Opening today in the heart of downtown Chula Vista is a new wine bar with a focus on the food and wine of Baja.
Chef/owner Flor Franco, who cooks on both sides of the border, remodeled her former catering kitchen into an intimate eatery called Zarco Comida de Baja, which will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. daily.
Overseeing the wine component is Fernando Gaxiola of Baja Wine + Food, who will be organizing wine events in the space as well as stocking 75 to 100 different bottles from Baja that are all available by the glass, courtesy of an almost surgical Coravin system, which extracts a measure of wine without pulling the cork. Gaxiola says that Zarco is working on a license that'll allow to restaurant to also function as a retail wine store.
Franco's food includes barely-cured seafood, ranging from aguachile to ceviche, plus soups, salads and larger plates that include a well-braised lamb shank and a slab of pork belly served with smoked lentils and a fig reduction.
· Zarco Comida de Baja [Facebook]