The holidays have come to an end, and we have started another new year. The year has been off to a great start so far, and I can not wait to see what is in store for us. We are settled back in at home here, but there are still mornings that I can’t help but stare out the window longingly, just imagining that it is the beach in Simpson Bay.
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There has been much anticipation awaiting the launch of the Hacienda de La Flor tequila line by Chef Marcela and Antonio Valladolid. Yesterday afternoon, Searsucker in downtown San Diego held an intimate soft launch for their Organic Hacienda de La Flor brand. The absolutely beautiful bottles of tequila lined the bar and surrounding areas, and before we knew it, the restaurant slowly started to fill up with close family, friends, and press.
We were greeted with a crafted cocktail made especially for the event. Local mixologist Jen Queen wanted to create a cocktail that didn’t mask the natural flavors of the tequila. She used prickly pear, with an added hint of reduced Habanero syrup and Rosemary. The color of the cocktail itself was absolutely stunning, I felt as if I just kept looking at it with a dreamy stare. Each sip had a slight tartness, with the heat of the chile coming out in the back of your throat. Most importantly though, the tequila was still the star. With this taste, I couldn’t wait to experience the rest of the line. I would love for this cocktail to frequent my life a lot more often.
The cocktails and conversation were flowing, as Marcela and Antonio Valladolid took front and center. It truly is something special to hear about their “labor of love”, and craftsmanship that went into creating their brand and line of tequila. The tequila itself is 100 percent Organic, and each classification is crafted with excellence.
The time had come to taste the different types of tequila, and with that came a couple of small bites from Chef Jo Jo to accompany them. We started off with the young Blanco tequila, and carried on with the Reposado, Anejo, and Extra Anejo. The small plates started with a Hamachi Crudo with spicy Watermelon sauce, and was followed by braised Oxtail sopes (One of my favorites of the day.), Fried Green tomatoes, and Pork belly with mole. Each pairing worked together as a symphony, between the different tequilas and food options.
I loved each tequila that I tasted, and picking a favorite was a bit difficult. Okay, so the Anejo may have come out a bit over the top of the rest for me. With that being said though, I would gladly enjoy any of the bottles at any time. As I mentioned before, the bottles are gorgeous, and I am happy to have one gracing the counter tops of my kitchen as we speak.
We wish you absolute success with the Hacienda de La Flor Tequila line, we know that it will be a hit!
El Taller is one of the three of Chef Miguel Angel Guerrero’s restaurants. The first time that we paid a visit to El Taller was almost a year ago. Ever since then, we have made numerous visits, and each time the food has been absolutely delicious. The restaurant overall has a great vibe, and don’t even get me started on the pizzas. The ingredients on their specialty pizzas vary a bit with the different seasons, but there is always a nice variety on the menu. They have an open kitchen, and you can watch your pizza being put into their wood fired oven. Who doesn’t love beer or wine with their pizza? They have a lengthy wine list, as well a nice selection of beers. We ordered 2 savory pizzas, and their sweet “dessert” pizza. The first savory was the Arrachera con Mole. This Mole indeed has a bit of a kick to it, and ties in very nicely with the peppery arugula, and well seasoned pieces of beef. I love the crust on their pizzas. I am usually picky about crust, but in this case the dough does not over power the pie one bit. You can taste each and every ingredient, with the crust being the ideal base for all of the flavors.
The roasted duck pizza was our other savory choice. The duck is surprisingly light, and of course bursting with flavor. If you are a fan of duck as I am, you must order this pizza. The peppers add great texture, especially next to the melty cheese, and tender duck.
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I can not resist the smell of fresh bread coming out of the oven. Are there many people that can? At the market that we shop at, the second that the fresh bolillo rolls are out, there is a huddle of people. Everyone is trying to squeeze their way in armed with their plastic bags, and tongs.
With the rolls still warm when we arrive home, we normally always make tortas. I try to use them up when they are as fresh as possible, but then there are also times that they get put in the pantry for later. I can’t tell you how many times I have opened the cabinet to a couple of “stale” bolillo rolls. This time around I looked at the stale rolls in a whole different way, and decided that they would be wonderful in a panzanella salad. Toasting them in the oven brings them back to life, and the little crunch adds a great texture to the salad. Next time that you have some left over bolillo rolls go ahead and throw them into this salad. There are so many bright flavors in this salad, and even a bit of heat from the Serrano chiles. I will be serving this salad at my next get together.
This past weekend was my husband’s Birthday celebration weekend. I am pretty sure that we will be continuing the celebration for the next two weeks knowing the size of our family, and different get togethers. His birthday celebration destination of choice was ‘La Sexta”. We met up with some good friends, and headed out into the night.
It was the third anniversary at La Mezcalera, which consisted of free beer and music from a few different DJ’s. We mostly hung out in the back with the music and disco ball, but if you are in the mood for a bit calmer scene that is possible as well. You can hang out in the front by the bar with the tunes of the jukebox blasting.
One of my favorite memories from the 3rd Annual Foodbuzz Festival, was the taste pavilion. I was surrounded my so many wonderful companies, that provided delicious samples and a lot of great information. One of the companies that really stuck out to me was House of Balsamic. I remember returning back to the hotel and still talking about their Balsamic jellies to my husband.
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Every now and then we decide that a quick Tijuana getaway is definitely in order. My husband had some vacation time off work, so we were able to go and spend a couple of nights there during the week. This little roundup of photos is a timeline of how our three days went. We made it to both new and some of our usual spots.
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