For starters, this place is Michelin recognized, and was rated best breakfast in the world in 2015…read moreby FoodieHub. I told myself if I'm ever in the area again, I have to make an effort to eat at this place. Well, the opportunity arose as I was staying at a nearby winery. The biggest problem I encountered was finding a ride to get to this restaurant. Taxis are nonexistent in the area. Ubers are only in the area when someone from Ensenada requests a round trip to the area, so no they are not available to others. Therefore, I expressed my frustration with the front desk at my winery hotel and they took on the task of finding me private transportation. About 40 minutes later, they called my room to inform me that they located a driver. Unfortunately, he requested an inflated price for the to and from the restaurant. Private drivers down here know that you have few choices, therefore, they can ask inflated prices. Yes, I was in a pickle, but I really wanted to go. I did not rent a car because many of the roads hug cliffs and everyone drives fast, because they know where all of the mountain curves are. Being from Chicago, where we also drive fast but don't have mountain cliff roads decided to play it safe and let others do the driving for me. Anyhow, I debated, and in the end agreed to the expensive terms because when I going to get the opportunity again to eat at a place rated best breakfast in the world?
How was the breakfast? It was absolutely delicious, everything was made from scratch. I ordered the cafe de la olla which interprets into coffee from the pot because typically it is prepared with raw sugar (piloncillo), canella (cinnamon sticks), and orange zest. How was the coffee? Delicious. I had some machaca (small bits of dried beef) with eggs which came with delicious refried beans. I also ordered the excellent chilaquiles with an egg and a side of bacon. I also needed to order the one thing most talk about on their menu which is the corn bread pancakes. They used the recipe for a typical corn bread sold down here called pan de elote to make the pancakes, and yes, they were excellent. Turning the batter from this recipe into pancakes was a brilliant idea. Also, I cannot leave out the great tasting freshly made corn tortillas that came with the food. The tortillas down here taste different from the ones back in Chicago because down here a white heirloom corn is utilized rather than the sweet yellow dent corn from the Midwest.
Was it the best breakfast that I have ever had in Mexico, or anywhere else for that matter? Well, it definitely lived up to the hype the breakfast was amazing and I do highly recommend it. If you do decide to visit, my best advice is show up early because a line forms very early. I have been lucky to have also had other amazing breakfasts in Mexico and other places in my travels. The secret to this restaurant sits right behind it. On the restaurant grounds is an active ranch, which also doubles as a small zoo, where they source their milk and meats from. Yes, they raise their own animals which later become items on the menu. Does that fresh matter? Yes, it absolutely does make all of the difference. Does it sound cruel? Well, that is a whole other conversation. Let's just say the animals are treated humanely. All of the livestock looked happy as they roamed around the grounds. Unlike the way livestock is treated inhumanly in the United States in dirty overcrowded housing where some never get to see the sun or roam freely in the open air. Livestock in the US are constantly given antibiotics and growth hormones, also fed gmo feed with questionable health implications for those that consume them.
