Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
|
|
"Cafe El Cienega" - Baja Hwy 1 - north of Jesus Maria
This is the first time I had the opportunity to check out this small Baja Road cafe and motel.
It's called El Cienega. Located on Hwy 1 north of Jesus Maria 30-40 miles, mas o menos.
Looks to be a favorite of local ranchers and OTR truckers, so this time we gave it a go..and I'm glad we did.
It is a plain, no frills, sit-down cafe run by two very friendly senoritas..each named Celia. Their kitchen sparkled, as did thier personalities.
We ordered some cold Tecates which the ladies accompanied with fresh homemade chips and a tasty salsa, plus ...one grilled fish dinner, one grilled
chicken dinner, and one hearty rancheros soup dinner...all were eaten by us con mucho gusto with side dishes & both corn and flour tortillas. I
would definetely go back for more on the next trip.
The entire bill was way too cheap, but the tip can take care of any embarrassment by the appreciative traveler. Along with a snapshot together, it
was a very nice stop and dinner. I enjoyed it immensely and reminds me to take advantage of these small cafes
where genuine friendships often start.
Plus we spent a cozy and secure night in the motorhome near the cafe by the well-lit mini-motel. I offered to pay for the priveledge, but dos Cielas
insisted on offering free camping. Mil gracias, senoritas.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
|
|
|
rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6700
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
|
|
Been going there for years. Great place... too bad the highway sign is misspelled "La Sienega"
[Edited on 5-2-2012 by rts551]
|
|
|
Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by rts551
Been going there for years. Great place... too bad the highway sign is misspelled "La Sienega"
[Edited on 5-2-2012 by rts551] |
I asked them about the name...'La Cienega'. The ladies told me it meant 100 water-something? I could not quite catch their explanation, plus my
hearing is nicht zu gut.
rts551...Be nice to know some history & meaning of the name differences, if you have it?
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
|
|
|
rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6700
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
|
|
They told me that someone brought the sign from Ensenada misspelled. It was put up for 1/2 price.
A cienega is a spring...probably reflecting the green arroyo in nearby Nuevo Rosarito
|
|
|
toneart
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4901
Registered: 7-23-2006
Member Is Offline
Mood: Skeptical
|
|
Roger,
Who are those people in the photo with the Dos Celias?
|
|
|
Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4275
Registered: 1-27-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
|
|
I Plugged "Cienega" into the Online Spanish Dictionary
And the school-marm nagging app told me that it was spelled "Ciénaga". 
Anywhooo, the word means "marsh or bog".
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
|
|
|
chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
Member Is Offline
Mood: Weary
|
|
I was on an elk hunt in Arizona once and the guide kept saying we would find elk near the "Senecas"...Finally figured it out....
|
|
|
fudscrud
Nomad
Posts: 113
Registered: 6-8-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
La Cienega is around Rosarito?
I'll add that to the list too.
Thanks Pompano
|
|
|
Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by fudscrud
La Cienega is around Rosarito?
I'll add that to the list too.
Thanks Pompano |
Hole fuscrud....La Cienega is about 30-40 miles north of Jesus Maria. Cannot vouch for the rooms, but if the café is by the same folks I think it
will be okay. Buena suerte.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
|
|
|
fudscrud
Nomad
Posts: 113
Registered: 6-8-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thanks Pompano, I accidently posted in both threads.
|
|
|
Frank
Senior Nomad
Posts: 861
Registered: 6-5-2005
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Is it time to leave yet?
|
|
Thanks for the review Rodger, I'll make sure it's on our list.
|
|
|
desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2400
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by toneart
Roger,
Who are those people in the photo with the Dos Celias? |
exactly what I was going to ask?????????????????
|
|
|
Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by desertcpl
| Quote: | Originally posted by toneart
Roger,
Who are those people in the photo with the Dos Celias? |
exactly what I was going to ask????????????????? |
This is a time for:
MAUDE TELLS ALL - Baja Gossip Network
Since you ask dear readers, those fellow travelers, Phyl & Scot, are a fine couple met at Olivia & Mark's Buenaventura Café and Casa Coyote.
I am told by my secret sources that they provided great company, an exuberant bartender, and expert help driving an extra vehicle. They hail from
Vancouver, BC & Newport Beach.
Remember, I always keep my sources, like Pompano, confidential.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
|
|
|
BeemerDan
Nomad
Posts: 187
Registered: 1-13-2011
Location: Port Orchard Wa
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thats a great place, I always stop on my up or down for lunch.
|
|
|
luv2fish
Nomad
Posts: 455
Registered: 5-8-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
Located on Hwy 1 north of Jesus Maria 30-40 miles, mas o menos.
|
Hey Pompano I was wondering, where Jesus and Maria is located ??
The reason I ask, is because I believe I have seen this place but it was way north of San Quintin. Thank You
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65068
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
luv2fish question help...
Look at the top of this map:
Bigger area, older map...
[Edited on 3-22-2013 by David K]
|
|
|
BajaRat
Super Nomad
Posts: 1303
Registered: 3-2-2010
Location: SW Four Corners / Bahia Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ready for some salt water with my Tecate
|
|
Thanks..... we always wonder about these places at 100 kh. For fast road food we like Paulinas across hwy from the Pemex in Jesus Maria. She whips up
carne asada burros for 20p each and you make them up the way you want them with the sides they pack to go. I like hot salsa and hers makes me cry.
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65068
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
On my February research trip, I noted Restaurant La Cienega (just south of Nuevo Rosarito) with several trucks stopped (good sign), was at Km.
54.5 (between the L.A. Bay Junction and the Eagle Monument/ State Border)... about 25 miles north of Villa Jesus MarÃa (Km. 95).
|
|
|
Bajaboy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4375
Registered: 10-9-2003
Location: Bahia Asuncion, BCS, Mexico
Member Is Offline
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by David K  | | On my February research trip, I noted Restaurant La Cienega (just south of Nuevo Rosarito) with several trucks stopped (good sign), was at Km.
54.5 (between the L.A. Bay Junction and the Eagle Monument/ State Border)... about 25 miles north of Villa Jesus MarÃa (Km. 95).
|
Good food, nice ladies. Clean bathrooms as well.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
