Gypsy Jan - 10-11-2011 at 11:21 AM
This review is cross-posted from Chowhound, the original poster is Ringo Gato. If you want to see the pictures he describes, go to: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/811732 and click on the images, they will expand.
"My wife and I had the pleasure of celebrating our anniversary at Caesar's in Tijuana last Saturday night (Oct 8). The c-cktail and wine-paired, eight
course meal, part of the Baja Culinary Fest, was prepared by three notable chefs, Javier Plascencia, Pablo San Román and Juantxo Sánchez. In addition
there were two c-cktail mixologists and a sommelier.
The event started in earnest at about 8:30PM with a rum c-cktail. Later, as courses were served there were two white wines (the first a bone-dry
Sauvignon Blanc, the second a blend of Carignan Blanc [I didn’t know such existed] and macabbeo). Later came a palate-cleansing tequila and honey
c-cktail and then three red wines including one of my favorites, J.C. Bravo Carignan. Dinner concluded close to midnight.
Suffice to say the dishes were beautifully presented and the flavors and textures were a delight, with each dish seeming to outshine its predecessors.
The first attached image shows a menu which may give you an idea of the night’s food and wine pairings. There were some gaps between courses that
seemed a bit long but overall the pace was good considering the number of drinks and wine poured. Pauses gave us time to consider what we had just
eaten and the impossible notion of trying to duplicate similar things at home.
After dinner, the second photo shows the chefs and drink specialists posing for photographs. The chef to the left is Javier Plascencia whose family
operates Caesar’s, reputed to be the home of the salad of the same name. I have been there before and the salad, prepared table-side, is quite good
but this night was for bold, new dishes.
I regret not having the time to get to other Baja Culinary Fest events as I am sure they were as well done as this."
Follow Up Commentary on the Baja Culinary Event Dinner at Caesar's Restaurant
Gypsy Jan - 10-14-2011 at 01:15 PM
This is cross-posted from Chowhound.
The original poster is streetgourmetla (website: http://www.streetgourmetla.com) and all credit goes to him.
"I was there, too. It was ineveitable we'd be in the same place in Baja one of these times. I was in the tapas bar, but also had most of your menu.
You missed the Food Network's Chef Marcela Valladolid, and Chef Jair Tellez of Laja and Mero Toro; they were there,too . The mixologists were Pablo
Moix and Steve Livigni from LA(La Descarga, Harvard and Stone, and Pour Vous)."
I also attended the Mision 19 dinner with Chefs Javier Plascencia, John Sedlar(Rivera), Pablo Salas, and Angel Velazquez. The dinner was outstanding."