Food in Tijuana

[MemoeNasty]

To TJfan1111.

Glad to hear from you.

Some of the tastiest, creamiest, tenderest grilled beef I ate was at Churrascarria do Brasil. US grills like Morton, Maestro, Ruth Chris are not anywhere near as competition.

Looks like the Picanha Top Sirloin Cap is the favorite cuts for Brazil and Latin America, sirloin with a fat cap on top. That cut is beefy, tasty and creamy with a slightly smoky flavor. Dam Delicious. The brisket was also tender, juicy, creamy and tasty. The tenderloin was cut into strips and grilled over smoky flame, not so juicy. Other cuts I also like the hump, called Cupim in Brazil, which is mostly fat, creamy like butter, not found in Mexico. I like the Picanha cut so much, will try to buy and grill them at home on the spit. Damn.

I ate so much meat, like 4 plates of different cuts, I could barely walk. My metabolism is now slow. The meat stayed in me for 2 days before fully digested. OTOH My wingman is a pro chef and a big eater. He downed about 8 plates of meats plus veggies, then 2 plates of deserts. He immediately went back to HK for sessions with 2 girls. He fully digested the meal by about 2 AM. Damn..

Funny! A chica who works at sombreros in San Diego was just telling me about mr Pampas earlier this week. Saying I had to try it.

[TjFan1111]

To TJfan1111.

Glad to hear from you.

Some of the tastiest, creamiest, tenderest grilled beef I ate was at Churrascarria do Brasil. US grills like Morton, Maestro, Ruth Chris are not anywhere near as competition.

Looks like the Picanha Top Sirloin Cap is the favorite cuts for Brazil and Latin America, sirloin with a fat cap on top. That cut is beefy, tasty and creamy with a slightly smoky flavor. Dam Delicious. The brisket was also tender, juicy, creamy and tasty. The tenderloin was cut into strips and grilled over smoky flame, not so juicy. Other cuts I also like the hump, called Cupim in Brazil, which is mostly fat, creamy like butter, not found in Mexico. I like the Picanha cut so much, will try to buy and grill them at home on the spit. Damn..

Thanks. Good to be back on these boards. It's been a while. And thanks for the beef analysis at Churrascarria and your other recommendation near HK (I'll check it out). I concur that Picanha is damn delicious, and Churrascarria Mr. Pamapas in terms of quality of meat in Tijuana. Note I've been to Churrascarria in USA (Concord, CA), and it's even better (surprisingly). As far as other places in Tijuana that I can recommend there's only one:

Fonda Argentina. A bit pricey but I really liked this place. They don't have all you can eat, but the combo plate is essentially that (unless you're with your friend who can eat 24 lbs of steak). They use a Santa Maria grill to cook the meat, so it has a nice beautiful smokey flavor. Also, they have beef ribs! One of the very few things that I don't like about Churrascarria is it's difficult to get many slices from the beef ribs which are very nice. Note I haven't tried the beef ribs at Fonda, but I'm guessing that they are up to par with the other things I've tried (grilled octopus, steak), which were really really good.

A place in Tijuana that I want to try is Arcos. I hear that they have great seafood. I may take a chica or three there since they typically like prawns. What woman doesn't?!

In San Diego my favorite restaurant is:

Phil's BBQ (3750 Sports Arena Blvd.) The beef ribs are the thing to order. Also, if you like tri-tip (not high on my list), the El Torro sandwich is good. Probably not as good as TX, but TX is far from Tijuana!

[Captain Solo]

To TJfan1111.

Glad to hear from you.

Some of the tastiest, creamiest, tenderest grilled beef I ate was at Churrascarria do Brasil. US grills like Morton, Maestro, Ruth Chris are not anywhere near as competition.

Looks like the Picanha Top Sirloin Cap is the favorite cuts for Brazil and Latin America, sirloin with a fat cap on top. That cut is beefy, tasty and creamy with a slightly smoky flavor. Dam Delicious. The brisket was also tender, juicy, creamy and tasty. The tenderloin was cut into strips and grilled over smoky flame, not so juicy. Other cuts I also like the hump, called Cupim in Brazil, which is mostly fat, creamy like butter, not found in Mexico. I like the Picanha cut so much, will try to buy and grill them at home on the spit. Damn.

I ate so much meat, like 4 plates of different cuts, I could barely walk. My metabolism is now slow. The meat stayed in me for 2 days before fully digested. OTOH My wingman is a pro chef and a big eater. He downed about 8 plates of meats plus veggies, then 2 plates of deserts. He immediately went back to HK for sessions with 2 girls. He fully digested the meal by about 2 AM. Damn.

I would not recommend Mr. Pamapas due to their dry, overcooked meats, but the bros should definitely take an UBER ride for this sumptuous feast at Churrascaria do brasil, one of the best treat in Tijuana. The other good treat is fresh seafood at Mariscos El Choforo on Nino Heroes, one block South of the alley. Mariscos Villa Marina on Paseos de LOS Heroes is a fancy restaurant with a big menu but high prices.

Besides the sexy bars with hot girls, I am convinced Tijuana is a good food destination if you research the reviews. You know of other good eats in Tijuana or San Diego, let us know.

[TjFan1111]

Churrascaria do Brasil is in a shopping mall on Blvd Agua Caliente, further South from La Zona than Mr Pampas, but just about every cut of their meats are higher grades and expertly grilled to rare or medium, juicy, tasty, tender and flavorful. Mr. Pampas meats tend to be dry, tough and overcooked.

They also have more fresh varieties at the salad bar, about $12 weeknights after 6 until, no waiting for tables and not too noisy like Mr Pampas, highly recommended. My wingman is a professional chef and he liked it. He knew about all these cuts of meats and the quality of grilling far more than I did. We ate for about 2 hours. He gulped down 7 to 8 plates of meats plus 2 rounds of deserts, then went back to HK to screw 2 girls. Damn. His stomach is probably heavy-duty industrial grade. After a couple plates of meats, my only problem was lack of interests in talking, walking or sexing for a couple hours hehe. This grill is a very sumptuous treat for meat and cheese lovers. I would stop going to Mr. Pampas from now on.

The place did not have electricity or water all afternoon including about 1 hour while we were there. Unlike Pampas, The hostesses and waiters were fairly young but spoke very little English. You may have to use the voice translate app; we did not have to as we were expertly trained in the arts of hands, legs, mouth, tongue communication by the HK's trainers. Uber ride from La Zona about $6, 10,15 minutes.

Thanks for the report. I went to Churrascaria do Brasil in early August and agree. The food was damn delicious. IMO, it's better than Mr. Pampas. Also, having a ton of protein fuels the engines for more fun times in La Zona. Cheers.

[Phordphan]

Damn, the $3.50 Uber doubles at peak time which is right around supper time. Any of you guys who drives, can you post a quick and dirty tip / guide to driving in Tijuana? I noticed that the driving is more civilized the further one is from the border, but lanes are still ignored and rules of the road are really standards. Hell I don't even know if American insurance covers Mexico.

Quick and dirty tip? Follow racing rules. That means don't worry about whoever is behind you. It's their problem to look out for you. Get SENTRI on your car. Start with shorter trips and get longer. Keep your head on a swivel because many Mexicans drive with a death wish. But grow a pair and drive. It's no worse that San Fran or Florence, Italy. And not nearly as bad as Bangkok. But beware. The more time you spend outside of the ZN, the more you'll realize what a shithole the ZN really is.

[Jim0129]

Damn, the $3.50 Uber doubles at peak time which is right around supper time. Any of you guys who drives, can you post a quick and dirty tip / guide to driving in Tijuana? I noticed that the driving is more civilized the further one is from the border, but lanes are still ignored and rules of the road are really standards. Hell I don't even know if American insurance covers Mexico.

First of all, No, american insurance doesn't cover Mexico, you can buy insurance before you cross in San Ysidro.

Second, No, it doesn't get better as you go further away from the border, in fact it gets worse, there are places outside the tourist area in Tijuana that do not have pavement, also, the little amount of Tijuana natives that actually are still living in Tijuana (most of them migrated to the US or have double citizenship) are those ones near the border, some of them even drive american cars, those actually have gone to the DMV and have an american driver's licence.

The rest of Tijuana are people who migrated to the city (about 70%) and sometimes come from places with extreme poberty and couldn't afford a car before coming to Tijuana, those persons REALLY don't know how to drive!

The ones we do know how to drive chose not to drive well here, it's the cost of impunity, we know the authorities will not do anything to us because they don't care, so we run lights, don't pay attention to stop signs, don't care about lanes, we will throw the car to any pedestrian, etc. Etc.

It's just the way things are here in Mexico.

[Jackie888]

Damn, the $3.50 Uber doubles at peak time which is right around supper time. Any of you guys who drives, can you post a quick and dirty tip / guide to driving in Tijuana? I noticed that the driving is more civilized the further one is from the border, but lanes are still ignored and rules of the road are really standards. Hell I don't even know if American insurance covers Mexico.

[Captain Solo]

Churrascaria do Brasil is in a shopping mall on Blvd Agua Caliente, further South from La Zona than Mr Pampas, but just about every cut of their meats are higher grades and expertly grilled to rare or medium, juicy, tasty, tender and flavorful. Mr. Pampas meats tend to be dry, tough and overcooked.

They also have more fresh varieties at the salad bar, about $12 weeknights after 6 until, no waiting for tables and not too noisy like Mr Pampas, highly recommended. My wingman is a professional chef and he liked it. He knew about all these cuts of meats and the quality of grilling far more than I did. We ate for about 2 hours. He gulped down 7 to 8 plates of meats plus 2 rounds of deserts, then went back to HK to screw 2 girls. Damn. His stomach is probably heavy-duty industrial grade. After a couple plates of meats, my only problem was lack of interests in talking, walking or sexing for a couple hours hehe. This grill is a very sumptuous treat for meat and cheese lovers. I would stop going to Mr. Pampas from now on.

The place did not have electricity or water all afternoon including about 1 hour while we were there. Unlike Pampas, The hostesses and waiters were fairly young but spoke very little English. You may have to use the voice translate app; we did not have to as we were expertly trained in the arts of hands, legs, mouth, tongue communication by the HK's trainers. Uber ride from La Zona about $6, 10,15 minutes.

[Jackie888]

I just discovered the food district for about $3.50 per Uber from Cascadas. It is pretty decent over there with a couple of nearby malls and a nice break from a strip club atmosphere. Normal High dining for me is a clean food truck, so I am pretty impressed with the restaurants in the area. Actually I am more impressed with the prices. For the price of a Subways meal back in the States, I can actually have a decent sit down meal in a Tijuana upscale restaurant.

[ClamSlammer]

Can someone recommend a decent sushi restaurant with reasonable Tijuana prices?

The sushi place in Plaza Rio is pretty good.

[Captain Solo]

That place looks huge. It shows a large menu with no prices. I have to try it soon. The place in Ensenada looks nice but has a smaller menu WTF?

Mexicans eat raw seafood with salsa and various spicy sauces. To me Mexican mariscos are far more delicious than sushis and sashimis. I don't like to eat sushis with big lumps of rice. I would rather eat just seafood with spicy sauces Mexicans' ways.

A few Japanese bros living in San Diego keep driving down to Tijuana just to buy cocteles and ceviches of shrimp and raw shellfish. A new guy, an accomplished chef, who never ate raw seafood, got addicted to Mexican raw seafood. He would hang out at the school girl corner and stuff himself with raw seafood. Every time we went to Tijuana he has to hit the sea food cart first!

Have to keep the addresses here so I can quickly look up. The Ensenada location looks down the ocean with a nice, clean beach, about 5 miles North of El Centro, nice place to bring your GFs:

Villa Marina Tijuana.

Paseo de Los Héroes 4449, Zona río.

Tijuana, Baja California. See. P. 22300.

Villa Marina Ensenada.

Carr Tijuana-Ensenada km 104.

El Sauzal, Ensenada B. C. C. P. 22760.

[Artisttyp]

Can someone recommend a decent sushi restaurant with reasonable Tijuana prices?

Wasabi is good and so is the new SUSHIMAN in Paseo Chapultepec.

[KC Questor]

I've had quite a bit of good ceviche, though, which is *kind of* like sushi (I guess? I'm not the biggest expert on great ceviche or sushi, but I enjoy them both).

[Phordphan]

Can someone recommend a decent sushi restaurant with reasonable Tijuana prices?

Tijuana isn't the place for really good sushi. There are a couple that are decent. Wasabi is decent with reasonable prices. The place at the top of K Tower, I forget the name, is pretty good, but has prices to match although they are less than LA.

[Travv]

A doctor recommended I try this place as it is her favorite seafood restaurant in Tijuana. When I visited I had an excellent fish soup, had the guacamole and shrimp in different sauces. They offer sushi and have an open kitchen where you can watch them prepare the food in front of you. Attentive waiters and WiFi. If you want fresh fish for your sushi, you might want to give this a try. "Villa Marina Restaurant, where you can experience the best in low seafood in a family atmosphere, pleasant music to any ear and screens for your favorite events; features that we offer each visit. The perfect place to relax, enjoy fresh seafood, an ice cold beer or a glass of wine. " https://villamarinarestaurante.com/.

Can someone recommend a decent sushi restaurant with reasonable Tijuana prices?