Alan
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Posts: 1627
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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Azul Marino - La Paz
Just had one of the nicest most relaxing meals I have enjoyed in quite a while. I haven't seen them mentioned here often but I thought I would remind
everyone about Azul Marino at the Costa Baja Marina. I started my meal with a tortilla soup then had the filet in a peppercorn reduction accompanied
by a very nice Chilean Merlot then topped of the evening with a chocolate volcano cake with a scoop of vanilla. The service was impeccable and every
course of the meal was perfection
In Memory of E-57
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msrla
Nomad
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Registered: 11-5-2003
Location: Foothills of LA
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agreed, our favorite restaurant in La Paz -the fish tartare appetizer is a meal and to die for!
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4377
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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overrated like most restaurants in La Paz
you get better meals at lower prices on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles
Harald Pietschmann
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
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Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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sounds absolutely decadent. thanks for sharing your experience !
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danaeb
Senior Nomad
Posts: 991
Registered: 11-13-2006
Location: San Diego; El Centenario
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Mood: groovy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 4x4abc
overrated like most restaurants in La Paz
you get better meals at lower prices on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles |
What are your favorite restaurants in La Paz? I'm always looking for places that I haven't visited.
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4377
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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I am thinking of starting a La Paz restaurant review website soon - very personal, not at all objective
I am out almost every night and have been to many many (not all) places
My favorite: delightful setting, polite and discrete service, great food, very reasonable prices: Il Rustico (CALLE REVOLUCION DE 1910 N. 1930)Il Rustico
most restaurants in La Paz promise too much and deliver too little. Lotsa hyped up places (mega $$$$$) with clueless service and mediocre food
great steaks (a bit pricy though - bad service): Estancia Uruguaya
Best restaurant of La Paz is in Todos Santos:Santa Fe
Sushi in La Paz?
Run!
Fast!
Far!
[Edited on 6-21-2012 by 4x4abc]
[Edited on 6-21-2012 by 4x4abc]
Harald Pietschmann
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8955
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 4x4abc
overrated like most restaurants in La Paz
you get better meals at lower prices on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles |
I seriously doubt it. If this wasn't the case, I would be eating on the Sunset Strip every weekend.
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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La Paz is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult city to operate a restaurant in Mexico. People come here and want cheap, great service,
and great food and it aint going to happen for the following reasons:
1.-Good quality beef, some seafood, and other ingredients come from Tijuana or the mainland, thats $$$$$, that means that we pay on average, 50% more
for the same beef they are serving you in San Diego.
2.-It is extremely hard to find qualified foodservice employees in La Paz because of many things, one of them being the laid back culture. Locals
simply cannot understand why foreigners are in a hurry. Labors laws are also very destructive, and as many who have started businesess in baja sur
know, you pay a ton of money in severance, penalties, and lost wages crap each year because its the state sport to sue employers here.
3.-In my opinion, Italian restaurants have the least problems because they mainly use ingredients that can be found locally cheap. In other
restaurants, you need beef, produce from the mainland, and other ingredients from far away and thus have to charge more because you pay a lot more.
Customers demand it, we have to offer it.
There are several good restaurants in town, Azul is one of them, Buffalo is also very good, IlRustico is so so, Milano and La Barcaccia are better.
Apostolis is very good. We have pretty decent sushi at Odayaka, and Jiro Sushi at plaza nautica has a chef that used to work at Nicksan, so very very
decent.
In Todos Santos SantaFe is way overrated and past its prime, Tree Galline is the place to eat Italian these days.
Here in La Paz we suck at seafood, not a single good restaurant in town.
Many of the things i have said have been confirmed by the likes of Rick Bayless, Andrew Zimmerman, and many of the top food bloggers and writters from
the US. A few restaurants here are ranked as top 10 in the whole Baja.
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Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1627
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 4x4abc
overrated like most restaurants in La Paz
you get better meals at lower prices on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles |
???? I hardly think $15-$25 a
plate could be considered unreasonable for what is offered at restaurants such as Tres Virgennes, Azul Marino and Estancia Uraguay.
Jesse's post also identifies many factors I have never even considered but know is spot on in its accuracy, especially the availability of items.
The near total lack of creative seafood dishes has always baffled me (with the exception of Jesse's cabrilla and Azul's YT tartare). I think there is
a huge opportunity here to fill a market need but part of the problem may lie in the initial treatment of the catch. Lying on the floor of a panga
until they get back to the beach is hardly conducive to maintaining freshness.
In Memory of E-57
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65077
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Jesse, what days is Tres Virgenes open in the summer (hours too, please)? Check your u2u in box, as well. Gracias!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65077
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Speaking of La Paz restaurants... what ever happened to the MAR Y PEŅA where we had dinner with Tucker, back in 2001?
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bajalinda
Senior Nomad
Posts: 551
Registered: 6-7-2008
Location: Pacific Coast, BCS
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Jesse - is Apostolis the new Greek restaurant on Morelos and Madero?
We don't get into La Paz more than once a week and are rarely there for dinner, so I can comment more on lunch and breakfast places. That said, we
love Tres Virgenes for a special evening meal and have also had very good meals at Azul Marino and Barcaccia. I agree that Il Rustico is so-so.
In addition to all the above comments, I think consistency is also a problem in La Paz restaurants. Too many times we have had a really good meal
somewhere, and go back and are disappointed.
If we're in the mood for a burger, we go to the Shack. Great burgers, but haven't tried anything else on the menu. Haven't been to Bandido's in a
while, but their burgers were good, too.
For breakfast, our good ole standby is La Fonda (lunch is good there too). And we have also had a really good breakfast at the El Moro Hotel
restaurant. A few weeks ago I would have listed La Marmolera as a favorite breakfast place, but we went there recently for breakfast (the first time
we'd been there since their remodel) and were really disappointed. They have really raised their prices (I guess they have to pay for the remodel?)
and the spinach omelette I ordered arrived at the table as a chard omelette instead..........hhmmmmm. What a bummer! I really liked that place, but
will be reluctant to go back there.
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DavidT
Nomad
Posts: 494
Registered: 4-9-2005
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Alan
Lying on the floor of a panga until they get back to the beach is hardly conducive to maintaining freshness. |
True that. The times I've been there I wasn't too fresh when we got back.
David
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| Quote: | Originally posted by soulpatch
There is a place referenced
here
I believe it is called Bandidos, that was packed every night I was in La Paz.
My neighbors said they enjoyed it very much.
A very cool atmosphere outside.
I am certain it is not high end dining but it sure smelled good.
[Edited on 6-21-2012 by soulpatch] |
Yes it is packed, but then again paceņos pack those awful creme cheese sushis with horrible rice and chipotle mayo all the time.
Bandidos burgers are ok, but at good at all.
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bajalinda
Senior Nomad
Posts: 551
Registered: 6-7-2008
Location: Pacific Coast, BCS
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PS - let's not forget the bagel shop! Great coffee and bagels and they serve breakfast too - even have waffles!
Danaeb - what are your favorite places - any recommendations?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65077
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Tres Virgenes: days open/ hours in July?
Mar Y Peņa: what came of it, or is it still in business?
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bajalinda
Senior Nomad
Posts: 551
Registered: 6-7-2008
Location: Pacific Coast, BCS
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David, as far as I know Mar y Peņa is still open. Perhaps a La Paz resident will chime in and tell you for sure. I drove by it a couple of weeks ago
in the morning and the building sign still said "Mar y Peņa".
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acadist
Super Nomad
Posts: 1125
Registered: 3-31-2007
Location: Spanaway,WA
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Mood: Waiting for the Sun
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalinda
PS - let's not forget the bagel shop! Great coffee and bagels and they serve breakfast too - even have waffles!
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Here, Here! Help them out, I want them to be there on my next trip!! Try the homemade lox, I don't know where he gets the salmon but it is great!
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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