We spent MLK weekend in Los Cabos. We didn’t have time to hit the farm to table places, but found some good alternatives that fit our schedule.
La Lupita Taco y Mezcal has a broad taco menu, with inventive tacos based on flavors/preparations from all over Mexico, and I was skeptical they’d be able to pull everything off. Lo and behold, they’ve got chops— flavors, spicing, composition, texture, and high quality fresh masa tortillas, which you can see them pressing to order.
I’d love to visit here multiple nights to eat the entire menu. As we had only one night, we split twelve tacos, a appetizer, and off-menu churros. Tacos were too notch. In all we had ten different types of tacos, which varied on shell (wheat flour, blue corn, yellow corn, pink corn, crispy cheese), animal (cow, pig, duck, octopus, sea bass, scallops), and traditional vs. chef’s creation.
5.0 stars
CHEESE CRUST PASTOR: Marinated Pork, Asadero Cheese Crust, Cilantro, Onion, Pineapple, flour
PIBIL SUCKLING PIG: Axiote, Carrot and Habanero Purre, Xnipec Sauce, Blue Corn
4.8 stars
(Off menu) Tacos dorados: stuffed with chicharon, topped with ceviche, blue corn
CRUSTED FISH: Peanuts, Amaranth, Sesame, Wasabi Mayo, Cabbage, Carrot, Flour
DUCK WITH MOLE: Black Mole, Hibiscus Compote, Flour
4.7 stars
MEDITERRANEAN OCTOPUS: Grilled, Herbs Oil, Lime, Guacamole, Baby Arugula, Flour
(Off menu) “brisket”: suadero in a fried cheese shell
Good quality parts, composition not to my liking:
BAJA SCALLOPS: Breaded, Chipotle Mayo, Cucumber, Mint, Carrot, Flour
ROASTED RIBS: Short Ribs, Fresh Goat Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Baby Arugula, Chipotle Sauce, Blue Corn
PORK BELLY: Watercress, Green Onion, Chile Serrano, Pink Corn
Chula, a Vegan cafe in Cabo San Jose was a nice break from meat and seafood. Good variety of smoothies and the best veggie burger I’ve had in years.
Cabo Pulmo, about a 2 hour drive, largely dirt roads, from Cabo San Jose isn’t a dining destination, but has snorkeling opportunities and good hiking. That said, the limes wherever we ate were extraordinary and had a fruitiness we don’t get in the US and I didn’t even experience in Cabo San Jose.
Tito’s, at the entrance to town, was our choice for breakfast. Chilaquiles (we asked for eggs divorciados to get both salsas) and machaca with eggs were both good. They listed a Saturday night buffet.
There’s a new place, Tacos & Beer, that was closed when we went there.
We had a lunch and two dinners at Los Caballeros, which I understood to be the best place in town, and at least the plating was nice. Food was spiced mildly, even the aguachile, which had no heat. Better dishes were the nopales (cooked with cheese in corn husks), chicken quesadillas, and the molcajete which contained beef, chorizo (tasted almost like polish sausage), shrimp, and stayed super hot to keep the cheese in a magma-state before crisping. Stuffed chicken, octopus, birria, beef quesadillas, big eyed jack, and veggie sides had issues. Be warned they’re very slow, even when empty food took about an hour to arrive.
