March 19, 2012 – My only morning at Rancho Pescadero started with a bottomless cup of coffee and a husk-free chicken tamale coated in tangy salsa verde, served with beans and avocado.

March 20, 2012 – El Compa Chava is a Sinaoloan mariscos outpost on the outskirts of Todos Santos, and Salvador “Chavo” Chavez gave the seafood reason to dance.

March 20, 2012 – Mazatlan native Sergio Rivera incorporated global influences into his menu at La Casita Tapas & Wine Bar, igniting shrimp skewers that he soaked in Cointreau, tequila and Grand Marnier and planted in a pineapple steak.

March 21, 2012 – Our farewell from Todos Santos and the boutique Hotel Casa Tota came with a sendoff from Tony Peralta, the chef at on-site La Santeña restaurant, who sent out a parade of plates and molcajetes, one filled with rajas.

March 21, 2012 – Our arrival in La Paz, a city “discovered” by conquistador Hernan Cortés final meal in Mexico was at Bismark-cito, a seafood-focused restaurant on the Malecon with a mysterious connection to the sunken WWII battleship and a steady supply of local chocolata clams, which squirm when squeezed with lime juice.

March 21, 2012 – The most exciting restaurant in La Paz at the moment belongs to Sonora native Carlos Valdez, who started with wood-grilled meats and seafood and continues to add depth. During our meal at Buffalo Bar-B-Q, he featured four types of clams, including blanca, pinta, reina and massive geoduck.

March 22, 2012 – We concluded a day on the water, which included snorkeling with sea lions and chasing crabs on the island of Espiritu Santo, with a waterfront meal at Restaurant Playa Pichilingue, which has been prepping seafood since 1972, including deep-fried huachinango (red snapper).

March 23, 2012 – El Triunfo, a dusty mountain town that was ground zero for the 19th Century gold rush in Baja California Sur, was the unlikely setting for Caffe El Triunfo, a triumphant Italian restaurant from NorCal native Marcus Spahr, who built a wood-burning oven (and almost everything else on the property).

March 23, 2012 – Flora’s Field Kitchen keeps everything local, sourcing from surrounding gardens, and smoking yellowtail with mango wood to produce cottage cheese-blended sierra pate.

March 24, 2012 – Our final meal in Mexico was at at Casa Natalia, a boutique hotel near the square in San Jose del Cabo. My breakfast consisted of an omelet filled with panela cheese, topped with spinach and pesto, and served with a hash brown and balsamic-dressed salad.