From downtown San Diego, it’s 88.6 miles to Valle de Guadalupe (“The Valle”). It’s 8.9 miles to downtown Chula Vista and Zarco Cocino de Baja, the new Baja bistro from chef Flor Franco. The Valle produces 90 to 95 percent of all wine from Mexico. Zarco’s all-Baja list has 99 of those wines, making it the largest Mexican wine list in the U.S. Numbers are fun. So is Franco’s cebiche sureño with mango, guava, and serrano, marinated Peruvian-style with leche de tigre. Her lamb is seriously good, slow-braised in mescal and served with a corn tamal and sweet potatoes with chile rajas. Those wines? Try the Monte Xanic 2013 Sauvignon Blanc or the 2006 Cru Garage Torres Alege y Familia. Salud. 277 3rd Avenue, Chula Vista
New Restaurant: Zarco Cocino de Baja
Photography by Luis Garcia
