Club Tengo Hambre is Heading to Ensenada on February 20th

There are so many ways to interact with people these days, and to think that when I began this blog in 2007 when all I had was this blog, and maybe a MySpace? Today, there are many who only know me from this blog, others from my Instagram, TV appearances and even though I've been writing for Los Angeles Magazine since 2010 (I was even nominated for an Ellie) I still get people emailing me about posts from this blog. It's great to see that Street Gourmet LA still is a source to people out there looking for the good stuff.

Recently I've received emails about tips in Latin America and even to meet up in Baja, well those carefree days of meeting random people (That was a mixed experiment) in Baja and taking people across the border have come to an end. Even finding the time to answer my work emails is non-existent. I've become in demand for work as a writer, consultant, on-screen guide and fixer for TV shows and now have a tour company, Club Tengo Hambre, based in 3 markets. I'm constantly traveling to Latin America for job related activities, and with all these commitments, my free time is rare and my weeks are spoken for; sometimes only allowing a few slots a year for family and dear friends. 

With that said, I'd like to direct you to Club Tengo Hambre, and the carefully curated tours I've developed, which are experiences you'd receive if you were to go there with me. We have a street food and craft beer tour coming up on February 20th where you'll sip on Mexican craft beers poured by the producers paired with legendary street food vendors. Yes, you'll be going to La Guerrerense. 

Our guides treat you like a good friend, and we take out all of the variables: transportation, directions,  being in the right place at the right time and knowing the menu, that can prove a challenge to even the most seasoned travelers. Get to know us on February 20th with tostadas and beer. Buen Provecho!

More at www.clubtengohambre.com

   

Join Club Tengo Hambre for our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving in Baja on Saturday, November 28th

Skip the cold leftover turkey sandwiches--on second thought, make that comforting sandwich to go and head down to the Valle de Guadalupe on Saturday, November 28th with Club Tengo Hambre for our 3rd annual Thanksgiving in Baja at chef Javier Plascencia's picturesque Finca Altozano, with Las Nubes wines poured by oenologist, Victor Segura.


CTH was just featured in Condé Nast Traveler's, Valle de Guadalupe: Baja California's Surprising Wine (andFood) Destination, which named the Valle de Guadalupe as the next great wine country. CTH was "founded by a group of writers and bloggers living on both sides of the border, hosts popular events and guided tours centered around the region's food and wine that will have you feeling like an insider in no time"--David Landsel, Conde Nasté Traveler.

It's a fantastic opportunity to extend America's comfort food holiday with a quick getaway for couples and friends to the next great wine destination, Valle de Guadalupe, with Club Tengo Hambre.


Click on the link to purchase your ticket(s) now.

Tijuana After Dark, the Rebirth of Prohibition-Era Tijuana on Friday, December 12 with Club Tengo Hambre, Chef Javier Plascencia and Caesar's Restaurant

I'm thrilled to announce our first Repeal Day, Prohibition-themed event for Club Tengo Hambre in collaboration with chef Javier Plascencia, Caesar's Restaurant with live jazz and burlesque at an undisclosed location in Tijuana's Red Light District.

After many chats with Plascencia about the Golden Age of Tijuana we've turned this dream into reality. Tijuana's seedy past and present collide with the glamour and raciness of Hollywood during the 20's and 30's--hey Big Spendors, let's all go south of the border for a good time.

Tijuana After Dark by Club Tengo Hambre, Chef Javier Plascencia, and Caesar's Restaurant
Friday, December 12 @ 6:30pm
$110.00 a person
For tickets and more information go to this link.
 

Club Tengo Hambre, Mexico City for Street Food Essentials

Club Tengo Hambre, the roving supper club I founded with Jason Thomas Fritz (Tijuanalandia), Kristin Diaz de Sandi and Antonio Diaz de Sandi (Both of Life and Food Blog) has begun to offer our Street Food Essentials tour after months of test runs since our inaugural outing. This tour highlights the most delicious and sought after local street foods in Mexico's capitol. For those who've joined us over the past two seasons in Baja California, expect the same commitment to presenting the best local cuisine, chefs, cooks, and artisans; attentive service, and a fully curated experience that replicates our own personal adventures.

Join us for a taste of Street Food Essentials in Mexico City with a local, food loving chilango guide with the best tour company in Mexico's capitol--we capture the bold flavors of Mexico City like no other. Tours are available now at clubtengohambre.com! See you in Mexico City.

Club Tengo Hambre

SGLA About Town: New Posts on LA Magazine's Digest and Dine LA Plus Club Tengo Hambre in Sunset Magazine

The hall of carnes asadas at the Tlacolula Market in Tlacolula, Oaxaca.


Los Angeles has the third largest Oaxacan restaurant scene in the world, and the Oaxacan carne asada tradition--yes, they do grilled meats, too--is alive and kindling at the tables of your local Oaxacan restaurants. Check out La Parrillada Oaxaquena in my latest Essential T for Los Angeles Magazine's Digest.    

Head down to the Pico Rivera Sports Arena this Sunday for the Festival Colombiano and find out where to get the best Colombian cuisine in L.A., also on Los Angeles Magazine's Digest.


My Roving Supper Club, Club Tengo Hambre, a partnership with Jason Fritz, and Antonio and Kristin Diaz de Sandi was mentioned in a Sunset Magazine article as one of the 8 best things to do in Tijuana. Take a food adventure with us to Baja California and with our new branch in Mexico City.    


It's Restaurant Week at Dine LA, so I hope you're out there supporting Los Angeles restaurants; while you're at it, here's my guide to the best lobster rolls in Los Angeles, and here's an oldie but a goodie for this hot weather, my Dine LA Ceviche Lover's Guide.

Club Tengo Hambre, Mexico City is Now Open For Business--First Outing is Saturday July 5th

Club Tengo Hambre Mexico City from Club Tengo Hambre on Vimeo.


Club Tengo Hambre--a collaboration between Jason Thomas Fritz of Tijuanalandia,  Antonio and Kristen Diaz de Sandi of Life and Food Blog, and I--is coming to Mexico City to bring our roving supper club outings to the streets of Mexico's capitol. Join us for Street Food Essentials, or exploring the lesser known neighborhoods of the Centro Historico and the lesser known food havens like barrio Tepito--let's discover mezcal and pulque in the traditional and contemporary pubs known as mezcalerias and pulquerias respectively. Tienes hambre? (are you hungry?)

Our first run will be on July, 5th  for Street Food Essentials in Mexico City;  get your tickets here and join us for this ribbon cutting and street food feast, Club Tengo Hambre style.  

Club Tengo Hambre in the LA Weekly on Craft Beer and Tacos

Baja California Craft Beers in Tijuana 

Check out LA Weekly's Sarah Bennett, fresh back from our Best of Baja: Tijuana Tacos and Craft Beer extravaganza this past weekend. If you haven't been to Baja, there's no better way than to join Club Tengo Hambre, my roving supper club with partners Jason Thomas Fritz of Tijuanalandia and Antonio and Kristin Diaz de Sandi of Life and Food Blog.

Season 2 is off to a tremendous start--look for more of these original events in our 2014 calendar.

Club Tengo Hambre  

We Fought the Law and the Foie Won, March 6th at 7PM--4 Courses of Foie Gras by chefs Javier Plascencia, Jason Knibb, Walter Manzke, and Ryan Steyn

This Thursday, March 6th at 7PM, Club Tengo Hambre will be escorting guests across to border for reasons that have historically defined Tijuana as a border town to get what you can't get in the States--for a 4-course foie gras (banned in California) dinner. Tijuana has always been Mexico's illicit playground--like Las Vegas but with teeth!

The foie gras dinner is almost sold out, so if you want to taste the forbidden offal as prepared by masters: chef Javier Plascencia (Mision 19), chef Walter Manzke (Republique and Petty Cash Taqueria), chef, Jason Knibb (Nine-Ten) , and chef Ryan Steyn (Latitud 32), you'd better hurry. At a mere $130, it's a crime(Elliot Ness might come a knocking).    

Burlesque Dancer, Rita Ravell ( Tijuana After Midnite-1954)


As Mexico's first "city of sin", Tijuana played host to gambling, dog and horse races, cabaret shows, prostitution, and any other vice that could bend the wills of norteamericanos. Celebrities like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, the Marx Brothers, Bing Crosby, and Charlie Chaplin rubbed elbows with gangsters (even Al Capone himself) at the Agua Caliente Casino, and at Caesar's Restaurant, where Caesar Cardini himself made his signature salad to order. All made possible by the Volstead Act (1920-1933).

Tijuana's famous Long Bar, the Mexicali Beer Hall in the 50's

They went that-a-way


For 13 years, the U.S. Treasury Department waged a pointless war on alcohol in the United States that gave rise to an international criminal organization run by Al Capone.

 Captured shipment of alcohol being destroyed during prohibition--sound familiar?


During these years, Tijuana thrived by giving the people what they wanted--a stiff drink!

 Foie gras protestors

On this occasion, it's the California foie gras prohibition that is drawing diners to order the banned product in places like Las Vegas--any state but California, and now back to Tijuana. You won't find a better deal in the 2nd closest foie gras outpost--Las Vegas--where even a pair of bit-sized foie dishes will run you around $100 at a place like L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. The foie gras for this dinner comes from a farm in Guadalajara--chef Javier Plascencia says it's as good as the foie gras that was being produced up in Sonoma, CA.

If you live in north of the border--in the San Diego and Los Angeles metro areas--Tijuana once again is your ticket to satisfaction. Join us in Tijuana for foie gras prepared by an all-star line-up of chefs of the Californias.

We Fought the Law and the Foie Won, 4 Courses of Foie Gras at Mision 19, featuring Plascencia, Knibb, Steyn, and Manzke
Thursday, March 6 @ 7PM
Mision 19
Tijuana, B.C.
$130 person, includes dessert and 2 glasses of wine
For tickets, go click here.