By Wendy Lemlin
I’d be willing to wager that for most of you reading this, downtown Chula Vista is not the first place you’d think of—or at all— when deciding where to go for a fantastic dinner and amazing wine selection. Yeah, me neither—that is, until my recent visit to Zarco, Cocina De Baja, in the heart of Chula Vista’s 3rd Avenue shopping district. There, among shops whose windows display the most colorful of flouncy quinceanera dresses, Chef Flor Franco has converted the commercial kitchen of her highly successful Indulge Contemporary Catering company into a first rate showcase for her take on the much acclaimed cuisine and wines of Baja California.
Chef Flor Franco in Zarco’s kitchen
“I wanted to bring the flair of all that is Baja, and particularly the lovely Valle de Guadalupe, to the San Diego area, in a coming together of local products and the Valle culinary sensibilities,” Chef Flor expounds. “In recent years, the Guadalupe Valley has become known as the epicenter for wine production in Mexico, and along with the growth of the wine culture has come the gourmet cuisine, straddling the line between sophistication and fun, starring mostly locally sourced ingredients. This is the inspiration for my restaurant, that and the Baja wines we are presenting, each available by the glass or bottle, no matter the price.”
Currently, the medium sized menu revolves around seafood and quail, with a few dishes featuring lamb or pork belly, which Franco says will play an increasing role in dishes to come. “Soon, I plan to start having “whole animal” family dinners on Sundays, where we will cook a whole pig or lamb and make different dishes from the entire animal.”
Without reservation, I can honestly say that everything I sampled at Zarco during their “soft opening” exceeded my high expectations. From the “Barra Cruda” (raw bar) section of the menu, the Cebiche Sureño was a symphony of citrus cured local fish with a delicious, but not overpowering, fruitiness of mango and guava, and the oh-so-fresh sashimi-like Tiradito de la Casa featured buttery tender slices of raw yellowtail, small smoky chunks of grilled octopus, citrusy yuzu, and a hint of South American bite from the Peruvian rocoto and aji amarillo peppers.
Tiradito de la Casa
A refreshing Ensalada de Alga Marina combining zesty seaweed, arugula, cucumber and radish (being a non-meat eater, I requested that the chicharron be omitted) provided all the greenness I needed.
Arroz La Montada
For the main course, savory Arroz a la Montada lived up to it’s name (montada translates as mounted) with a hearty base of chipotle and pasilla pepper kissed rice topped with a mound of 4 each clams, mussels and shrimp, and chunks of local fish. My companion’s Pulpa Asado starred perfectly grilled octopus, tender and meaty, with sautéed wild mushrooms and a scattering of the brown pinto beans known as bayo.
Pulpo Asado
We shared two desserts; one a scoop of pasilla gelato—tasting more of vanilla than the pepper—swam in a rose colored broth of local berries, and complemented the second: chunks of moist olive oil cake accompanied by dollops of mascarpone cheese and dulce de leche, and topped with a berry coulis.
Pasilla Gelato in fresh berry broth
And then there is the wine. Curated by Fernando Gaxiola of Baja Wine + Food, the wine list includes between 75 and 100 labels, all from the acclaimed wineries of Baja. Any wine is available by the glass, thanks to a system called Coravin that extracts wine from the bottle without removing the cork, allowing the remaining wine to continue to age naturally.
The restaurant’s interior plays with the colors of Mexico, in an earthy-chic, raw materials kind of way, with certain elements deliberately reminiscent of other restaurants and wineries in Baja. Courtesy of the design capabilities of Merijam Roelofs, whose Folk Project utilizes the traditional indigenous Huipil textile in unexpected ways; the brightly colored woven and embroidered textiles adorn armchairs and cushions on the planter-topped pressed board banquettes that line painted concrete walls. “I want my guests to feel that they are being hugged by the Valle de Guadalupe,” Franco smiles. Tables are either brushed steel or butcherblock, the floor is tile, and a light fixture made from repurposed wine bottles hangs from the ceiling. The wine bar looks like bins of wine bottles.
Ceiling light fixture
Chef Flor notes that “there are so many Mexicans living here that are excited to be able to taste the Baja wines on this side of the border. And not just Mexicans, of course; the wine list is drawing in who have become familiar with the wineries in the Valle, while those who are familiar with my food tell me that they are so happy that I now have a restaurant they can come to. My vision for Zarco, named for a town where several of the wineries are located in the center of the Valle de Guadalupe, is to showcase genuine Mexican food, incorporating a new wave of complex flavors from Southern Mexico, from such places as Oaxaca and Vera Cruz, with the influence of products, such as cheeses and Jamon Iberico imported from Spain. Jamon Iberico is considered one of the world’s finest foods, right up there with truffles, caviar, and the like, and I don’t think there is any other restaurant in San Diego where you can sit and drink My vision for Zarco, named for a town where several of the wineries are located in the center of the Valle de Guadalupe, is to showcase genuine Mexican food, incorporating a new wave of complex flavors from Southern Mexico, from such places as Oaxaca and Vera Cruz, with the influence of products, such as cheeses and Jamon Iberico imported from Spain. Jamon Iberico is considered one of the world’s finest foods, right up there with truffles, caviar, and the like, and I don’t think there is any other restaurant in San Diego where you can sit and drink wonderful wine from the Valle while enjoying a plate of precious Jamon Iberico.” wine from the Valle while enjoying a plate of precious Jamon Iberico.”
Zarco’s menu will change according what such suppliers as Suzie’s Farm and Taj Farms have available, and of course will change seasonally. The intimate restaurant is open Tuesday – Sunday, 4-10pm and reservations are encouraged. 277 3