Ever had pizza with jamaica flowers and goat cheese? Or with shrimp, jalapeños and bean dip? Or with tongue, ranch cheese, pepitas, cilantro and beans?
Possibly, but only if you've been to El Colegio Bajamed Cocina, the latest outpost of Baja Med cuisine in Tijuana.
Colegio sounds like a school, which in a sense it is, in that you can study the principles of Baja Med as defined by its founder, Miguel Ángel Guerrero.
Guerrero did the groundwork at La Querencia in the Zona Rio. Now he's moved into the touristy heart of Tijuana, placing this cool new restaurant on Avenida Revolución diagonally across from Caesar's restaurant, the home of the Caesar salad.
El Colegio opened in June. It's yet another step up for once-tacky Revolución, where you can still get gaudy souvenirs but also roam through arcades lined with art galleries.
Forget cheap tacos and watery margaritas. That's not what you get in a place that looks like this (above).
Notice the grill over the native plants in the center of the table (above).
Lively contemporary art brightens the space (above).
The words "Tierra de Migrantes" and "Tierra de Oportunidades" on this wall mean "Land of Migrants" and "Land of Opportunities." The niches hold condiments and kitchen accessories.
El Colegio gives you the opportunity to experience a blend of Asian, European and local flavors. You might have pato marinado en especies orientales--roast duck marinated in Asian seasonings that include star anise. Or shrimp impaled on a rosemary stem and served on a bed of arroz frito oriental baja med--Oriental style fried rice.
If you wanted to go more Mexican, you could order pork tongue in five-chile sauce with green pipián and caramelized red onion or spicy grilled octopus with salsa mexicana.
And if you wanted none of that, you could get salmon with two mustards, brick chicken or a New York steak.
For a salad, you could have a lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing or an "oriental" combination of red cabbage, baby carrots, wontons and sashimi vinaigrette. But don't ask for a Caesar. You have to go across the street for that.
El Colegio Bajamed Cocina, Revolución 1106, at 5th Street, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Local phone is 685-0677.
What a beautiful dining room! I love the plants in the center of the table!
Posted by: glennis | July 06, 2013 at 02:11 PM