Food GPS » Muelle Tres – Ensenada, B.C., Mexico

Muelle Tres – Ensenada, B.C., Mexico – July 18, 2009

Posted August 14, 2009 at 5:54 pm

Address:
Blvd. Teniente Azueta 187
Ensenada, B.C., Mexico

La Guerrerense ignited a four-meal seafood firestorm that showcased Ensenada’s bounty. We feasted on tostadas at La Guerrerense and devoured shark tacos that were double-fried in lard at Tacos El Fenix before hitting Muelle Tres (Pier 3). Whereas La Guerrerense specialized in oceanic oddities like the sea cucumber and sea snail, Benito Molina’s two-year-old seafood bar featured classic Mediterranean flavors. Still, given the ultra-local ingredients we encountered, this experience would have been impossible to replicate in a city like Lisbon or Barcelona.

If you’re a movie fan, you’d probably enjoy the view from Pier 3: the “pirate ship” used in the filming of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The restaurant itself was small but airy, with blackboard menus, a few stools with prime views of the Muelle Tres shuckers, and a couple communal tables.

We started with golden slices of Tortilla Espanola, the classic Spanish potato and egg pie. This version was especially good, layered and moist.

We each received a terrific clam ceviche served on the half shell, loaded with sweet, tender strips of chocolata and Pismo, plus fresh avocado and diced cucumber for texture’s sake.

Fresh-shucked local oysters were cool, briny and unadulterated. Muelle Tres had an impressive selection of bottles hot sauces, so I added a few drops of Lucero chipotle salsa, but these oysters didn’t need any help.

Ensenada hosts several shops that specialize in smoking tuna and marlin. We popped thin-sheathed potato croquettes that were supple and flecked with smoked tuna.

Our final taste consisted of plump mussels that were partially submerged in a white wine, tomato and basil broth. This bowl cried out for baguette, but they were nowhere in sight.

This was one of the meals on our Baja bender that I wish we could have prolonged. It was a hot day, but with one hand clutching a refreshing Victoria beer and the other hand holding an oyster, life was good.

Thank you to the Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau, Crossborder Agency, Cotuco (Tijuana Tourism Board), and Tijuana Canirac (Tijuana Restaurant Association) for sponsoring our eye-opening culinary tour of northern Baja. Thank you to Bill Esparza from Street Gourmet LA for leading the tour and for supplying so much invaluable information.

IMPRESSIONS OF BAJA FROM FELLOW BLOGGERS

Pat of Eating LA:
Tijuana touring: Street food with tacos of the earth and sea
Ensenada: The place for seafood fanatics
Baja’s wine country: Silvestre restaurant and Villa del Valle inn are standouts in the Valle de Guadalupe

Matt of Mattatouille: The Baja California Food Decathlon – Part 1 + Part 2

Cathy of gast*ron*o*my: A Culinary Blitz Through Tijuana & Ensenada

Javier, The Glutster: Twenty Eats & Drinks in Two Days: Behold Baja California

Fiona of Gourmet Pigs: Baja Media Trip: First Night in Tijuana. Tacos and Cerveza Obscura.

Noah from LA Weekly’s Squid Ink: Roadtrip to Tijuana: Part I, Part II + Part III

Barbara of Table Conversation:
The Taquerias of Tijuana
A Tijuana Breakfast: Barbacoa
Cheering up at Cheripan
The Great Tastes of Tijuana

Bill of StreetGourmetLA: 48 Hours in Tijuana, Ensenada, and the Valle de Guadalupe

Eddie of Deep End Dining: My “What I Did for Summer” Video. The Epicurean Epic of Epic Proportions (and Portions). Tijuana, Ensenada y Valle de Guadalupe, MEXICO

Pleasure Palate: ¡Baja Delicioso! Introduction and the Ultimate Carne Asada Taco at Tacos El Poblano

H.C. of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures: POSTS TO COME