Museum of the Vine and Wine

Chef Diego Hernández Debuts Landmark Restaurant Diego in Valle de Guadalupe | Eater San Diego

"Opening inside the Museo de la Vid y el Vino, the new restaurant is led by chef Diego Hernández and partner Malcolm Simkoff in a space designed by Ensenada’s Romo Arquitectura that offers pristine views of the wine-growing region’s wide, flat valley — an ideal backdrop for Hernández’s inventive cooking. Hernández, who pulled out of a planned takeover of the shuttered Laja space and who opened Parador Mercédes in October 2023, positions the project as an intentional, smaller-scale alternative to mass-tourism developments; as he puts it, “I think this [last] year has been the worst year for Valle in terms of tourism,” and “People that love the Valle are tired of the same superficial [lip-service] and the big projects that cater to mass tourism,” says Hernández. The restaurant offers both an à la carte menu and an eight-course tasting menu titled Corazón de Tierra (a nod to Hernández’s former acclaimed restaurant that closed in 2020); an extended 12-course tasting is served at an eight-seat chef’s counter inside the kitchen. The eight-course Corazón de Tierra menu ($80) draws from the former restaurant’s “greatest hits”: lightly grilled Sol Azul Pacific oysters in melted butter and firm, fleshy strips of kanpachi crudo in pipián oil, followed by local borage dumplings in a delicate chicken stock with strong lemongrass. Midway comes a refried bean course of thick, umami-rich Oaxacan black beans, chorizo, sardines, and bacon topped with salsa Baqueano, a chopped onion and chile serrano condiment; based on his grandfather’s recipe, it’s finished with a flurry of shaved carne seca and served with buttery flour tortillas (Hernández has dubbed the dish Verlaine beans after Jonathan Gold penned his admiration for the dish in a Los Angeles Times review). The chef’s counter extended tasting ($100) features dishes such as the gargouillou — “a verdant medley of fresh leaves, broccolini stems, pan-fried shishito pepper, and salt-cured cactus pad strips interrupted by a single glistening red cherry tomato, pureed carrot, and lemon skin,” dressed with a tepache vinaigrette as an homage to chef Michel Bras — and concludes with beef ribeye strips grilled to medium rare paired with burnt cactus juice and butternut squash purée; there will be three seatings a day for the chef’s counter: 1 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. For those who prefer à la carte, highlights include a braised and roasted half duck with duck jus and beef or lamb shank slowly braised in black beans — a lamb shank Hernández served to the late Anthony Bourdain on an episode of No Reservations: Baja in 2012. The main dining room seats 40 at handmade wooden tables fashioned by Tijuana carpenter Gerardo Re, covered with elephant-pink tablecloths and linens by fashion designer Zayda Tavárez, with interior walls framed in rustic fieldstone. The museum and restaurant emphasize sustainability: a solar-powered kitchen with stainless-steel islands designed by Hernández and architect Alejandro Candela and fabricated by Tijuana-based Promotinox, induction burners to eliminate natural gas, and a portable camp grill to provide countryside smoke; Hernández plans a garden to supply seasonal organic produce supplemented by local farms like Finca La Carrodilla, and buys whole animals from local ranchers to be butchered in-house inspired by Animal (Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook). Sommelier George Parry will direct a wine program focused on grower-producer wines largely from the Valle de Guadalupe, including producers such as Cava Maciel, Solar Fortún, and Vena Cava. Hernández frames the effort as both culinary and ecological: “I want to return to a time when everything here was very personal and boutique,” says Hernández, and he adds that he can maintain current prices for the next year but will need to consider long-term financial and environmental viability: “It’s what we’ve been doing since we opened Corazón de Tierra, and it all makes sense if you simply respect the seasons,” he says. Reservations for the chef’s counter open January 23; the standard tasting and à la carte menus will roll out ahead of a grand opening on February 22. The restaurant will be open Thursday to Monday, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for dinner." - Bill Esparza