Last weekend we hacked our way through the lush back country that is Rancho Santa Fe -- passing by countless gated mansions, horses, polo clubs, and general wealth -- to get to Chino Farms. THE Chino Farms, venerated by Alice Waters, who states in Chez Panisse Vegetables, "The Chinos have made an art of farming. For two generations now, they have tended their land with an inexhaustible aesthetic curiosity, constantly searching out new and old varieties of dozens of fruits and vegetables from all over the world, and planting and harvesting year round." For us, this had always been a necessary San Diego pilgrimage and we weren't disappointed.
The makeshift parking lot was already packed with BMWs, Mercedes, SUVs of Unusual Size, and a few random Jaguars when we drove up in our dusty little Nissan around 10:30 AM. Given that we had a full day of sightseeing ahead of us and weren't sure if we'd be eating beyond lunch at Bread and Cie, I was there to eat simply with my eyes.
What a feast!