EatMx: Real Mexican food, at home and on the road

AltaMed's East LA Meets Napa: A Recap

This year's East LA Meets Napa & Beyond (above) combined old favorites with new touches, like a VIP pre-party in the newly renovated ticket concourse at Union Station. You lined up at the windows for wine, not train tickets.

Amelia Ceja poured Ceja's 2009 Pinot Noir there (above). It was generous of her to share, considering there were only 300 cases of this wine. 

For real Mexican wine, there was an assortment from Casa Madero, located at Parras, Coahuila, including the 2011 estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, which spent 18 months in French and American oak (above). Paralelo winery from Baja brought its red blend Ensamble, which is made in two styles. 

On a warm evening outdoors in the courtyards of Union Station, the most welcome drink may have been this cool jackfruit agua fresca poured by Setá restaurant. Setá's chef/owner Hugo Molina paired it with Peruvian style ceviche, laced with cumin.

Restaurants came from around the city to participate in the event, a fund-raiser for AltaMed, which provides health services to people in need. 

Setá is in Whittier. Aro Latin came from South Pasadena to serve pork ribs with mango salsa (above) and cups of corn kernels with white cheese.

There was a mix of traditional and new. Teresitas in East Los Angeles dished up its famous pork ribs with chile negro salsa, accompanied by nopales salad (above).

Rivera in downtown Los Angeles brought one of John Rivera Sedlar's innovations, a broccoli version of guacamole. Sedlar (above) explained that it's made by pureeing broccoli with serrano chiles, Mexican onions, garlic and cilantro.

The super thin chips on which it was served (above) were made at the restaurant from Kennebec potatoes.

King Taco showed up with carne al pastor on two spits (above).

And here is one of its kingly tacos.

Casa Oaxaca from Culver City startled tasters with a pot of grasshopper salsa to spoon over mushroom or squash flower empanadas. The alternative was sweet jamaica salsa to go with jamaica tacos (above).

There was so much food and wine that in three hours it was not possible to taste it all, or even much of it.  Smart tasters went for dessert early, picking from a lavish assortment set out by Porto's Bakery (above) before it all disappeared. Artisan chocolates from Casa de Chocolates went fast too. 

Sorry you missed it? Don't worry. It will happen again next July.

A Rare Chance to Taste Mexican Wines

It's a good thing AltaMed changed the name of its annual benefit, East L.A. Meets Napa, to East L.A. Meets Napa and Beyond.

The "beyond" part stole the show at last Friday's tasting, which sprawled through two patios at Union Station.

A corner of one patio was filled with the largest display of Mexican wines in the benefit's eight-year history, more than you could taste anywhere else in Los Angeles.

Nine wineries from Baja's Valle de Guadalupe took part, pouring 17 wines. This made possible such taste tests as comparing two identical versions of a red wine labeled Ensamble, produced by Paralelo (at right).

Both wines were from the same year, 2008, and combined the same five varietals in the same proportions. Only they didn't taste anything like each other. 

The wine called Colina, made from grapes grown in clay soil on a hill, was full of minerals, even saltiness. The other wine, Arenal, from grapes grown in sandy soil in the valley, lacked any of this.

That same salty minerality showed up in the Madera 5 Tempranillo-Cabernet from Cava Aragón 126.

All of the Mexican wines were red. Joaquin Prieto of Tres Valles (at right)  showed off Maat, a 100 % Grenache, and Kuwal, a Tempranillo.

Hacienda La Lomita, one of the newest wineries in the valley, poured its 2010 Sacro, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend, and a bright, fresh young red, the 2011 Pagano, which is 100% Grenache.

Viñas de Garza's two wines (above) were the 2007 Amado IV, composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo and Zinfandel, and the 2007 Colina Norte, primarily Tempranillo blended with Grenache and Carignane.

The other wineries that took part were Aborigen, Casa de Piedra, Estación de Oficios and Vinisterra.

Aside from wine, the standout drink was an infused tequila called Mujer from Rivera restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Sweetened with piloncillo and smoothed out with vanilla, it tasted like a rich liqueur. 

Rivera chef/owner John Rivera Sedlar, showing the bottle (at right), said the base was reposado tequila, to which he added vanilla beans from Veracruz and Madagascar. Piloncillo, which is unrefined cane sugar, provided deep, mellow flavor rather than sugary sweetness.

A Wine Country Lunch in Baja

Talk about farm to table food--you are almost sitting in the farm when you eat at Corazón de Tierra in Baja's Valle de Guadalupe.

There it is (above), so close that breezes bring in refreshing green scents, and there is no need for flowers on the table. Just look outside, or at your food, which is decorated with a hollyhock petal here, a sunflower petal there. 

A salad that shows the style (above) combines kale, arugula and beet leaves with translucent slices of French radish, pine nuts, a golden sunflower petal and dots of beet puree. 

Lunch meanders over many courses for two hours or longer. What you get depends on what the land has produced that day.

Toward the end of June, the starters were smoked yellowtail on a tostada sliver with avocado puree and seaweed dust, then a single oyster with chard and Ramonetti cheese from Ojos Negros (above). 

Next, geoduck clam with aguachile, a spicy liquid made with olive oil, onion and serrano chiles (above). The green leaf at top is from a nasturtium. The pretty blue flower is a borage blossom.

Greens you might throw away at home aren't wasted here. Radish leaves are at the bottom of a bowl that contains three types of cucumber (above). Hollyhock flowers provided the red strands on top. The server said the sauce was made with lettuce and dates.

Turnip leaves go into a green sauce at the side of seabass (above). The presentation includes a common garden weed, purslane, as well as a squash blossom. Strong bursts of flavor come from tiny dice of preserved lemon. Seared flying fish eggs coat the fish.

At first glance, I thought the brown swirl at the left was bean puree, but this wouldn't go with halibut. Instead, it's shiitake puree. Crisp green beans and mizuna leaves add fresh textures to the fish, which is topped with a beef reduction.

Now it was time for a palate refresher, an unusual ice made from pixtle, the seed of the mamey fruit, set on a bed of chilacayote marmalade (above).

Dessert proper was star anise ice cream with epazote sauce and a square of ginger cake on black radish cream (above).  To make the dish even more complex, the kitchen added a caramelized radish strip and a crisp, caramelized chard stem.

When you're in wine country, it's smart to order lunch paired with beverages, which at Corazón de Tierra will include local craft beers as well as wines. You'll also get water infused with herbs such as rosemary, mint and lavender. It's like drinking the garden.

To show what the pairing is like, my lunch included two beers and three wines. The wines were Marella, which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from Sinergi Viticultura; a Viognier from Vinart Winery, and a Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon from Vena Cava. 

Eileen and Phil Gregory, who own the inn La Villa del Valle and Vena Cava winery, are partners in Corazón de Tierra with executive chef Diego Hernández (above). Here Hernández greets a guest. 

Breathing in the soft country air as you eat is like a week's vacation in a brief afternoon. Leaving was the only downside to lunch at Corazón de Tierra, and so I turned for a last look as I walked away. 

How to Tour the Guadalupe Valley

So much wine to taste and so little time. That's what's maddening about a day trip to Baja's Valle de Guadalupe.

The valley is loaded with great wineries, too many to get to even in a week. Therefore, it's necessary to scope out a reasonable itinerary that will let you taste a broad range of wines and still have time for lunch. 

Here's one workable route. It takes in three wineries, ranging from a popular mass market winery that offers excellent tours and reasonable prices to a mid-level winery with a spectacular setting to a boutique winery with a high-priced Nebbiolo ($94) that I'm still dreaming about.

Winery 1. L.A. Cetto, the regional giant, celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. The winery is huge, and production is enormous--11 million liters a year, according to my guide.

If you're not a serious wine buff, Cetto is a good place to start, because it offers excellent tours that cover the winemaking process, from de-stemming and crushing to barrel-aging (above). You roam the grounds during the tour, all the way to a vineyard out back (in the photo at the top).

When the tour is over, you line up at the tasting room bar where you can learn, or review, the steps in tasting wine. There's lots to buy, as you can see from the photo above--not only wine but chocolates filled with wine and L.A. Cetto olive oil, a steal at $6 a bottle. 

Prices are so reasonable that it's a shame Californians can take only one bottle over the border. I bought Don Luis Concordia 2009, which blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon with 40% Shiraz and was aged in both French and American oak. The price: $13.

Other recommendations: Chenin Blanc (right) has long been a Cetto favorite. It sells there for about $7. 

Nebbiolo. Cetto was the second winery to plant this grape in the Guadalupe Valley (the first is long gone). The 2009 Nebbiolo Reserva Privada spent more than a year in French Oak. You can have it for $15.

Cetto also has an inexpensive bubbly, Champbrulé, that you can chill in your hotel room if you're staying overnight and drink there. The still varietals would travel better, if you're taking wine home.

Winery 2. Las Nubes Bodegas y Viñedos. Las Nubes means The Clouds, and the winery sits on a hill, although not high enough to be in the clouds (above). 

A newcomer, Las Nubes released its first wines in 2010. Most have cloudy names, such as Kuiiy, which means cloud in the indigenous Kiliwa language. It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, designed to go with local seafood.

Others are Cumulus and Nimbus, both reds. The 2010 Cumulus comes from 40-year-old Grenache and Carignane vines and 65-year old Tempranillo vines. 

The 2010 Nimbus is a more traditional, elegant wine. "It's like walking in the clouds," said winemaker Victor Segura (above). The base is Merlot, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and a small amount of Tempranillo.  

The first rosé is the 2012 Jaak (at right). Jaak, which  means wind in Kiliwa, blends Grenache, Carignane and Zinfandel. It's a sort of Provençal wine, Segura said, noting that the climate in the Guadalupe Valley resembles that of southern France. You can really see the clouds on its label. 

Other wines include the 2010 Nebbiolo and 2011 Selección de Barricas, which is a lighter red based on Carignane. The 2011 Colección de Parceles, full of dark fruit, is based on Tempranillo, blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo.

The airy tasting room (above) looks out over the valley and also down into the barrel room through a clear panel in the floor. If you've stepped on it and suddenly look down, you might get dizzy. 

Above are a few of the wines I tasted paired with cheeses from Rancho Cortez in the valley. When I asked about prices, some wines were a reasonable $20. 

Touring the plant, you come across large, shiny metal tanks that you don't see at other wineries. These are vessels for cooking lobsters, used here for punching down grapes.

The seafood touch isn't surprising. Segura's main business is shipping seafood within Mexico and overseas. He's one of 10 partners in Las Nubes.

Production is small, just 6,300 cases in 2012. There are now seven wines, and an eighth will be released this year. At this stage in its development, Las Nubes buys most of its grapes. 

"What I'm trying to do is offer what I like," Segura said. That means dry wine. "I don't drink sweet unless it is late harvest." 

Shown here in the rock-lined barrel room, Segura is from Ciudad Obregón in the state of Sonora. A food engineer with a specialty in enology, he's a hands-off winemaker. "My role is not to mess around," he said. If he has any winemaking "secret," it's the quality of the grapes that he buys.

Winery 3. Vinícola Torres Alegre y Familia. From a distance, this winery looks like a flimsy shed (above). But don't be fooled. It's the source of stunning wines. And it's larger than it looks. 

Here is part of the winemaking area, including the receptacle at top where red wine grapes are selected berry by berry. 

People tell you proudly that Victor Torres Alegre is Mexico's only enologist with a Ph.D. He got that degree at the University of Bordeaux. In the Guadalupe Valley, he has consulted for Château Camou and Baron Balche. Now he has his own winery on 7 hectares of land. It was finished three years ago. 

Torres Alegre was in Europe the day I went there, but his son, Leonardo Torres Lerdo de Tejada (above), conducted tours and tasting.  

The wines are known as "hangover free," because they are made gently, not over extracted. "We don't correct our wines," he said. Acidity and tannins are natural. 

The top wines sell for $64 to $94. If you have an extra $500, there's a blockbuster that goes on sale this year in honor of Victor Torres Alegre's 30th anniversary of winemaking.

It's a 19-year-old Sauvignon Blanc, aged 11 years in oak and the rest of the time in the bottle. Production was small, only 200 bottles. 

Wines from the Del Viko line sell for $20 to $24. The winery's first rosé, released in June, is the 2011 Del Viko Vino Rosa, made from Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon (at right). A bright pink label makes clear what it is. 

The white Del Viko blends French Colombard with Chenin Blanc, and a Vino Tinto (red wine) combines eight varietals, a little of everything in a bottle. Each of the red varietals went through two different fermentations, a lot of care for a medium-priced wine. 

Or you may want to trade up to the 2005 Tempranillo ($64), because Leonardo, an artist, designed the label (at right). It's blended with a small amount of Petit Verdot.

Coming out this year are a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and a 100% Syrah.

What makes the premium reds so intense and pricey is they are made with twice the amount of grapes that would be used in a normal red wine, Leonardo said. Add to that gentle processing, long fermentation and small production. Torres Alegre releases just 3,000 cases a year.  

The white wines receive no less care. "It's harder to make great white wines than great red wines," Leonardo said. "We give the same amount of respect to both of them. 

Watch out when you leave. These are perhaps the most unusual winery steps anywhere, perfect for kids playing hopscotch but a challenge to anyone who may have imbibed a little too much.

Great Mexican Food Coming in July

If you're hungry for Mexican food on July 19, there's only one place to go--AltaMed's "East LA Meets Napa & Beyond" at Union Station.

Get your tickets early, because the event sells out quickly. And no wonder. You'll be able to taste food from more restaurants than you could ever visit on your own, even if you went out steadily for months.

And nowhere else could you taste so many wines from Latino producers and winemakers. This year, there'll be even more, and not just from Napa. That's why "Beyond" has been added to the title. 

Still need convincing? Then look at some of the tastes you'll find there. These were served at a preview held at Lotería Grill in Hollywood.

Wouldn't you like mini-tostadas topped with shrimp, octopus and fish ceviche (above)? Or coconut shrimp with a tropical pineapple and jalapeño dip? Chef Alfonso Ramirez of Luna Restaurant in Pomona presented these.

Or how about his canape of beef filet smothered with garlic and parsley sauce (above)?

Ramirez filled puff pastry (hojaldre) canapes with Yucatecan cochinita pibil, which is pork slow-cooked with seasoned achiote paste (above). Because he's from Puebla, he filled other pastry puffs with mole poblano. 

Guisados will serve its acclaimed tacos July 19. Look for its version of cochinita pibil on a handmade corn tortilla, with habanero and pickled onion relish on top (above).

Another Guisados taco features beef in red mole from the state of Guerrero, which is more intense and savory than mole poblano (above). The toppings are pico de gallo and crema. 

Getting into fusion mode, Guisados created tacos of duck confit decorated with cucumber strands and jamaica sauce (above). The idea is typical of innovative young chefs in Mexico City, said Armando de la Torre Jr., son of Guisados founder Armando de la Torre. 

Then it was Lotería Grill's turn, starting with grilled chile ancho-marinated octopus on lettuce lightly spread with hibiscus (jamaica) mayonnaise (above).

Owner Jimmy Shaw came up with the idea of tacos bilingüe (bilingual tacos), which paired pork and beef tongue in red and green sauces on the same tortilla (at top).

But the real winner was Shaw's dessert taco, which combined grilled pineapple, mango, chiopotle puree, sweet cheese crema and a hibiscus and wine reduction (above). Sprinkled over the top were micro churros, not really churros but crisp, fried flour tortilla strands rolled in cinnamon-sugar. 

Then there was a Flantini bar--martini classes filled not with gin but with flan in flavors such as banana nut, Kahlúa, coconut and Abuelita chocolate, presented on sparkly tiered stands by Chef Kiki of Flantastic Desserts.

The wines poured with each course were from Reyes Winery in Agua Dulce (above) and Delgadillo Cellars and Encanto Vineyards in St. Helena. So far, at least 35 wineries have confirmed they will take part in "East LA Meets Napa & Beyond." Click here for tickets. And remember, only the first 1500 will get in.  

Kokopelli Tacos Show Up in L.A.

My one chance to eat at Kokopelli, the Tijuana street stand famous for its grilled seafood tacos, ended in nothing at all. It was late, and the stand was closed.

The happy ending came this week, almost a year later. Guillermo "Oso" Campos Moreno, who started Kokopelli with his brother, Pablo, and Orlando Miguel del Monte, came to Los Angeles with Baja tourism people promoting the area's attractions.

The meeting took place at Rivera, where chef/owner John Sedlar opened his kitchen so that Oso (at top) could make mini versions of his tacos for media people listening to the Baja spiel.

First up was smoked marlin and potato in Yucatecan pibil sauce (above), garnished with avocado, pickled red onion and pineapple sauce. Wonderful smoky, spicy stuff on a chip.

Then came halibut ceviche with passion fruit, avocado, a peppermint, basil and lemon sauce and black chia seeds on top (above). Nice and light after the smoky tastes.

Back in the kitchen, Oso was grilling octopus, which he combined with Mexican pesto sauce, pickled red onions, avocado and peanut sauce (above).

What's in Mexican pesto? If your garden includes hoja santa and papalo, you can make it. The other ingredients are poblano chile, cilantro, garlic, red wine vinegar and Baja olive oil.

Then Oso took a chance. "I have one more dish that I have never done before," he said. The risk was worth it.  The new dish was mahi mahi on a circle of nopal cactus with a pipián sauce that included pine nuts, ancho and morita chiles (above). The white sprinkles on top are amaranth.

Can you imagine food like that from a street stand?  In other words, don't miss Kokopelli on your next trip to Tijuana.

At the stand, tacos are 20 pesos, and sodas and consomme are 10 pesos--those are prices from last year. Instead of soda, the beverage at Rivera was Villa Montefiori Chardonnay 2011 (at right).

This winery was founded in 1997 in the Guadalupe Valley, producing red wines at first and now getting into whites. Crisp, fresh and non-oaky, the Chardonnay was excellent with the complex, spicy Kokopelli tacos.

Perhaps you can pick up a bottle during Vendimia, the annual Baja wine festival August 2-18. 

Kokopelli, Melchor Ocampo between 11th and Blvd. Agua Caliente, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. 011-52-664-674-4906.

What to Drink When It's Really, Really Hot

An August heat wave has hit Los Angeles. To keep from getting dehydrated, it's important to drink as much as possible, they say, meaning water, juices and sports beverages. But when the cocktail hour arrives, this is what I'll have.

It's a gorgeous watermelon drink put together by Miguel Tafoya (at right), bartender at the Hotel Capella Ixtapa.

Tafoya did some excellent mixology during a tequila seminar that was part of this spring's food and wine festival in Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo.

Notice how he has added basil to the drink instead of the usual mint. 

WATERMELON WINNER
From Miguel Tafoya, Hotel Capella Ixtapa

3 ounces strained pureed watermelon
2 ounces white tequila
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 or 3 basil leaves, plus 1 for garnish
Ice

To prepare the watermelon, measure a heaping 1/2 cup watermelon chunks, eliminating the seeds. Puree this in a blender, then strain through a fine sieve to eliminate any remaining seeds and pulp. Measure 3 ounces and pour into a cocktail shaker.

Add the tequila, agave nectar and lime juice and stir. Taste and adjust the agave nectar and lime juice if needed. Add the basil leaves, torn into shreds.

Add ice cubes and shake well. Strain into an old fashioned glass, adding fresh ice cubes, if desired. Garnish with a basil leaf. 

Makes 1 serving. 

Wine of the Week: Mariatinto 2009

You may never have tasted this wine, because it's from Baja's Guadalupe Valley.  And wines made there are in very limited distribution, if they come here at all.

Mariatinto arrived under special circumstances--a tasting staged as a preview of the Food & Wine Festival March 22-24 in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.

Presented by Food & Wine magazine and the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Convention and Visitors Bureau, the festival will include cooking demos by top chefs from both sides of the border and a tasting of more Baja wines than you might ever be able to find in one place.

A mini-tasting (at top) took place at the preview, which was held at Vinotéque in West Hollywood. 

Accompanying Mariatinto was one of the partners in the company that produces it, Guillermo González Beristaín (above). Chef and creator of the Grupo Pangea, which has six restaurants in Monterrey in northern Mexico, he'll give one of the demos at the festival.

Tinto indicates a red wine, and Mariatinto is made from Tempranillo, Grenache and Syrah grapes, with other varietals added to complete the blend, which changes every year.

It's an easy, food-friendly wine, perfect to accompany anything from the pork belly tacos and ceviche tostadas served at the preview to the Asian cuisines popular in California.

The other wines tasted were from Baja's Santo Tomás, including a Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Xalac, which is 100% Tempranillo.

Wine personality and author Mark Oldham, who led the tasting and will conduct wine and spirits seminars at the festival, said, "Even wine snobs don't know about Mexican wines," adding "I think a lot of them can compete with the world's good wines."

The spirits poured at the preview were Partida añejo tequila, with a sangrita chaser, and Zacbé mezcal.

Other chefs from Mexico who will appear at the festival are Patricia Quintana, Alfredo Oropeza, Federico López and José Ramón Castillo. U.S. chefs to be featured are Beard award winners Michael Symon and Marcus Samuelsson.

The three-day event will include a chocolate tasting, visits to local restaurant kitchens, an architectural tour, a tasting on the beach under the stars and a catamaran cruise along the coast.

For the program schedule and ticket information, go to the festival website, which will tempt you with photos of what took place last year and the gorgeous food that the chefs prepared. 

Mexico Shows Off Its Best: Part 2

5. Costillas de res al ataúd. Costillas are beef ribs, and an ataúd is a coffin. That sounds grisly, but in this case the ataúd was an oven, and it did a heavenly job of cooking the ribs.

The key to the flavor was the seasoning, an adobo created by José Viejo Garza, who has a meat shop in the town of Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León.

José cooked chicken in the same adobo--it's next to the ribs on the grill--at an outdoor lunch for visitors and townspeople in a shady park called Ojo de Agua.

6. Coyame Sotol. Made from a wild desert plant called Dasylirion wheeleri, sotol is the liquor of choice in the state of Chihuahua.  It's so popular it's even sung about in the famous "Corrido de Chihuahua."

I tasted several brands, but Coyame was the one I would have put in my suitcase, if there had been room. It had lots of character and the intriguing smoky taste of a good mezcal.  Unfortunately, I only saw it once, at a tasting in Chihuahua city.

The golden reposado is in the photo. There is also a colorless tradicional and a nut-flavored reposado.

The name comes from Coyame del Sotol, a municipality in Chihuahua state.

7. Mennonite baked goods. There are 40,000 Mennonites in Chihuahua state, and you can learn their history and get an idea of their lifestyle if you visit the Menonite museum (the building in the photo at the bottom), which is located near Ciudad Cuauhtémoc.

Exhibits include a model kitchen, bedroom, dining table, old wood-burning stove and more, and you can buy potholders and other handicrafts in the shop.

But what has made the Mennonites famous in Mexico is their cheese. Their home cooking is also very good, judging from a tasting for my tour group at the museum. 

We tried Mennonite sausages and ate cookies (right) that were extraordinary, as if the gentle philosphy of the bakers had permeated the dough. 

The buns that were set out for sandwiches (above) were light and airy, with a touch of whole wheat and such good flavor that you wanted to eat them plain in order to enjoy the taste.

Museo y Centro Cultural Menonita, Km. 10, Carretera Cuauhtémoc to Alvaro Obregon, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua. (625) 593-1895.