OLD BAJA BUDDY - OPENS STEAKHOUSE

STEAKHOUSE AND OLD BAJA FRIENDS

There's a new steakhouse down south...and we sure wish it was a lot closer to Coyote Bay.

This is a restaurant report and a posting about old Baja friends...both good things to write about!

About 25 years ago, while walking on the beach, we met an adventuresome young couple who were rough-camping on Coyote Bay...their names are Pier and Norma Azcona. We became solid friends over the next few years, sharing lots of Baja pleasures together. But Pier and Norma were always lured further south, eventually making their way down the peninsula to settle on the coast just north of La Playita.
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We were a lot younger then (1982-JungleJims, Mulege):
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and now in 2008:

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Over the years, we've hosted some great reunions at mi casa during Pier and Norma's travels back and forth from their Salinas Valley business & King City mountain home to their Baja East Cape beach home. I always start salivating when told of their coming visits, because Pier is one of the true masters at the grill...
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as shown here at one of his famous free beach barbeques at the Cape..

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...someone who gets your steak done perfectly every time, no matter how much wine flows...can marinate, roast and carve a baron of beef to get the cut just the way each guest likes it...or pepper-season a yellowfin steak and grill it to a crusty-juicy perfection..Pier-style. Melt-in-your-mouth-times. (This last Friday we had some yellowtail - jurel - that Pier made his way and it tops my list of best fish dinners ever in Baja...and I’ve had a few of those.)
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Pier’s heritage is Swiss/Mexican and the foods he brings with him show that influence. My personal favorites, that I eagerly await, are: great homemade venison sausages that his grandfather taught him how to make...
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sharp cheeses and hot Basque bread...served with superb red table wine from his own small vineyard/resort...and of course, the always delicious rib-eyes that go on my grill. Forget the diets...break out the corkscrew and the bibs.

Also in the business of farming up north, he brings some wonderfully tasty additions for Felipa's herb garden, which she excells at...Mother Earth style.
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With his partner, Pier recently opened the El Vaquero steakhouse in downtown San Jose del Cabo. That Pier would branch into this business in Baja is no surprise to me, given his US experience in restaurant/food industry. Easy to find, El Vaquero is a nice, spacious, corner building on the town square across from City Hall.
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Appetizers are important and I try to sample as many as possible before dinner. Here you will find many soups, shrimp c-cktail and calamari preparations. I am a fiend for soup and calamari.

Now for the main fare: If you love fine steak dinners like me, you are in for a rare treat in Baja. Pier’s menu specializes in prime rib, new york steaks, rib eyes, & filet mignon. The steaks, ribs, etc. are Iowa imports...so you know they’re absolute best quality. (I had the ‘Cowboy Cut’..a huge prime rib...so I could make my leftovers into a boat sammy for the next day.) I saw a neighboring table's meat dish I want to try next time.. Churrasco steak, charred/grilled with salsa and steak fries, cilantro chimichrurri. For the seafood lover, try the Chilean Salmon, sauteed Baja sea bass, lobster, prawns..plus the obligatory Surf & Turfs. Hint: I had the salmon the second day....I doubt the kitchen crew had to wash that plate.
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El Vaquero also has the Herradura Bar, plus a varied selection of over 90 fine wines to impress your wife or date. .Me: ”Okay, Pancho, we’ll have 2 flagons of Chateau Last Tuesday..”
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Also enjoy the excellent cognac with....dessert...

I never forget dessert. You have a choice of bread pudding, orange crepes, creme brulee, ice creams flambe...ahhhh...sooo good....so good we needed a pry bar to loosen me from my chair..


Mucho positivos about this new eatery...only dos negativos: I’m no rabbit and seldom waste space on salads, but I’m informed by Felipa that great ones do exist at El Vaquero...I wouldn’t know. Also there is something called ‘Poached Baby Peas’ on the dessert menu. That was somewhat alarming...I hate peas.... they should be eradicated from the face of the earth.

Pier...Just funning with you, amigo. Felipa can eat those baby peas.

If you love great steak dinners - barbequed ribs - mouth-watering prime rib...all-top quality beef...then try El Vaquero. You won’t be disappointed. Pier's a fine old-time Baja host, with a professional & friendly staff, and a cozy, relaxing setting in downtown San Jose del Cabo. Tell him Pompano sent you.....

...and tell him to bring me some more venison sausages!-


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(edited to add more current information)

[Edited on 11-2-2008 by Pompano]

Ford

Although Pier has some of the finer chefs in Baja working for him, he's no slouch on the grill himself. Here he is doing his magic on my patio grill in Coyote a couple weeks ago.

We had chicken that tasted just like chicken!






I highly recommend Pier's El Vaquero restaurant in San Jose del Cabo to all Nomads and readers.

You will not be dissapointed.