Best of 2001: Best Break On Your Way To Ensenada

Halfway House (Restaurant Medio Camino)

Kilometer 32 on the Tijuana-Ensenada free road

In the days of boiling radiators, this was a natural stop for people taking the free road (the only road back then) to Ensenada. The restaurant in the white house with the million-dollar cliff-top view was the place for everybody to stretch their legs. You can still see a 1928 photo of it looking just as it is today except for Model T's dotting the driveway. Celebrities such as Gene Tunney, Ronald Reagan, and Jack Dempsey are said to have stopped here. Many were heading for Dempsey's elegant casino in Ensenada. At night the place had a reputation for partying. Today it's harder to get to. Because of the toll road, it's easy to whizz by the turn-off before you realize you're there. The burritos, Milanese steak, and enchiladas that the Gonzales family always served taste great in the salt air. And you'll never get a bar with a better view, though you'll probably spend half your time looking at all those photos of the wild old days.