ROSARITO.- The second annual "Sabor a Baja" event took place yesterday, and received great reviews by guests in attendance. The event was hosted in the gardens of the Rosarito Beach Hotel, with an unbeatable view of the ocean. Sabor a Baja hosted hundreds of visitors looking for the best this region has to offer and try out Baja Med cuisine.

The affair was very simple but very well organized. Guests wore white clothes and got to try out many different recipes by many chefs from the region. Chefs from various restaurants each prepared a different platter, and paired it with either craft beer or wine according to what would bring out the best flavors.

At the end of the tasting, we had to vote for our favorite and a winner was selected.

We started off our tasting tour with a tostada de pulpo adobado (marinated octopus tostada) from La Justina located on Avenida Revolucion. They decided to pair up with the aromas and flavors of Tiniebla, a beer by Cervecería Insurgente, with a wheat and pilsner malt base and other ingredients such as orange peel, and cilantro seed. The beer went well with the tostada and made for a refreshing pairing thanks to the citrus flavor of the beer and the small pieces of pineapple on the tostada.

One of our favorites was a lamb appetizer marinated in Cardera porter, a brewerly located in Ensenada. This was paired with the same porter, making for a perfect combination with the strong meat and mature Porter aged with Jack Daniels whiskey.

Deckman's en el Mogor was one of the restaurants representing Valle de Guadalupe with chef Drew M. Deckman presenting a marinated oyster, perfectly paired with a white chardonnay 2013 variety from Lechuza Winery.

The Russian House, or La Casa Rusa: A restaurant that has yet to open its doors also attracted our attention. With its upcoming opening at Viñedos Malagón scheduled for February 2015, this is a project that is named to honor a 150 year-old building that that belonged to the founding Russians of the Guadalupe Valley.

Its offering at the envent was a plantain crisp topped with chicken and Grenache Wine, "El Grenache", by Viñedos Malagón. The wine was also used to cook the chicken and the beans mixed with lemon and serrano ham.

Tijuana made a second appearance, this time with Mexican food by IPA'A, with grilled trout tacos, and a green salad with vinaigrette. To digest the meal, we tried some White Chardonnay 2011, the choice of all restaurants that used white meat, because of its smooth taste and low acidity.

Undoubtedly, the most popular pairing of the night was Almazara restaurant in conjunction with Rosarito winery Claudius. They had many types of meet for a taco and a different type of wine for each selection. We tried the lamb with Hibiscus flower and a glass of Cabernet. The result was an exotic mixture of fruit which blended perfectly with the lamb.

The winners of the contest, according to a group of seasoned chefs, were La Terrase by Martin San Román in first place, followed by Deckman's en el Mogor and Santa Brasa coming up in third place, all located in alle de Guadalupe.

Trophies were also handed to award the winner according to guest votes, for fourth place, and that award went to Madera 5 for the second year in a row, in collaboration with Caesars in Tijuana.

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