ROSARITO.- The 22nd edition of the traditional Lobster Festival took place this weekend in Puerto Nuevo, and was a great success. Four restaurants showed off the regions most well-known dish, Lobster, accompanied with various appetizers and drinks.

The festival was open to the public, but guests that wanted to eat had to exchang tickets for lobster, wine, or beer. Walking through the town's cobblestone streets was part of the fun, and we visited all of the shops and stands offerings things like desert, and Mexican crafts. At the end of the street was a band stand, with rotating musical acts and folkloric dance to enjoy along with warm weather and cold beer.

The event had a cost of $300 pesos, or $24 dollars, for a meal of your choice. Our options included lobster prepared by Restaurante Puerto Nuevo II, Hacienda Ortegas, Casa de la Langosta, or La Escondida. We tried out Ortega's because of a recommendation we received from a nice man who we met on the way over.

One enormous plate of lobster accompanied with rice, beans, and spicy salsa, with the necessary melted butter, and the biggest flour tortilla I have ever seen folded five or six times over so that it could fit on the plate. We also had the option to try a side of papagayo shrimp mixed with lobster, and monterrey jack cheese wrapped in bacon.

Victor Hernandez, one of the waiters at Ortega's, told us that approximately 200 to 300 lobsters were prepared for this event, per restaurant. Almost a 1,200 lobsters to be devoured by guests. At 5pm, the trash cans overflowed with the tell-tale red shells of the meatless lobsters. The heat died down a little as did the commotion in the kitchens, but the place was still packed with tourists who still stopped by to try out the unique and savory Puerto Nuevo style lobster.

Such was the case of Luis Marcos, who was visiting from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon just for the Lobster Festival, after seeing a flyer announcing the event in Tijuana.

I chose the dish offered by La Escondida, by Chef Joaquin. "It was excellent, everything was cooked to perfection. There were some delicious shrimps full of flavor, I want you to see them" he said, showing us his dish. "Crunchy and gold colored, so delicious" he said and showed us his sides of fish filet, breaded shrimps, and calamari which he all washed down with a margarita.

La Casa de la Langosta offered two options. One was a plate with two lobsters, or another was one lobster with a fish filet and tamarindo shrimp. They both looked delicious and we were so tempted to try, but we were too full.

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The Lobster Festival was just another way to show people the richness of Baja California's cuisine. The Festival was possible thanks to support from various organizations, such as CANIRAC, COTUCO Rosarito, FIDEM and the Puerto Nuevo Restaurant Union. Thanks to this event, we got to try out new things, and visitors from far away now have a point of reference to put this village on the map. Hundreds of guests were able to confirm why this small fishing village has the reputation that it does, as the Capital of Lobster, home of the best lobster in the world.

Elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com