About

Hierbabuena Restaurante – Devoted to Local and Organic

July 21, 2016 by Akiba 2 Comments

Welcome to Hierbabuena Restaurante

While Los Cabos is not want for great restaurants (it’s easy to frequent the busy towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo), for those who venture out, the pay-off is discovery of a diverse and passionate dining culture. I had been hearing glowing reports about a restaurant located in the small town of Pescadero near Todos Santos. After a day at Cerritos Beach, we headed for Hierbabuena Restaurante which is set in a beautiful and bountiful organic garden where almost all of the ingredients are sourced for creative and healthy dishes. Beyond the modern outdoor façade, an airy rustic space awaits. It has a casual feeling as there are no walls or windows and it is cooled by Pacific Ocean breezes. The seasonal menus shines a spotlight on what’s fresh right now and you can expect crisp, fresh salads, seared vegetables, locally caught wild fish, organic chicken, steak, brick-oven pizza and traditional Mexican dishes. What they don’t grow, they source from their local neighbors, independent farmers, where there is an abundance of organic produce such melons, strawberries, figs, guava and sapote. Menu Gardens

The garden is brimming with vegetables and flowers that flourish under the watchful eye of the owner, Marcos Ramirez, who brings his culinary and gardening skills to Hierbabuena from years in Napa Valley. He was raised in his mother’s Mexico City market restaurant where he was influenced by an array of fresh products from all over Mexico. At 15, he went to work as a dishwasher and throughout his young life, he experienced nearly every position in the restaurant business and was introduced to many different types of cuisines. This led to his ultimate goal of being a restaurateur.

Produce for Sale

The concept is very basic: to offer the freshest, ingredients with little manipulation so the natural flavors shine.

Wild Yellow Tail Caught Locally

Fresh, ripe tomatoes and spicy basil for a killer pizza

Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan, Nuts and Pomegranate

There is a full bar that is separate from the dining area where fruit and herbs such as mint, basil, rosemary and cilantro are muddled, infused and simply snipped for pretty and fragrant garnishes.

Mojito with Fresh Mint

Marcos proudly offers Mexican wines from Ensenada, Guadalupe Valley and Guanajuato but he also includes wine from Italy and Spain. Marco’s project for next season is to do a wine tasting one day a week with all Mexican wines – Mexican terroir – which are concentrated and complex, full-bodied and aromatic, generally with a higher alcohol content than European wines. The northern end of the Baja California peninsula is, in fact, one of the New World’s oldest wine-growing areas. Jesuit priests cultivated vines here in the 18th century, and the first commercial winery, Bodegas de Santo Tomas, opened in 1888.

Hierbabuena Restaurante is a celebration of the very finest of our regional food products. Marcos takes the concept of “farm-to-table” seriously, working with the freshest ingredients from his gardens and the nearby farms to design the seasonal menus.

Directions: Turn just past the Pemex/Oxxo on the road to Rancho Pescadero. Hierbabuena is about 2/3 of the way to the beach from the highway.

Open from 12:00 noon until 9:00 pm – Closed Tuesdays

Closed month of September

Chamomile

NEPTUNOS MARISCOS, MUSIC AND DRINKS

July 14, 2016 by Akiba 1 Comment

Luis Soto – Owner and Mixologist Extraordinaire

When we arrived at Neptunos, a fresh local seafood restaurant, we were warmly greeted by Luis Soto, the owner, bartender, host and more. Born in Mazatlan to a very poor family, Luis worked wherever he could to put himself through night school to become a civil engineer. He moved to Cabo and worked at many jobs from busboy to cook in the restaurant business to eventually become the manager of Passion Club and Lounge in the Cabo Me Hotel on Medano Beach before opening Neptunos.

Luis built his restaurant from the bottom up by hand and was planning to open in October of 2014 when Hurricane Odile hit. He had to start over as everything was in ruin but he persevered. Using recycled wooden shipping pallets, he designed the restaurant space to be open with a billowing fabric pergola that gives the feeling of being on a sailboat. Luis discovered that the wooden pallets are perfect as herb and vegetable planters and he is in the process of making green walls with edibles. Neptunos

I guess you could say that Neptunos is a humble restaurant but it makes up for it with a lot of charm. The seasoned chefs Juve and Tino know quality seafood and how to prepare it. My husband and I had been hankering for a good Huachinango (whole red snapper). I called ahead and was told that three “just caught” red snappers from a local fisherman had made their way to the restaurant that morning. Our Huachinango arrived at the table in all its glory, cooked to succulent perfection and traditionally served with rice, tortillas, steamed vegetables and salsa. Also, the chips and guacamole were outstanding (I don’t say this lightly because I am definitely a guacamole snob). We ordered Gin Martinis and Luis poured two lovely drinks and then disappeared from the restaurant for a few minutes on a runner to pick up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire just in case we were in the mood for more.

Huachinango

Chefs Juve and Tino

Seafood Platter

Bloody Mary’s with Spicy Prawns

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Fresh Catch of the Day

Luis’ passion for what he is doing is evident and he makes you feel welcome immediately when you step into his realm. He has a vision and is well on his way to achieving his dreams through hard work and perseverance. I plan to return and eat my way through the menu and become a regular customer and friend to Luis Soto at Neptunos.

Menu in Spanish

NOTE: This weekend they are closing their restaurant but setting up a “pop up” restaurant for a biker’s convention/rally located in the Cultural Pavilion parking lot in Cabo San Lucas. There will be bikers from all over the country with music Thursday, Friday and Saturday from local groups and musicians from La Paz, Mazatlan, Mexico City and Guadalajara. The event closes on Saturday night with a very famous Mexican band, Inspector. The band Inspector from Monterey, Nuevo Leon fuses classic Jamaican rhythms with the feel of Mexican pop. Their style is a blend of ska, reggae, nostalgia for the 1960s rock-n-roll and the great romantic groups of the 1970s, in addition to a romantic style of their own. They are part of the musical movement called the Avanzada Regia.

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Neptunos is located around the corner from the Bungalows Hotel near the Pedregal farmers market and Prosan. Bungalows Hotel Location

Open from 2 pm to 10pm
Located in Calle Libertad #806 Col. Lienzo Charro in Cabo San Lucas

Reservations: 624 114 2424 or 143 4033

Note: Thank you to Kathy and Gary for your recommendation to Neptunos – Well done!

Cooking Demonstration with Maestro Enrique Olvera at Manta Restaurant

July 2, 2016 by Akiba 2 Comments

I am so excited to write about my amazing adventure yesterday. The Cape Hotel and Manta Restaurant are celebrating their one-year anniversary with a culinary weekend that was kicked off with a cooking demonstration at Manta, Chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant.

Chef Enrique Olvera in front of his restaurant, Manta

I have been following Chef Olvera for many years. At the age of 24, Enrique opened the intimate restaurant, Pujol, in Mexico City which has been described as “the best Mexican food on the planet. He also owns Eno, a causal eatery in Mexico City, Maiz de Mar in Playa de Carmen and Cosme in New York. He is the founder of Mesamerica, the annual international food symposium; he publishes Boomerang, a Spanish language culinary magazine and has published the cookbook, Mexico From the Inside Out. He is also one of the chefs showcased in the second season of the very popular Netflix series: Chef’s Table. Now at the age of 40, he has expanded his empire to Los Cabos.

It was co-hosted by Chefs Carlos Salgado and Alex Branch. Chef Salgado was named a Food and Wine Best New Chef in 2015 and has been named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef West. He is the chef/owner Taco Maria in Costa Mesa, California. Chef Branch has cooked and studied in Mexico, Germany and Austria before coming to Manta.

Chef Carlos Salgado

Before the cooking began, the adorable mixologist, Osvaldo Vazquez, started us off with a refreshing drink called Buffalo Green. Osvaldo begins with making a “shrub” from Champagne vinegar, lime and sugar and then adds fresh cucumber juice, freshly made ginger beer and lime juice to which gin or vodka can be added. Later he created a drink called Cantina Band with Mezcal, grilled pineapple and ginger beer.

Buffalo Green from Mixologist Osvaldo Vazquez

For the starter, Chef Salgado prepared delicious Ricotta Squash Fritters with a Green Tomato Jam and Wild Flower Honey with Ground Chile Arbol. This dish had so many unexpected flavors and textures exploding in my mouth – I loved it and it will be part of my cooking repertoire for many years to come.

For the main course, Chef Olvera prepared flounder filets pan cooked in butter, ginger, garlic and herbs served on sweet potato puree surrounded by sweet corn and hominy kernels and presented with lime and a chiffonade of epazote leaves. It was just divine!

For dessert, Chef Salgado prepared Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding) with Tea Soaked Prunes – the perfect ending to a perfect lunch.

The best part of the day for me was to get up enough courage to speak to Chef Olvera. He was lovely, kind and thoughtful. I also had the opportunity to speak to Chefs Salgado, Branch and the Mixologist, Osvaldo. They were passionate, warm and definitely the new young movers and shakers in the culinary world.

Chef Branch, Mixologist Vazquez, Chef Olvera and Chef Salgado

I am celebrating my birthday and this was my dream start to what is looking to be a wonderful weekend.

Alex Branch, Sabrina Lopez, Enrique Olvera and Carlos Salgado

Alex Branch, Sabrina Lopez, Enrique Olvera, Akiba and Carlos Salgado

Recipe: Green Tomato Jam

1000 g green tomatoes or tomatillos

20 g olive oil

50 g sugar

20 g Champagne or white wine vinegar

1 cardamom pod whole

1 g coriander seed whole

1 g cumin seed whole

3 g salt

Wash and stem the green tomatoes. Grate on the large holes of box grater; combine with oil in a wide pot and bring to a gentle simmer stirring regularly. Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods discarding the pods. Combine the seeds with the cumin and coriander in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind to a fine powder, then add to the tomatoes. Continue cooking slowly until the liquid is reduced and the jam is thickened. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook for a few minutes to thicken again, stirring constantly so the pulp does not burn or color. Add the salt before removing from the heat to cool.

There is still time to participate in the finale tonight:

Saturday, July 2

6-11 p.m. – Five-Course Prix Fixe Menu at Manta

The dynamic chef duo of Salgado and Olvera team up again at Manta for a one-night-only prix fixe menu. As they alternate in preparing courses, each provides insight into their distinctive, yet complementary takes on Mexican cuisine. Vazquez’s beverage pairings include sake, wine and cocktails. Tickets are $100 per person or $120 with beverage pairing.

10 p.m.-2 a.m. – Anniversary Party at The Rooftop

As a grand finale, the anniversary festivities flow to Cabo San Lucas’ only rooftop lounge for bites and specialty cocktails inspired by both The Cape and Taco Maria. Resident DJ Capri and guest DJ Cyril spin tunes to sync with an anniversary fireworks display. This retreat elevates the party mood with its views spanning from downtown to the Sea of Cortez, communal seating area with a fire pit, intimate cabanas and a craft beer garden pouring Baja-sourced brews. Admission to The Rooftop is complimentary, with menu served at a la carte pricing.

Again, individual events are open to hotel guests and the general public. Reservations are available by emailing :

mantareservations@thompsonhotels.com

or calling 011-52-624-163-0000 (when dialing from the U.S.).

Baja Beat - Inspired by My World

Los Cabos Mexico

Hierbabuena Restaurante – Devoted to Local and Organic

NEPTUNOS MARISCOS, MUSIC AND DRINKS

Cooking Demonstration with Maestro Enrique Olvera at Manta Restaurant