LOS ANGELES.- A few months ago they conquered the heart of famous Chef Anthony Bourdain and now they won over Los Angeles' audience.

Last Saturday, "La Guerrerense", the iconic seafood cart from Ensenada won the top award at the LA Street Food Fest beating over a 100 restaurants, snack bars and street food carts.

Noticeably excited, Sabina Bandera González, who started the family business over 40 years ago, received the "Best in Show" award from the hands of festival organizer Shawna Dawson.

"I am very happy, very proud" she expressed regarding her award.

Last year the cart was rewarded for having the most original dish: their Sea Urchin Tostadas.

For more than 5 hours "La Guerrerense" offered its best ceviches and salsas to the LA public; their flavor did not go unnoticed and soon they had long lines awaiting to taste their tostadas.

The crowd earned the attention of the judges who then awarded the cart the Best In Show prize; "La Guerrerense" has become an icon of Baja California's gastronomy.

Amongst the dishes offered this year there were fish, octopus, shrimp and sea urchin tostadas as well as salsas made with Sabina's own recipes.

Earlier this year, Bourdain, host of the "No Reservations" TV show, shot an episode of his latest season at the Ensenada's cart, where he fell in love with its food. Back then he qualified "La Guerrerense" of being "incredible, sophisticated and fresh" through his Twitter account.

"La Guerrerense is known for being one of the most important food street carts of the world" mentioned Dawson at the end of the award ceremony.

"We love its food and we love her; she is the grandmother we all want to have, her tostaditas are amazing", she said to Sabina Bandera.

This is the second year on a row that a representative of Baja California's cuisine takes the top award at the LA Street Food Fest. Last year Javier Plascencia and the dishes from his Misión 19 restaurant were recognized by the LA festival that started 3 years ago.

The boom of the south of the border's gastronomy has been so great that this year the festival designated a special section for Baja California's food.

Next to "La Guerrerense", the show featured dishes by Aquí es Texcoco, Mariscos El Mazateño, Tacos Kokopelli and Misión 19 of Javier Plascencia earning a great response from attendees.

SanDiegoRed will feature the entire coverage from Baja California's gastronomy at the LA Street Food Fest tomorrow.

Alexandra.Mendoza@sandiegored.com

Translation: Karen.balderas@sandiegored.com