BajaNomad - Rick Bayless in Rosarito! (and TJ and Ensenada)

Rick Bayless in Rosarito! (and TJ and Ensenada)

Gypsy Jan - 2-16-2011 at 07:47 PM

From a friend, Dining Diva:

"GJ, for what it's worth, RB was in your neck of the woods today.

Breakfast at the venerable old Rosarito Beach Hotel follwed by a taco crawl. I know his first stop was El Yaqui and Mazateño was another. He also hit up Erizo.

Slated for Ensenada manaña"

And my repy:

"OHH Fudge! (chow-themed swearing). It's a good thing I didn't know anything about it or I would be in trouble now for stalking.

For the record, we had breakfast at Splash that day and I can assure you that the food was ten times better than at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, as much as I love the place as a historical and beautiful place. The views, decor and drinks are awesome there, though.

P.S. RB should have gone to El Gerente (three blocks north of Yaqui). Hugo, the original head chef at Yaqui, has his own place now and IMHO, Yaqui has slipped because of this."

goldhuntress - 2-16-2011 at 11:35 PM

Sounds like he's doing a Baja tour, cool!! So much good food to try!! This is a pic from a place in Ensenada called the Art Cafe, I think. It's gone now. I asked to take a pic and they did this pose spontaneously, at least it seemed like it.

martir2004 049(1).jpg - 49kB

The Gull - 2-17-2011 at 04:57 AM

Which one is Rick Bayless?

mcfez - 2-17-2011 at 07:48 AM

Neither

index.jpg - 4kB

bajabound2005 - 2-17-2011 at 07:50 AM

rumor has him at Laja today

DENNIS - 2-17-2011 at 08:52 AM

Isn't this guy a little over-blown in importance? I mean....he isn't the second coming of Christo. He's a fry cook who went to another level.

krafty - 2-17-2011 at 08:59 AM

never heard of him

mcfez - 2-17-2011 at 09:44 AM

Now this lady has a way to cook! I vote for her to be the best

Paula Deen

www.pauladeen.com/

SoCal-Bob - 2-17-2011 at 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Now this lady has a way to cook! I vote for her to be the best

Paula Deen

www.pauladeen.com/

You must like butter... alot. She makes a mean butter kabob with a butter reduction dipping sauce. :lol:

SoCal-Bob - 2-17-2011 at 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
Isn't this guy a little over-blown in importance? I mean....he isn't the second coming of Christo. He's a fry cook who went to another level.

Well, in reality no one except Christ is the second coming... but I digreess.

I often wonder this about many celebrity chefs and whether their popularity, personality and good looks is a factor in everyone liking their food. Are they really that good or is it their reputation? Who knows.

I've never eaten at one of Rick's restaurants, but I have watched his cooking show and a story on how he came to be a chef.

I don't get the impression that his love for Mexican quisine is just something he picked in order to start a restaurant or to be his "point of view" for a cooking show. He lived in Mexico for something like 6-8 years learning about the different styles of cooking before he became a chef. I think his appreciation for Mexican cooking is genuine. He is also fluent in Spanish and, I believe, self-taught.

Overblown Celebrity?

Gypsy Jan - 2-17-2011 at 12:18 PM

I cannot answer that question.

But, I can say that I have two of his early cookbooks, "Authentic Mexican, Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico"and "Mexican Kitchen", as well as several of Diana Kennedy's cookbooks.

My Rick Bayless cookbooks are stained, ripped and falling apart, because I have used them so often to find information and inspiration about using the wonderful ingredients that Mexico has to offer.

If you read them, you not only get recipes, you get a respectful rendition of the culture and passion of Mexico.

[Edited on 2-17-2011 by Gypsy Jan]

krafty - 2-17-2011 at 04:08 PM

Agreed about Paula Deen-fat is her friend. BUT-she has a mean stuffed french toast casserole with a praline topping that is a winner everywhere we take it.

mtgoat666 - 2-17-2011 at 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal-Bob

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
Isn't this guy a little over-blown in importance? I mean....he isn't the second coming of Christo. He's a fry cook who went to another level.

it's called showmanship. most of the people that watch cooking on TV don't eat good food or care about good food -- most of you eat at Del Taco or Carls Jr

cooking is really boring without drama. i like the chef that yells at everyone, has an insult/put down for everyone. what's his name?

kaybaj - 2-17-2011 at 04:37 PM

Anthony Bourdain?

mcfez - 2-17-2011 at 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal-Bob

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
Isn't this guy a little over-blown in importance? I mean....he isn't the second coming of Christo. He's a fry cook who went to another level.

Gordon Ramsay

DENNIS - 2-17-2011 at 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Gordon Ramsay

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/imageBank/cache/g/Gordon-Ramsay...

Hook - 2-17-2011 at 05:19 PM

Quote:

i like the chef that yells at everyone, has an insult/put down for everyone.

We wouldn't have suspected anything else, Goat.

Bajahowodd - 2-17-2011 at 05:20 PM

I have decidely mixed feelings about Bayless. On one hand, I could condemn him for being from Oklahoma, which is hardly the ground zero of Mexican cuisine. And I could condemn him for going to Chicago of all places, to open his first Mexican restaurant, figuring that he decided there would be way less competition for complex regional Mexican cuisine that far from the SW US and the border.

On the other hand, it appears that he spent years in Mexico surveying and sampling the regional cuisine.

He does appear to be able to turn out some very special dishes that people who frequent Taco Bell or even El Torito would never encounter.

My dream scenario would be to have Anthony Bourdain visit a few of Bayless' places! Let the games begin!

Lee - 2-17-2011 at 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666
most of the people that watch cooking on TV don't eat good food or care about good food -- most of you eat at Del Taco or Carls Jr

cooking is really boring without drama. i like the chef that yells at everyone, has an insult/put down for everyone. what's his name?

Broad strokes from a non-foodie.

Cooking boring? Yeah, maybe if you're making fish tacos.

The level Bourdain, Ramsey and Bayless cook at makes it look easy.

Non-foodies wouldn't know good food if it were served by one of these chefs.

DENNIS - 2-17-2011 at 05:27 PM

Here's Rick putting together one of his signature dishes:

http://tinyurl.com/4ddlfmw

burnrope - 2-17-2011 at 06:55 PM

I've had great Mexican food in San Diego, Baja, New Mexico, Arizona and Northern California. It's about the ingredients and how fresh they are and how they are combined. They have all been pretty good to excellent. There's probably good Mexican food to be had in Texas, but I haven't been there yet. I tried to make Mexican food in Calgary in 1978 for some friends and hit a wall at the grocery store. They seemed to like it, ignorance is bliss.

Yes, burnrope

Gypsy Jan - 2-17-2011 at 07:25 PM

You are so right.

DENNIS - 2-17-2011 at 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by burnrope
There's probably good Mexican food to be had in Texas, but I haven't been there yet.

I think Texas has developed a style of their own...Tex-Mex. It's also said that if Taco Bell has any style what-so-ever, it would be Tex-Mex.
Didja know the Taco Bell in Chula Vista doesn't sell Coffee? Maybe none of them sell coffee. I don't know, but I know they should. What kind of fast food joint doesn't sell coffee?
Very strange if you ask me. :no:

JESSE - 2-18-2011 at 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
My dream scenario would be to have Anthony Bourdain visit a few of Bayless' places! Let the games begin!

That! would be interesting to say the least.

simple!!

capt. mike - 2-18-2011 at 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by burnrope
There's probably good Mexican food to be had in Texas, but I haven't been there yet.

coffee is a diuretic essentially.
when i need to krapp i may drink some.
conversely all fast food are diuretics as well.
when i eat any which is never for the most part i need to krapp usually very soon afterwards.....
ergo - they don't need to sell coffee at fast food joints. :lol:

by the way have you seen Denis Leary's take on fast food and the french? frickin hilarious.

Cypress - 2-18-2011 at 06:13 AM

Coffee? No longer drink it. Have retired and don't need the caffeine ""kick" to wake me up and keep me going. Fast food? Will pass on that also.

Some interesting reading for later .....

mcfez - 2-18-2011 at 07:48 AM

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmexican.html

From
http://www.foodtimeline.org/index.html

DENNIS - 2-18-2011 at 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike

coffee is a diuretic essentially.
when i need to krapp i may drink some.
conversely all fast food are diuretics as well.
when i eat any which is never for the most part i need to krapp usually very soon afterwards.....

Thank you. :lol:

Bajahowodd - 2-18-2011 at 04:34 PM

Mexican cuisine consists of a varied array of ingedients and style. People who post on this forum are, for the most part aware of that. The general populace of the US is probably more enured to either the bean and cheese burritos at Taco Bell and/or for the gourmet splurge, the fare at El Torito.

That said, Mexican cuisine in the US is every bit as varied as it is in Mexico. I noticed this years ago when I stumbled upon sopapillas in New Mexico, having not encountered them in LA.

But, I suppose that as a culture, we constantly evolve and hopefully improve. After all, I recall when Chinese food fundamentally consisted of Chow Mein, Chop Suey and Egg Foo Young. :lol:

woody with a view - 2-18-2011 at 04:43 PM

are those sopapillas the crispy pillows filled with honey?

DENNIS - 2-18-2011 at 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
are those sopapillas the crispy pillows filled with honey?

Here ya go, Woody. There are probably other recipes, but this will get you started:

http://www.squidoo.com/mexican-sopapillas-recipe

Bajahowodd - 2-18-2011 at 05:43 PM

There you go!

BajaBruno - 2-19-2011 at 12:42 PM

Tex-Mex, which is mostly greasy ground meat combined with Velveeta, is to Mexican cuisine as English food is to French food.

Rick Bayless knows that Mexican food goes far beyond tacos, enchiladas, and burritos. I've learned a lot from his books and television shows.

Mexitron - 2-19-2011 at 03:46 PM

Yep, Tex-Mex pretty much is a disappointment, although I imagine San Antonio has some decent places. Nothing comparable here to a Juanita's (Encinitas).
That said, Texans flock to these places like Joe T Garcias, Esperanzas, Mercado Juarez Cafe, and these places are HUGE...to their credit they're there to have a good time, see their friends, and whoop it up...the food is secondary.

woody with a view - 2-19-2011 at 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
are those sopapillas the crispy pillows filled with honey?

Here ya go, Woody. There are probably other recipes, but this will get you started:

http://www.squidoo.com/mexican-sopapillas-recipe

man, my Granny would be rolling over in her grave if i made them. these were a treat for her, from her days in el paso in the 50's-60's. never found them here. she always raved about them though!