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Having recently returned from Ensenada, I'll answer my
own question about where to eat there. The answer:
roadside stands and push carts. On the road from
Ensenada to La Bufadora, I had some of the best sweet
corn tamales I've ever eaten. They came from a small
stand, near Punta Banda, where a woman was cooking them
at roadside over an open wood fire. Her pineapple
tamales and chicken tamales were also wonderful. In
Ensenada, I had some very good fish tacos and beef
tacos from push carts. One cart marinated the beef in
lime juice, garlic, onions, orange slices, and chiles
(a not uncommon marinade for carne asada), and cooked
the meat over natural wood coals. Across the front of
the cart were a variety of toppings (shredded cabbage,
etc.) and salsas. Five tacos for $3. Delicious! Of
course there are also carne asada tacos available from
similar carts in East L.A. that are just as good, so no
need to go all the way to Ensenada for these. (To
Jonathan Gold: Alas, I didn't make it to the pier to
seek out the fish taco vendor you extolled. Next
time.) There is one block on Avenida Lopex Mateos in
Ensenada that seems to specialize in spit roasted
chickens, there being three separate restaurants with
chickens roasting in the front windows. I believe the
best--and most sedate--of these is La Hacienda del
Charro, 454 Avenida Lopez Mateos, where I enjoyed a
good version of chicken mole poblano. The plain,
unsauced spit-roasted chicken was also very good
although, again, these are readily available in Los
Angeles at lots of places. (A point of confusion:
there is a different "El Charro" restaurant with a
younger, noisier crowd across the street from La
Hacienda del Charro.) In the unlikely location of the
garish Festival Plaza in Rosarito Beach, north of
Ensenada, I had lunch at El Patio, which included a
mediocre tortilla soup (vastly inferior to the version
served at Cha Cha Cha on Virgil in Los Angeles), very
nice crepas Xochimilco with tasty, firm and juicy
shrimp and huitlacoches in a mild, creamy poblano chile
sauce. Although the huitlacoches were canned, the dish
overall was delicious. I also liked the taste of the
Chihuahua-style charbroiled quail in rielera sauce,
though the quail were overcooked. But, as far as I'm
concerned, the real adventures in Baja California are
to be had at the small stands and carts. Tengo hambre.
