Baja Med facts for kids

Baja Med is a cool style of cooking. It mixes yummy flavors from three different places! Imagine Mexican cuisine (like crispy chicharrón and salty cotija cheese) blended with fresh Mediterranean cuisine (like olive oil) and exciting Asian cuisine (like lemongrass). This unique food style was created by Chef Miguel Ángel Guerrero. Baja Med dishes often use fresh seafood and amazing vegetables grown right in Baja California, Mexico.

What Goes Into Baja Med Food?

Baja Med cooking uses lots of fresh ingredients from the state of Baja California.

• Seafood: You'll find fresh seafood from the port of Ensenada. This includes tasty mussels, oysters, clams, shrimp, and even bluefin tuna.
• Veggies and Fruits: Small vegetables from farms near Ensenada are popular. Olives come from the Guadalupe Valley, a famous wine region. Dates from San Ignacio and sweet tomatoes and strawberries from the San Quintin Valley are also used.
• Other Special Ingredients: Chefs also use red lobster, manta rays, and sea cucumbers. Another unique ingredient is salicornia. This is a salty plant that grows in sand dunes.

Tasty Baja Med Dishes

Here are some examples of the delicious dishes you might find in Baja Med cooking:

• Tempura fish tacos: These are like regular fish tacos but with a light, crispy tempura batter.
• Shrimp with marlin: Imagine deep-sea shrimp served with fried marlin, tiny farm tomatoes, and green onions. It often comes with a sauce made from local cheeses.
• Beet carpaccio: This dish uses thin slices of beets with blue cheese and a fresh mint dressing.
• Duck with guava: Duck meat is put on skewers with licorice and sprinkled with a sweet guava powder.
• Risotto with octopus: A creamy rice dish called risotto is topped with salty prickly pear cactus (nopalitos) and grilled octopus.
• Short ribs with fig syrup: Slow-cooked short ribs are covered in a sweet fig syrup and served over a rich, dark mole sauce.

Chefs and Restaurants

Many talented chefs and restaurants serve Baja Med cuisine.

• Chef Javier Plascencia is very famous for his Baja Med food. You can find his restaurants like Misión 19 and Caesar's in Tijuana.
• Chef Miguel Ángel Guerrero also has popular spots like La Querencia and La Esperanza.
• Other great restaurants in Tijuana include Food Garden. In Ensenada, Manzanilla is a well-known place.
• In Bonita, California, near San Diego, Chef Plascencia's Romesco restaurant also features this amazing cuisine.

Valle de Guadalupe Restaurants

The Valle de Guadalupe is a beautiful wine country near Ensenada. It's home to several top Baja Med restaurants.

• Laja is a highly praised restaurant by Chef Jaír Tellez. He also has restaurants in Mexico City.
• Corazón de Tierra is led by Chef Diego Hernández. This restaurant is known as one of Latin America's best.
• You can also find Chef Javier Plascencia's Finca de Altozano and Drew Deckman's Deckman's en el Mogor in the Valle de Guadalupe.