Food in Tijuana

[Jackie888]

Dropped into Chewin's on Thursday, about 2:30. It was very busy, but not like a weekend, when there is a line out the door.

This place is in Otay, not far from the airport. It's near the corner of Limon Padilla and Lazaro Cardenas, in a somewhat dumpy strip center with lots of different restaurants.

They specialize in pescado and filete sarandeando, but they have lots of other dishes.

Pictured here is the molcajete Chewin, which consists of raw shrimp, a few cooked shrimp, octopus and a scallop-like shellfish called a callo, IIRC. It was bathed in a nice citrus sauce, very heavy on lime juice, with red onion, cucumber and bits of tomato. Similar to aguachile, but nowhere near as spicy (and not green). In fact, I thought it was a bit on the bland side but my company requested something not too pico. But I quibble. The seafood was very fresh and very tasty. It needed a bit of salt (they have large shakers of the local grind, which is somewhere between kosher and regular table salt in coarseness) and a dash of hot sauce and it slid down quite nicely. IIRC, about 200 pesos..

Are there any restaurants on the way to the Zona from the border with comparable food to what are in the photos?

Otay is really out of the way even in relatively mild traffic.

[Phordphan]

Dropped into Chewin's on Thursday, about 2:30. It was very busy, but not like a weekend, when there is a line out the door.

This place is in Otay, not far from the airport. It's near the corner of Limon Padilla and Lazaro Cardenas, in a somewhat dumpy strip center with lots of different restaurants.

They specialize in pescado and filete sarandeando, but they have lots of other dishes.

Pictured here is the molcajete Chewin, which consists of raw shrimp, a few cooked shrimp, octopus and a scallop-like shellfish called a callo, IIRC. It was bathed in a nice citrus sauce, very heavy on lime juice, with red onion, cucumber and bits of tomato. Similar to aguachile, but nowhere near as spicy (and not green). In fact, I thought it was a bit on the bland side but my company requested something not too pico. But I quibble. The seafood was very fresh and very tasty. It needed a bit of salt (they have large shakers of the local grind, which is somewhere between kosher and regular table salt in coarseness) and a dash of hot sauce and it slid down quite nicely. IIRC, about 200 pesos.

But the bomb was the Quesadilla Chewin. These babies are a thick corn tortilla filled with their signature shrimp and cheese and spice mixture. Yes, it shouldn't work, but it does. Beautifully. They then fold them over and grill them over their wood-fired grill pit. They come out hot, with a very nice smoky flavor. These, alone, are worth the trip. 45 pesos each.

Not pictured was the cubeta of ficha size beers. 10 for 90 pesos. I could have sworn the menu said 140, but the bill said 90.

An added bonus is the army of very cute meseras.

I can think of worse ways to spend the better part of 2 hours. The bill came to just under 400 pesos.

Afterwards, we repaired to the Motel Ensueno, which is very close-by. Highly recommended if you're in Otay. 340 pesos for a "Sencillo. ".

[Phordphan]

I'm unsure why it's so. But the fried food in Tijuana is extremely greasy. They're often literally dripped with oil while on your plate.

That generally denotes oil that's too cold. When it's too cold the food takes too long to cook and winds up absorbing a lot of oil. My guess is that either the equipment is old and rickety or the cook doesn't know any better because nobody has complained and/or showed him the right way. I know that I always order my fries "bien dorada" and sometimes they come out crispy, but often they don't. Major exception are the potatoes served with the Omelet Arrachera (sp?) at the Ticuan's restaurant. They always seem to come out nice and crispy.

[Jackie888]

I'm unsure why it's so. But the fried food in Tijuana is extremely greasy. They're often literally dripped with oil while on your plate.

[RickyVee]

Been there a few times with some chicas OTC they have DJs certain nights so sometimes it is chill depending. Overall cool vibe. I agree about Mexican fries. Problem is the prep with fresh potatoes. They need to be rinsed and soaked overnight. Then blanched cooked for a couple minutes then refried to crisp outside. Otherwise the potatoes absorb the oil and become oil blobs as you described not very good. Hopefully they up their French fry game.

[Phordphan]

El Tinieblo is a rather cool, funky little bar right next to La Corriente, on the NE corner of Madero and 5th. There is even a connecting hallway between the two places.

It was too dark to take decent pix, so I could only get one. The place's theécor consists of these Victorian-esque wingback chairs, a nice long bar, a combination of real and porcelain animal heads on the walls, and some pinstripe wallpaper straight out of Beetlejuice. Their specialty is mescal-based drinks.

We got seated, ordered a couple of drinks and relaxed. The tall drink is their version of a mojito, the short is the mezcalita el tinieblo, I think. Memory is fuzzy. Total was about 150 P for the two.

Just as things were getting good, the DJ started. He launched into a gawd-awful trance mix. Some may dig it, but we certainly didn't. It just got worse, so we drank up and split for Dandy del Sur.

I liked the place and the ambiance, until the music started. I suspect when the DJ isn't in, and one is left with only the jukebox, it would be a good little watering hole.

[Phordphan]

Colectivo 9 is a covered patio arrangement, surrounded by a bunch of food vendors, much like a food court in a mall, but with more interesting food. It's located near the NW corner of Revu and 6th. I didn't get a picture of the sign, but it's hanging over the sidewalk. You enter down a small alleyway and it opens up into the food court.

This particular day I thought I'd try something offbeat. I went to the Lebanese booth and got a Gyro. The meat was tasty, although preprocessed, as it usually is in the states. The vegetables were very fresh. The tzatziki sauce was pretty much just a yougurt-based sauce with no dill or mint. It needed work. The pita was fresh and warm. As typical in a lot of Mexico, the fries were limp and a bit on the greasy side. Mexico, in general, hasn't got the hang of fries yet, and the oil is always too cold to properly fry them. They did have a good flavor. The combo, which included a small Coke, was 80 P.

I scoped out several other dishes and the pizzas looked pretty good. I'll return and report back, because pizza seems to be on the ascendency in Tijuana. The burgers looked pretty good, too, although they looked like the might also suffer from limp-fries syndrome.

My companion had the ensalada atun, from the Italian place, and it was pretty decent. Their strawberry-infused Jamaica was also quite tasty. IIRC, the salad and drink was also 80 P.

So, the Gyro rated a 5, the salad a 7. Not a home run, but a solid double. The place bears more investigation. The place is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, so it looks to be an excellent alternative to the same old taco stands of the Zona Norte.

[Phordphan]

How do you guys navigate Tijuana without getting lost? Old fashion paper map? Or modern GPS navigation?

Google maps works *fairly* well, and that's what I use. There are caveats. Once it too me all over hell-and-gone when I was trying to get to a concert near Otay. I saw barrios I hope to never see again. Sometimes it doesn't know about 1-way streets, but not often. The most consistently annoying thing is the Via Rapida exits. Often you have to exit well before the actual turn. Sometimes it knows, other times it doesn't.

But overall it gets you to where you want to go if you have a specific address.

Paper maps? What's that?

[Jackie888]

How do you guys navigate Tijuana without getting lost? Old fashion paper map? Or modern GPS navigation?

[Phordphan]

This place is located in Col. Chapultepec, a rather upscale part of town. It's on Av. Sonora, just off of Agua Caliente. There are a bunch of interesting places here, one being Tabula, which I will visit on an upcoming visit.

Anyway, this is a busy, rather trendy establishment with a rather young clientele. I was the oldest guy in the joint. Everybody was in their 20's - 30's and well dressed. Not fancy, but obviously not poor. We had tried to get into a food and tequila place across the street, in Plaza Chapultepec, but it was swamped with a line. So, being hungry, we opted for a place we could get into fairly quickly.

Lots of high tables, a few low ones, pub-style atmosphere. I opted for, IIRC, the Ginger Mark cocktail, made from Makers Mark bourbon and ginger beer, something like 90 pesos. Rather good. My date opted for the very pedestrian Tecate Light.

She decided on the chicken fingers, I had the sliders. The fingers (called Buffalo Boneless on the menu) didn't present well, but were hot, very crispy, and had good flavor. About 100 pesos.

Don't let them tell you that Mexican beef isn't tasty. These sliders were quite good. I would quibble that I would like a bit more sear on the meat, but they were thick and flavorful. They sported some arugula and a sort of tequila aioli. Although there were only three, it turn out that they were filling. About 120 pesos.

All in all it was worth the visit. It's a bit pricey by Mexican standards, but not outrageous. I've never really understood the gastro pub concept, but these guys seem to do it rather well. You should check it out the next time you're in the area.

[Watnow78]

If any of you love beer like I do, I would recommend Mamut Brewrey Co. In Zona Norte and Plaza Fiesta (Across from Plaza Rio). The first 2 pictures are from Zona Norte, Address:

Carrillo Puerto why o Tercera 8161, Zona Centro, Tijuana, be. See. , Mexico. The second 3 pictures are from the same company in Plaza Fiesta Address: Paseo de LOS Heroes No 9415.

Tijuana, Baja California. These are really cool spots to hang out during the day and maybe grab a bite to eat.

The last picture was from a restaurant I stumbled onto in search for a bowl of Pozole, and damn it was good. I can't for the life of me remember the name of this place but its on Constitution just a half block North of Calle Galeana, on the northeast Corner. This place looks very new because I can't find it on google maps. This looks like the building I walked into:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5303...8i6656!6m1!1e1.

[Phordphan]

For those with a sweet tooth.

[QuackUp]

Maiz.

Gobernador Balarezo 366.

Col. Thevila.

Tijuana, Baja California.

Mexico.

Zona Centro.

664 - 686 4371.

A very small but very good restaurant, just a bit off Blvd. Aqua Caliente.

Went with a friend and were lucky enough to find a table. All the time we were there, all the tables were occupied. Maybe 7 - 8 tables and we got there around 13:00. Not sure what to get we both ordered the sampler plate which has 5 items on it, and we both had two taco's de casa. For me the highlight was the pozole on the sampler plate. The quesadilla came in second with the taco's being third. We both had the stawberry lemonade. Total cost for the two of us, $210.00 mx. Very reasonable and we both left full.

Sitting next to us was a couple who had ordered the pozole by itself and the enchilada plate. It looked so good I had to ask her how it was. She smiled and said she orders this everytime she comes here. I'll have to try that next time.

[Phordphan]

Located on Calle 8 and Negrete. Small place, good service, good food.

Attached are pix of the mushroom appetizer. This one was 'shrooms sautéed in a garlicky butter sauce (for lack of a better term) with cheese. Tasty.

The other is their version of a puttanesca. The penne was cooked perfectly. There are lots of variations on puttanesca. This one was pretty tasty.

I don't have pix of the other entrée, which was a breaded and sautéed chicken breast. I think it was their version of piccata, but memory is fuzzy without pix. Rocky the Flying Squirrel gave it a hearty thumbs up.

Also, no pix of the red sangria. Pretty decent.

Their version of the garlic bread is soft, warm and delicious. The pizzas looked very good and authentic. I'll try on another trip and report back.

Price for app, 2 entrees, half-litre of sangria, just over 300 pesos. Not bad.

Overall, I'd give it a solid 7 out of 10. Definitely worth the (modest) price.

[Dickhead]

Instead of opening up a business in a Latin American country, especially a restaurant which is a fuck of a lot of work no matter where you do it, it would be far preferable and more enjoyable in both the long run and the short run to pour gasoline on your nuts and then set them on fire.