Food in Tijuana

[Captain Solo]

Bayboy.

You may have gone to the wrong school.

The first phrase I learned from Coahuila Universidad was "Cuanto para la cuarto?

[Captain Solo]

Artiste.

One of my favorite restaurants anywhere is the 100's Seafood Buffet under the overpass intersection of I805 and route 8.

Their facility is nice, clean, upscale, seafood is abundant, fresh, delicious. Thursday and Friday night you can have AYCE Maine lobster, lobster claws, raw oyster, clams, steaks ect, all for $35, which is an excellent deal. The place is way better than any fancy buffet in Las Vegas at a fraction of the prices, run by a Filipino family. The place was packed; usually have to wait half hour for diner. I drove family and friends to SD just for that sumptuous feast, well, then we head over to Tijuana hehe.

They opened briefly for outdoors dining under the tent in Oct 2020, but looks like they are now closed for good. I called a few times but nobody answered their phone. Most other seafood buffets are also closed for good. The remaining few are struggling with fewer diners and operating at a loss.

Our good life is really fucked by this CoVid bullshit.

My issues with waiters is they don't leave me alone enough and they take your plate away from you too soon. Otherwise they mean well. I get much better food and service in Tijuana than in SD. SD has horrible food and prices are insane.

[BayBoy]

Bayboy,

Different grades of restaurants operate differently.

In upscale places, waiters should take away plates and utensils after each course to give you a clean table, but should not bring the bill because the clients may be ordering more drinks, deserts ect. Fast food and mom and pop places earn thin margins and they want fast turn over. Some will give you the bill right after you are served.

People in Canada, Europe and South America like to gather, dine, drink and talk. French and Italians would sit all day in sidewalk cafes talking to friends and people watching. Such idle past times are frowned upon in the US. Americans are more hurried and brief in conversations unless they are lobbyists in expensive restaurants, kissing legislators' asses to steal from the public, then they spend big money all night eating, drinking and talking. It was very nice seeing crowds of thousands people hang out on the streets of Montreal and BS As late on warm summer nights, drinking, talking, laughing, enjoying each other's companies peacefully and lovingly. In the US such gatherings would invite fights, crimes, violence.

I have seen large, fancy steak houses in BS As where people eat, drink and talk for hours over dinner. Americans are not that social and they don't usually like anyone that much, including their own families, to spend that much time to dine and talk unfortunately.

One of the first frases I learned in Spanish classes was, 'La Cuenta Por Favor. '.

I've been to Buenos Aires a few times and people really get into it there. They get off work and meet up w friends in cafes, bars, restaurants and talk drink and hang out for hours, and then they have dinner late at night (9-10-11 pm).

Even during the daytime, it always looked like the coffee shops had a lot oif people in there, talking w each other.

I saw it at Chiki Jai restaurant. There were groups of people there talking, drinking beer and wine. Just chilling and BSing. Americans could learn something from this lifestyle / culture. The bill is the last thing from the waiter.

[Captain Solo]

Bayboy,

Different grades of restaurants operate differently.

In upscale places, waiters should take away plates and utensils after each course to give you a clean table, but should not bring the bill because the clients may be ordering more drinks, deserts ect. Fast food and mom and pop places earn thin margins and they want fast turn over. Some will give you the bill right after you are served.

People in Canada, Europe and South America like to gather, dine, drink and talk. French and Italians would sit all day in sidewalk cafes talking to friends and people watching. Such idle past times are frowned upon in the US. Americans are more hurried and brief in conversations unless they are lobbyists in expensive restaurants, kissing legislators' asses to steal from the public, then they spend big money all night eating, drinking and talking. It was very nice seeing crowds of thousands people hang out on the streets of Montreal and BS As late on warm summer nights, drinking, talking, laughing, enjoying each other's companies peacefully and lovingly. In the US such gatherings would invite fights, crimes, violence.

I have seen large, fancy steak houses in BS As where people eat, drink and talk for hours over dinner. Americans are not that social and they don't usually like anyone that much, including their own families, to spend that much time to dine and talk unfortunately.

[BayBoy]

To add my 2 cents to this discussion. You get your check when you ask for it in a restaurant. That's the Mexican way and the way in Latin and South America. It would considered rude for a waiter to bring your check before you ask for it. The theory is they want you to stay in the restaurant as long as you want and relax (chill). No rush.

[Jinxx]

Is it possible that you are more sensitive to poor service because you are in the same profession and so your service standards are higher than the rest of us? Common, we wine about paying $5-10 more for sex with a hottie 1/2 our age. I buy my wine by the gallon and I cook my own chuck steak when the sirloin isn't on sale.

Oh definitely, yes I instinctively judge every little move the staff makes, the look and feel of the place, the organization from the second I walk in the door. But I think it's just bad luck, I've been going to these places that employ young untrained staff, and they're operate understaffed as well so it just is what it is. My strategy going forward is to continue tipping well and be more proactive with instructing the servers what I want and how I want it. Like the putas your experience can drastically improve with repeat visits. The main restaurant I go to there are actually bells on the tables, those ding ding bells things you hit downward with your hand. A US restaurant would never have something so degrading and douchebaggy, and no American server would work at a place with freaking bells on the table. There's a good chance a fistfight would break out if you ring a bell at a restaurant server in the US. That's another "culture" thing I've noticed in Mexico it seems to be socially acceptable to be degrading towards others especially people who are serving you. But hey I'm still learning all this culture stuff.

[Jackie888]

Ruth Chris and Mastro's servers are definitely not "untrained". Slinging $300 tomahawk ribeyes and $500 bottles of Opus is only for the top dogs. There is zero room for error in an establishment like that. I've actually worked with the Mastro brothers and I know their server training program very well. Their server training manual probably weighs ten pounds and most of their servers are certified sommeliers. These guys are some of the best you'll find anywhere.

Is it possible that you are more sensitive to poor service because you are in the same profession and so your service standards are higher than the rest of us? Common, we wine about paying $5-10 more for sex with a hottie 1/2 our age. I buy my wine by the gallon and I cook my own chuck steak when the sirloin isn't on sale.

[KC Questor]

I think they were responding directly to what you wrote when you started this line of discussion. It was as if you were boiling mad that you could not compel Mexican restaurant workers to behave just like restaurant workers in San Diego.

That may be it. He wrote:

"I've worked in restaurants and my plan was always to get your order quickly, get your food to you quickly, and get you your check quickly so I can get you out the door and on to the next paying customer. " -- To me, that's bad service. The customer is not a welcome guest in their mind.

"But in Tijuana restaurants it seems like the opposite. It seems like they don't mind one bit having people just wait and wait and just hangout forever at their table. They don't hurry to take your order. They don't hurry to explain the menu. They don't hurry to check up on you. They don't hurry to ask if you want the check. They don't hurry for anything at all. " -- Perfect explanation of la vida chicana (or tica or brasiliera or espana or italiana or....). They don't hurry. They don't mind having you sit there. The goal is not to turn tables, it's to allow their guests to enjoy themselves.

It's that same "hurry" mentality that Americans bring everywhere. We get mad when the chica is an hour late for a date. I admit, I get this way, when she said she was going to meet me at 6:00 and I message her at 6:15 and she says "Waiting on an uber" and she's 30 minutes away. Drives me nuts. But it's the way they live their lives.

One thing I noticed on my last two trips was restaurants with signs asking people not to stay longer than 90 minutes. I figured it must be a governmental thing, since they all used the 90 minute guide. The hostess made a point to let know that there was a time limit, and apologizing for it. Once, I was being seated at a restaurant that closed at 10:00. It was just after 9:00 and I was already nervous that I would be keeping them past their closing time, and she still told me that I couldn't stay more than 90 minutes.

[KC Questor]

I must not be explaining myself properly. None of what you mention is what I'm talking about. When I say "wave down" my server I'm literally talking about standing up waving my arms like I'm trying to wave down a rescue helicopter.

I've never had this experience. I'm sorry that you have. Which restaurants were they? I will avoid them.

A lot of it has to do with being understaffed also.

This is also contrary to my experience. In most places I've eaten, they have way more staff than an equivalent American restaurant would. It makes sense; when labor is cheap hire plenty of people. Sure, I often see gaggles of them just standing around, and they aren't always "eyes on" 100% of the time. But all I've ever had to do is raise my arm, or signal to a different passing waiter that I needed attention.

In the past two months I've eaten at 12-14 different restaurants in Tijuana, Playas, and Rosarito, and the service is mostly what I expect from non-US restaurants.

[ScatManDoo]

I must not be explaining myself properly. None of what you mention is what I'm talking about.

I think they were responding directly to what you wrote when you started this line of discussion.

It was as if you were boiling mad that you could not compel Mexican restaurant workers to behave just like restaurant workers in San Diego.

What do you guys think of the level of service you receive from restaurant waiters in Tijuana?

The restaurants I go to it seems like I have to wave down the server just to get them to take my order. I feel like telling them "hey I came here because I'm hungry and I want to eat some food. I didn't come here just to sit down and hang out taking up space all day long."

I've worked in restaurants and my plan was always to get your order quickly, get your food to you quickly, and get you your check quickly so I can get you out the door and on to the next paying customer. But in Tijuana restaurants it seems like the opposite. It seems like they don't mind one bit having people just wait and wait and just hangout forever at their table. They don't hurry to take your order. They don't hurry to explain the menu. They don't hurry to check up on you. They don't hurry to ask if you want the check. They don't hurry for anything at all. In the US if I receive such bad service I would consider complaining to the manager but in Tijuana I don't bother complaining because I already know that if you complain they will just treat you like YOU are the a-hole..

[Jinxx]

Before CoVid I went to Ceasar and another fancy place on Revo, nice, clean, quiet, service was attentive and professional, not slow, not hurried, just right. Tijuana waiters in big restaurants are far more professional as they treat their job a life time career. If compared to big US restaurants like Morton, Ruth Chris, Maestro, Scott's ect US restaurants employ a lot of temporary, amateurs and part time waiting staff; most are untrained, some have bad attitudes and just don't give a shit.

La Perla is usually very slow as they don't have many clients and it takes time for them to prepare. I wanted to try Los Arcos but the area looked run down and smelled way too bad I did not want to go in.

Went to the Brazilian steak houses a couple times. After CoVid service was slower with fewer cuts of meat, but anything we asked was brought out promptly and served pleasantly. I have no problem giving them 30% tip most times.

Mom and pop places like Azul's, Al Capone, Titos, El Choforo, LE Damos ect have much fewer clients after CoVid. They want high turn over and are quick and efficient. We were served usually within 5 minutes after placing orders. We even bring in or store our favorite beers at a few places to make sure we have them for our dishes. They are always cordial..

Ruth Chris and Mastro's servers are definitely not "untrained". Slinging $300 tomahawk ribeyes and $500 bottles of Opus is only for the top dogs. There is zero room for error in an establishment like that. I've actually worked with the Mastro brothers and I know their server training program very well. Their server training manual probably weighs ten pounds and most of their servers are certified sommeliers. These guys are some of the best you'll find anywhere.

[SpeedToys]

When I say "wave down" my server I'm literally talking about standing up waving my arms like I'm trying to wave down a rescue helicopter.

Well, you're small, and hard to see in those tall booths.

I get what you're saying now.

[Jinxx]

That's exactly right, and it's just different from how we do it. As was mentioned, the goal in the US is to turn the tables as quickly as possible, so the waiters come up to you right away to take your order. In many other countries, it would be rude for them to pressure you to place your order quickly -- they give you time to settle in, look over the menu, talk with your dinner companions. They assume you will signal them when you are ready. In the US we see it as rude to wave over a waiter. In Mexico, it's how you let them know you are ready. It's not rudeness or indifference. It's them leaving you be until you signal to them that you want attention.


But you aren't in the US. In Latin America, and in much of Europe as well, they do things differently. Don't go to a foreign country and then complain that they don't do things the way they do in the US. The culture there is to leave you alone until you signal to them that you need attention. They aren't rude or unprofessional.

Hell, I have a ton of international friends who come to the US and complain that the wait staff rushes them. They just sat down and all of a sudden some server wants to know what they want to drink, what appetizers do they want, the poppers are really good, can I tell you the specials? They are like "Give us a moment.".

I must not be explaining myself properly. None of what you mention is what I'm talking about. When I say "wave down" my server I'm literally talking about standing up waving my arms like I'm trying to wave down a rescue helicopter. These people are not standing by waiting for me to just "signal them". They're not making themselves available at all to be "signaled" over. They're hiding back in the kitchen, or hiding behind the counter, or running past me without even looking in my direction. Simply looking my way or making eye contact just to see if I might be in need of something would be nice but they don't even do that. I'm talking about literally being neglected and ignored. That has nothing to do with culture. I shouldn't have to get up out of my chair and beg the server to do her job. It's a total and complete lack of attention. A lot of it has to do with being understaffed also. They have these servers also taking care of to go orders being picked up. So due to their lack of training they quickly get overwhelmed and it results in shitty service for dine-in customers.

[Artisttyp]

This is one of my pet peeves. It's like they watch for when I've taken a bite and THAT'S when they pop up like a magician to ask "How is everything?" Or my water glass is down 10% but all of a sudden they appear just to pour a splash in. Leave me alone!

That's what the thumb's up is for. It works really well when your mouth is full and half open.

[Artisttyp]

My issues with waiters is they don't leave me alone enough and they take your plate away from you too soon. Otherwise they mean well. I get much better FOOD and SERVICE in Tijuana than in SD. SD has horrible food and prices are insane.