When I’m presented with the opportunity to travel, I quickly open my schedule to try to make it happen. But when I have the chance to travel with my bestie Omar, aka Oaxacking, I usually find myself packing my bags without any thought. This, in a nutshell, is how I ended up on a 4 day adventure Bajacking with Oaxacking.
I have met Omar in Tijuana twice before, so I knew getting to him was going to be easy. From Vancouver, it’s only a 2 1/2 hour flight to San Diego. Within an hour of that, with the help of my “reverse-coyote” Heriberto, I found myself across the border and sharing a drink with Omar.
Aruba Day Drink bar is everyone’s favourite in Tijuana for delicious cocktails and bites, and even more so because it opens at 2:00pm. Sipping my perfectly wonderful cocktail, surrounded by amazing friends with the sun shining on my face, I was happy I decided to make the trip down.
Attending a baseball game is one of my favourite things to do when I’m away. So when our evening’s plans included a visit to Estadio Chevron to watch the Toros de Tijuana play, I was super excited.
A big reason why I enjoy going to a ballgame is for the stadium food. At the games I’ve been to in Oaxaca, I’ve learned that the food is much more delightful. It ‘s also more interesting and varied than what I’ve had at the American MLB parks I’ve visited. The food at Estadio Chevron was even more impressive than what I’ve eaten in Oaxaca.
Before we took our seats, we wandered down Estadio Chevron stadium’s taco alley through a wonder of delicious sights and smells. I had a hard time choosing but in the end chose carnitas and al pastor tacos.
At our seats, the food vendors brought around a diverse array of treats including beef jerky smothered in salsa, pigs feet, fruit plates and of course big beers rimmed in chamoy
After the game, we traveled back into town to visit a couple of dive bars to end our evening. First up was the Tropics Bar. It was a dive bar in the most classic sense, rather than the modern day hipster filled dive bars that are more prevalent today. I felt “safe” traveling in a pack with an all Mexican crew. But I’m not sure if I’d return here in a different situation. I was told to order bottled beer and was served up a Mega 940ml bottle for almost the same price as a tiny (regular sized) beer.
Our second stop was a little less divey but much more famous as I immediately recognized it. Anthony Bourdain had visited Dandy Del Sur Cantina in his No Reservations episode of the Baja in 2012.
Dandy Del Sur Cantina is famous for their margaritas. Of course, we had to have a round served alongside their offering of olives and beef jerky in salsa (I didn’t realize it was a thing here).
Our plan for the next morning was to head to Ensenada early to have birria for breakfast. The plan sounded just right to me, so I decided to pass on grabbing anything for the road. Before we made our way south, we headed due west for one stop. “The wall”.
I make sure to visit Friendship Park whenever I’m in TJ, but my visits with Omar always feel more meaningful. In my life now, I travel abundantly and move easily between countries. It’s good to be reminded of how fortunate I am that my passport gives me the freedom to do so.
We left Tijuana. After a few wrong turns, a dead car battery, and a highway detour due to an accident, the 1 1/2 hour trip to Ensenada turned into a 4 hour journey. We didn’t arrive into the city until 2:00pm. I was hungry and regretting not having packed a bag full of emergency provisions.
Birrieria El Cora was a super local, hole in the wall and smelled so delicious when we walked in. Birria is thought of more as breakfast food. (I didn’t know this.) I’m happy we stuck to our plan to eat here.
We ordered both lamb (borrego) and goat (chivo) a la plancha, which meant they fried the already cooked shredded meat on the grill top to a nice crisp. This was served with caldito (consomme) on the side.
I felt like I’d rather be delighting in the local seafood while on the coast. Still, I welcomed the delicious meat as my first meal of the day. I was so focused on eating that I didn’t have a chance to take good photos of the meal. Oaxacking’s reel of our meal gives you an idea of the experience.
On my past trips to Ensenada, (one being for the Ensenada Beer Festival), I visited some great breweries from their thriving beer scene. I am mostly off beer these days, so I haven’t explored breweries in the cities I visit as much as I used to. I do still enjoy beer occasionally. So, when our next stop was at Cardera Cerveceria, I thought it was the perfect pre-nap destination.
My usual brewery order is a taster flight to have a good sampling of what’s on offer. But Cardera’s amounted to 25oz of beer in total and seemed a bit aggressive for the time of the afternoon. I chose a flavorful blonde ale and then sampled from all the many other beers floating around the table.
Our group was slow to get up from our afternoon siesta. Those of us who were up took advantage of the moment to hang out in the pool while we sipped some lovely mezcal Omar had brought from Oaxaca.
Our first stop for the evening was Omar’s favorite wine bar Escala Barra de Vinos where we were treated to oysters and delicious wines. I’ve had Escala pinned on my map for a while so I was happy for the visit. I was even happier to find it lived up to all the hype from my friends.
From there we went to Calma, one of Javier Placensias restaurants where they were having an event. I’m going to blame it on the mezcal that I started the evening with on an empty stomach that I don’t remember that much about Calma. I do remember feeling joy in spending time with such wonderful people. My sprinkle of (bad) photos provide me with bits of memory of the rest of the evening. We went to Hussongs at last call and didn’t get to sip on their delicious margaritas. but left the building with a bag full of beer. Our last stop was at a (unknown) bar where we entered, also at last call. We were quickly served a tequila shot before being ushered out the door.
I’d ended my first 2 days away feeling it hadn’t lived up to the potential of what a day of eating in Ensenada should have been. But I had a heart full of joy. I spent time with such wonderful people. I knew that the next day in the Valle de Guadalupe had the ability to be epic… to be continued.
Call Me a Food Lover... 