Reserve Now!

Monday January 14, 2013

6:30 p.m.

Special AIWF San Diego Wine Paired Dinner with Four Renowned Baja Chefs and Outstanding Winemakers Hugo D’Acosta and Phil Gregory

There is no need to cross the border. We are bringing you the best of the best from Baja! You probably watched two of our chefs on Anthony Bourdain’s The Baja Episode of No Reservations that aired May 28, 2012 on the Travel Channel.

LOCATION
Romesco Restaurant at 4346 Bonita Rd., Bonita, CA 91902, a very easy drive south on the 805. The restaurant is in a modern shopping plaza with free parking.

This evening of Baja Mediterranean cooking combines extraordinary flavors of the sea and earth with many international nuances. You will also be learning about Baja wines.

THE CHEFS

Javier Plascencia is our host along with Diego Hernandez Baquedano who both appeared on No Reservations, Ryan Steyn, and pastry chef Marta Plascencia.

Javier Plascencia has many trend setting Baja restaurants including the acclaimed Mision 19 in Tijuana. He has been featured in a 2007 Gourmet Magazine article by Colman Andrews, the March 9, 2011 dining section of The New York Times, and the January 30, 2012 edition of The New Yorker magazine. Bill Esparza of the Los Angeles food blog Street Gourmet LA says of Javier, "There is nobody like him in Mexican cooking right now...He's creating a whole new vocabulary of Baja cooking.” In Fall 2010, hundreds of people including Al Gore and Jimmy Wales, a founder of Wikipedia, were at the Tijuana Innovadora conference where Javier cooked for many of the events, including a dinner for Mexico's president, Felipe Calderón. Javier was a star attraction with long lines for his lamb dish at Celebrate the Craft this fall, and of course is a regular at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival. In October 2012, he took best new restaurant in Mexico for Mision 19 at the Gourmet awards given by Travel + Leisure magazine's Mexican edition.

Diego Hernandez is the chef and co-owner of the Corazon de Tierra restaurant at the exquisite La Villa Del Valle boutique hotel in Valle de Guadalupe, home also to the Vena Cava Winery whose wine we will enjoy. Corazon de Tiera won best hotel restaurant in October 2012 at the Gourmet awards given by Travel + Leisure magazine's Mexican edition.
The New York Times Style magazine article Baja Fresh on November 18, 2012 referred to Corazon de Tierra as “probably the most interesting place to eat in the valley.”

Ryan Steyn, also a culinary instructor, is the Executive Chef of L’escargot Bistro in Tijuana. Previously he was a chef at two 5 star Relais and Chateaux properties in his native South Africa.

Marta Plascencia, Javier’s sister, has her own patisserie/dessert company that also provides desserts for the Plascencia family’s award winning restaurants.

THE WINEMAKERS
Both Hugo D’ Acosta and Phil Gregory were featured in The New York Times Style magazine’s Baja Fresh article on November 18, 2012. Hugo D’Acosta, from Mexico City, trained in Bordeaux and is known as the Mexican Mondavi. He is considered the leader in Mexican wine making. Phil Gregory of Vena Cava Winery is originally from England and a veteran of the music industry in Los Angeles. Phil’s high quality wines are grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Phil and his wife Eileen also own the inn, La Villa del Valle, where Diego Hernandez is chef.

MENU

We will start off in Romesco’s tapas room enjoying a reception with Baja California wines and hors d’oeuvres.

Wine pairings to be announced with Hugo D’Acosta and Phil Gregory introducing their wines

First Course

jellyfish grouper/lemon gel/pork chicharron

RYAN STEYN

Second Course

wood grilled carrots/burnt eggplant/parsley-potato juice

DIEGO HERNANDEZ

Third Course

oil fish/fennel/lemon albedo.

DIEGO HERNANDEZ

Fourth Course

hot rock Baja seafood soup/chorizo stuffed calamari

RYAN STEYN

Fifth Course

caja China roasted lamb shoulder/lamb sausage albondiga/''arroz con leche"/citrus/green chard

JAVIER PLASCENCIA

Sixth Course

Mexican chocolate rubbed venison loin/savory border churros/persimmon salsa/cinnamon-venison jus

JAVIER PLASCENCIA

Seventh Course

Baja California cheese course

Dessert

chocolate parfait/salted caramel/smoked sweet potato cream/artisanal Tijuana dark stout ice cream

MARTA PLASCENCIA

RESERVATIONS
R.S.V.P. now to AIWF San Diego Treasurer Diane Gotkin, space permitting.
Many reservations have already been made since the December 14th Save the Date Preview email. We expect this event will sell out soon!

All-inclusive $155 AIWF members and $170 non-members or guests. Telephone the AIWF line at 619 297-0951 (please leave a message and your call will be returned) or email diane.gotkin@gmail.com. All reservations must be accompanied by payment in full. Payment by check, VISA, MC, or AMEX. Make checks payable to AIWF and mail to AIWF San Diego 2683 Via De La Valle #G230, Del Mar, CA 92014.

Dietary restrictions must be noted at time of reservation. Reservations are non-transferable to another event.

You may send guest/s in your absence. No shows will be billed.

Any questions, please contact Event Chair Lisa Lipton, Past AIWF National Chair and Past AIWF San Diego Chair, at llipton@rsfe.sdcoxmail.com or mobile 858 361-3562.

Be sure to hear Javier Plascencia talking about this event as a guest on "The SoCal Restaurant Show" with Jet Tila on AM 830 KLAA radio on Saturday, January 12 at 10:30 a.m. Also streamed live @ www.SoCalRestaurantShow.com. The show is produced by AIWF member Andy Harris who will also attend the dinner.