10 > 11 > 12 > 13 > 14 > 15 > 16 > 17 > 18
I’m a little afraid. You and that zebra-painted donkey kind of scare me, Miss Cathy. But I think I like it.
Cool! I can’t wait to hear about your culinary adventures!
I hear Kandahar is nice this time of year, too. There may be a burgeoning food scene there, too. Good luck on your adventures, or as they say south of Pico, vaya con dios.
You actually saw donkeys painted as zebra’s down there?!
Steve – You always make me laugh! TJ is safe. They have policemen riding around in jeeps carrying huge machine guns! The people are in good hands 😉
Jackie – I saw many! The locals call them ZONKEYS!
18 meals in 2 days??? That sounds crazy, but also something I would want to do. Haha. I’ve never seen a zonkey before…
This is awesome! great series. i feel like i’ve been on a mini-break.
I am jealous much! And where do you put all that food?
looks like something from a david lynch film… I’m looking forward to reading about it!
Cathy! Im so happy you finally really had an experience with my peoples real food! Oh yes, its the Suburbans you have to watch out for not the Navigators 😉
I hope your mommy will let you come with me to Baja again, now that she knows how safe it is.