Day: March 1, 2019

A Tecate sunrise…

The sunrise part will actually be a bit later this morning.  Last night, in Tecate, was stellar.

Gresh and I are heading into Baja later this month, but life is what happens while you’re making plans and Joe and I both felt it was best to push the trip out for a couple of weeks.  I’ve got a wedding to get to, Joe Gee is busy pouring concrete and getting his new tractor online, and before we knew it, our current activities and those of the next few days ganged up on us.  We ran out of time for our planned 2019 10-day Baja expedition.  It’s gonna happen, but not this weekend.  Give us a couple more weeks.

Still, I had the urge to cross the border, and specifically, to visit Tecate.  I have a story due for one of the magazines, and Susie and I decided to drive the 147 miles and spend the evening in this fine northern Baja town. Yep, it’s dateline Tecate. It’s where we are now.

Getting here and getting the trip together was a snap. Throw a few things in an overnight bag, grab the Nikon and a couple of fast lenses I like, get my BajaBound insurance for one night in Mexico (it was ridiculously inexpensive and it’s the only one I use when I’m in Baja), and we were off. Three hours later, we crossed the border into Mexico.

Susie and I felt like a fancy dinner last night.   You might be wondering…in Tecate?   Oh, yeah.  Amores is definitely the place for fine dining in Tecate.  Dinner there is a world class gourmet event.  Amores is tucked away in a hidden corner of this border town, and it is, to borrow a phrase, an Epicurean delight (I love that word, but I confess I don’t know what it means…if there’s a place called Epicurea, tell me about it and Gresh and I will ride our motorcycles there).

Our Tecate dinner was exquisite. We opted for five-courses (Amores has options that go up to seven courses).  Each course was better than the previous one, and the first course was awesome.  Yep, it just kept getting better and better.

Here you go, folks…enjoy!

Susie in Amores, in Tecate, Baja, Mexico. We could tell right away…this was going to be good!  Amores is a bit tough to find, and the exterior offers no clues as to what awaits inside.  But find it, enter, and an amazing experience unfolds.
Adriana pouring our wine. Sue opted for the Merlot; I had the a Cabernet. Everything served in Amores is local; these wines are from northern Baja vineyards.
Bread baked in Tecate. Jonathan, the Amores Master Chef, told us that Tecate is known throughout Mexico for its breads. Who knew? The bread was exquisite, as was the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the onion jelly (it had incredible flavor), and the locally-prepared kimchi. Kimchi! In Tecate! Go figure! Again, who knew?
Course No. 1:  Our salad. But not just any salad. Hydroponic lettuce (grown in water), hot and cold vegetables with thin pear slices, and an amazing blend of tastes. Just exquisite!
During our dinner, I snuck over to the kitchen. That’s Jonathan, the Master Chef. He visited with us several times during our meal, which made it even more enjoyable.
Another photo of the kitchen crew hard at work. We were having a great time.
Course No. 2. We weren’t sure what it was, until Pablo, one of the two chefs, came over to explain it to us when I asked for a fork. They brought a soup spoon, and I learned that I was looking at baby octopus. Still, why a soup spoon?
Ah, yes…the tomato-based soup, poured over the octopus at our table. Again, it was delicious.
Soup time!
Course No. 3. Susie and I both opted for freshly-caught Baja corvina. It was delicious.
But wait…there’s more! This was my Course No. 4: Pork, and it was even better than the last course! There are two cuts of pork here and both were wonderful.
Susie’s Course No. 4: Chicken. I tried a little bit and it was yet another wonderful dish. These guys are world class!
And finally, our last course: Dessert. That’s a homemade cake adorned with assorted fruits and a blackberry sorbet nestled in brown sugar. It was as good as I’ve ever had anywhere in the world, and it made for a fitting finale to our grand Tecate evening.

You know, Tecate is a gritty, industrial border town that anchors the northern end of the Ruta del Vino and is home to the Tecate Brewery.  I would have never imagined this kind of dining was available here.  Los Angeles, sure.  New York City, you bet.   But Tecate?  Who knew?

We’re going to try to get a tour of the Tecate Brewery today, and then it’s on for a quick run south on the Ruta del Vino to the L.A. Cetto vineyard for olive oil, olives, a bit of wine tasting, and of course, a bottle or two of wine to take home.  Good times, folks!