The 20 Essential Restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe
"Chef Javier Plascencia has created a gastronomic wonderland of restaurants at his sizable property but the best seat is at a couple of dozen tables under a 200-year-old oak tree down the hill. Led by executive chef Oscar Torres, Animalon portrays a modern vision of Mexican wine country that celebrates the smoky flavors of the campestre with clay-baked lamb barbacoa and seared sea bass with sea urchin cream. The Mexican foie gras coulant is a decadent pleasure, and mussels served in false shells made from charred potatoes evoke a Baja seaside snack through a modernist lens. Plascencia celebrates the extreme pleasures of drinking wine, eating food cooked with fire, and indulging in opulent yet accessible products." - Bill Esparza
