OMG (Oh My, Gallo)

To judge by Saturday night's "Ritmos, Colores y Sabores" on the plaza in San Jose del Cabo, food festivals in Mexico don't differ much from food festivals in the United States. The serving starts a little late and progresses slowly, the lines get long fast, and the food disappears quickly; chefs were breaking down their stalls a little after 8 p.m., though the event was billed as lasting until 10 p.m. And in a sense, it almost did, given the range of entertainment that occupied the stage until nearly 10 p.m., long after most of the food was gone.

In that sense, Ritmos, Colores y Sabores - Rhythms, Colors and Flavors - was a step up from the entertainment at food festivals in the U.S., usually limited to some jazz combo nobody can hear because it's stuck in an obscure corner. Here, the entertainment went on and on, and at times was so lively it helped alleviate pressure on the food stands by distracting diners. The show included the large and uniformed glee club of a local elementary school, numerous high-energy vocalists, mariachi, folk dancers, fire dancers and belly dancers.

As in the U.S., participating restaurateurs donated dishes representing their menus in hopes of attracting new customers. It worked for me. I've added to my list of restaurants to visit before heading home Baja Blue Bar & Grill in San Jose del Cabo on the strength of its zesty seafood shots, La Galeria at the marina in Cabo San Lucas for its hearty nopales salad and fresh scallop-and-mango ceviche, Los Deseos Restaurant Bar at the marina in Cabo for its intriguing assortment of salsas, and Mi Cocina in the boutique hotel Casa Natalia in San Jose because of its bracing salad of scallops, octopus and nopales. By and large, the food was intricate and artful, the servings generous.

Sponsored by the Public Relations Association of Los Cabos to benefit a program assisting local women with cancer, the festival was well worth the price of 200 pesos per adult ($20 in U.S. currency). I think if they were to raise the price to $30 per person next year they'd still see the same size crowd, but hopefully they'd also arrange for more food. Aside from small sample shots of tequila and cups of coffee, beverages were an additional charge - 20 pesos per can of beer, 50 pesos per plastic glass of wine. And the only wines being poured, much to our dismay and no doubt much to the mortification of the Mexican wine trade, were by Barefoot Cellars, a California brand owned by E&J Gallo Winery. I've had pleasant Barefoot wines over the years, but the releases being poured Saturday night apparently don't travel well. Neither the cabernet sauvignon nor the pinot noir showed any varietal character, and overall weren't up to the quality of the food being served. That Modelo Light, however, isn't a bad can of beer.