We continue our look at celebrities that have stopped by to visit both locations. If you haven’t, you can also go back and read Part I of our celebrity series.
Rick Bayless
A James Beard Award-winning chef, Bayless owns several prominent restaurants including Frontera Grill, Toplobampo, and Xoco. He has gained fame for winning the highest honor on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, as well. Also, quite impressively, Bayless has earned the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle. Bayless first visited us in our San Diego location to celebrate his wonderful wife’s Birthday on December 6, 2014.He later mentioned us on Twitter, “WONDERFUL Barbacoa and salsa borracha!”
Jonathan Gold
As a Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times, Gold has seen it all. He has his plate full sampling everything that Los Angeles has to offer, from porridge, to ponzu, to pancita. Besides writing for the Los Angeles Times, Gold has been known to pen missives for Rolling Stone and Spin. Jonathan first visited the Los Angeles restaurant and wrote about it on August 8, 2014. “Lamb barbacoa at Aqui Es Texcoco is a perfect supper on a hot Sunday afternoon, perhaps accompanied by a Cucapá pale ale or two. I have often driven to the restaurant’s original U.S. location in Chula Vista for lunch, and I have always been happy I did…” Since then, Gold has mentioned the restaurant on different articles and even bloggers from all the country now mention Texcoco.
Bill Esparza
Food blogger, traveler, saxophonist, and a great friend. Latin American Culture Chronicler. Bill Esparza wears many hats. You can read all about his food adventures on his blog, Street Gourmet LA, his frequent columns for Los Angeles Magazine, or watch him on television (on the Travel Channel, for example). Esparza is also part of Club Tengo Hambre. Bill and Andrew Zimmern first visited publicly the San Diego restaurant and fire pit on February 11, 2012. In one of his articles, Esparza wrote “I’ve been an advocate for Aqui es Texcoco since 2008, […] The best barbacoa in SoCal is about to get a whole lot closer to central…” Esparza also has mentioned the restaurant’s Pulque, tacos and, of course, the Lamb Barbacoa.
David Faitelson
Faitelson is one of the most recognized sports broadcasters in Mexico for ESPN Deportes. He started his career as a journalist for important Mexican newspapers such as La Aficion, El Heraldo de Mexico and El Excelsior before he became a sports correspondent for TV Azteca. David and Rafa Ramos first visited us in Los Angeles on August 16, 2014. During his visit, Faitelson wrote on Twitter “En el impresionantemente delicioso Aqui es Texcoco…” (“I’m at the impressively delicious Aqui es Texcoco…“).
For Francisco Perez, it has been important to seve authentic food without all the gimmicks that are considered modern or “sexy”. The challenge is to create traditional Mexican cuisine with ingredients and cooking techniques that go back to our roots. This makes our food, simple, authentic, and yet, delicious. That’s our motto. That’s the new sexy. Maybe that’s the reason why celebrities have visited Texcoco. Maybe, with all the buzz about gourmet food, they ended up craving something simple and delicious.