Food in Tijuana

[WindAngel]

There is a signal on your table: green means bring meat and red means stop. I flipped it to green ....

I took some picutres. The quality is not good because it was dark.

[Squid1234]

Expected the continental bagel but there was a menu of six choices. I tried the huevos rancheros wbich is nothing like the texmex style we are uses to. It was 2 eggs with enchelada sauce, mashed beans and potatoes. I liked it. It was not too much and didn't feel weighed down or sleepy afterwards.

[Travv]

Heard someone talking about the Las Pampas steak buffet in Zona Rio so I decided to try it for lunch. Took about 15 minutes of driving through heavy traffic before pulling into the parking lot on Sanchez Taboada where it is located to arrive a little after noon. A large soup and salad bar is in the center of the restaurant and after my waiter seated me, I began filling up a plate with a guacamole tostada, Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, cobb salad with hard boiled eggs and chips and salsa. There is a signal on your table: green means bring meat and red means stop. I flipped it to green and the waiters began bringing marinated beef steaks and tender prime rib chunks to my table along with garlic bread, which I used to make steak sandwiches. After 1 more trip to the salad bar for sushi and beef and vegetable soup, I was stuffed, even though there was more salads and desserts that I had room to try. Around $300 pesos for the buffet plus 80 pesos for the drinks I ordered. Left a tip of about 80 pesos for the good service by the waiters who cut the meat off the barby sticks to your order at your table. Recommended.

[Travv]

Place is like a health food restaurant. Seems to specialize in different types of health food smoothies made from vegetables and fruits and honey that might help you with a hangover. Good breakfasts, I particularly like the Spanish omelets or the egg enchilada platter with beans and rice for breakfasts for around 70 pesos. Located next to a health food store that sells bottles of 100 percent cane alcohol useful for party punch for about $7 - which cannot be purchased in California, as 100 percent pure alcohol is banned for sale, so I have read. Recommend this restaurant for a good view of Avenida Revolucion and their health food smoothies to sip while people watching. Avenida Revolución #868 interior local 12 why 13, Zona Centro.

22000 Tijuana Baja California (About a 5 minute walk from Zona Norte).

[Travv]

Located on Diaz Miron, the buffet included beef and broccoli, chicken and broccoli, fried rice, egg flower soup, fried noodles, fried chicken nuggets and duck sauce, Chinese sprouts and celery in sauce, and my favorite. The fried imitation crab leg pieces. Upside, the food looked good, downside, the buffet table did not keep the food hot, so some of the items (beef and broccoli) tasted cold. A long walk from Zona Norte but it is difficult to find parking near this restaurant during lunch hours. Dessert at the buffet was a bucket of vanilla ice cream in a freezer for you to scoop, but I did not try this. Cost of the buffet was 78 pesos and I left a tip, which made the waitress happy, though I do not think you need to tip at self-service buffets.

[Travv]

Walked up Constitucion to Galeana and on the corner was the Korean taco joint. Looked like all new stainless steel stoves and venting equipment in a freshly tiled eating area. A guy eating there recommended the chicken chipotle Korean taco like he was eating to me so I ordered one of those and a beef taco. The menu also included Korean tacos made of beef sausage, or of Chicharron or of Pulpo and ensaladitas and mulitas. Two tacos filled me up at 25 pesos each for a total of 50 pesos or roughly $2.50. Had an oriental flavor to the tacos (Mex / Korean flavor) and was topped with mild shredded cabbage (Kimchi?) Restaurant was clean and the cooking area was open for watching and the tacos flavorful. Worth the money.

Korean Tacos? With Mexican Kimchi, no doubt!

[WombatEd2]

Anyone try it or recommend Korean BBQ tacos?

Korean Tacos? With Mexican Kimchi, no doubt!

[Travv]

Noticed while driving to the Zona that a new Korean BBQ taco joint opened up at the corner of Galeana and Constitucion. Anyone try it or recommend Korean BBQ tacos?

[Jackie888]

I also ate at la Perla on Friday the 30th. Puked acid that night and the the next day. Don't know whether it was the excessive spice or bad fish. Or both. I will probably skip the Salsa next time as it would be the only thing Incan think of as the culprit.

[Captain Solo]

Could use more info and the sweetest and cleanest pussies to eat.

I have to say, this is really too much information.

[Member #2041]

Parasites and bacteria are not always originating from the food.

A clueless meat carver who transferred his bacteria to the knife and tongs because he didn't wash properly with hot water and soap after taking a deuce.

The dirty rags they use to wipe down utensils and work area that has only been dropped once for 2 seconds on the street.

The carving board that is stored overnight where the rats play and is never bleached ever.

I have to say, this is really too much information.

[Bill]

Parasites and bacteria are not always originating from the food.

A clueless meat carver who transferred his bacteria to the knife and tongs because he didn't wash properly with hot water and soap after taking a deuce.

The dirty rags they use to wipe down utensils and work area that has only been dropped once for 2 seconds on the street.

The carving board that is stored overnight where the rats play and is never bleached ever.

[Phordphan]

Tacos Guanajuato was just starting up that afternoon and I had a carne asada taco and a suadero taco with the free vegetable plate of cucumbers and radishes and the green salsa. Likely the grill wasn't hot enough to kill the bacteria then or a contaminated work counter. I just ate at La Perla this morning so I'll post if I get another case of the runs later on.

Salmonella and e. Coli are killed at temperatures between 150 F and 160 F. So, there is virtually no chance it came from the meat unless it was still raw. Most food poisoning from taco carts comes from the salsas or improperly washed / unwashed vegetables. I got a hellacious case of (probable) salmonella many years ago from a taco at the wharf in Ensenada. Doc said it was almost assuredly the salsa. As I said earlier, I now only eat at street places that do not cater to tourists. When locals get poisoned they tend to have long memories and either stop patronizing said establishment, or perhaps extract revenge.

It was on the food network, it said never defrost chicken in water. I've gotten sick in LA at Alberto's Taco and in SD at Slater's 50 50 at liberty eating a burger. We may not have a tolerance for foods were not accustom to either like Indian spices. Vietnam has field rats, Korea, Scotland and Mexico all have a version of menudo and Philippines has a dish with swine face, ears, feet, brains and the street food is a duck embryo. Thailand street food is bugs. Cheap hot dogs here may have similar Pig parts if the cart doesn't say all beef or kosher but it may be the mayo not kept cold that gets you sick. So even if the cart is clean with good intentions, we may not have a tolerance for tripe, brains, tongue, etc. But it may be the salsa and other stuff left out that was the issue. There's a pharmacy around the corner open all night. I'm not bashing the carts, Google Gastrointestinal illness and Norovirus and it will most likely return cruise ships.

I cook as a hobby and I've never heard of a prohibition on thawing chicken in water. Water is a great way to thaw items quickly, as water conducts heat much better than air. Leaving it set a room temperature, however, is another matter entirely. Burgers are a problem, as rare or medium rare isn't hot enough to kill e. Coli. E. coli is generally on the outside of the meat, so eating a mid-rare steak isn't dangerous. But if you grind up that same contaminated steak, the e. Coli gets into the center of the burger, the burger doesn't get hot enough, and bam, you get sick. I don't like mid-rare burgers anyway, so I tend to eat them medium or mid-well, but that still carries a slight risk.

Eating strange foods may give you the runs for a day or two, but not classic "Traveler's Diarrhea. " That may require and antibiotic to cure, or at the very least you KNOW it, I. E. Explosive shits, vomiting, toilet hugging, and all the other symptoms we all know and love. I will say I've had fiery foods in Sri Lanka, cobra in Vietnam, water bug in Cambodia, giant ant eggs in Thailand, crickets in Mexico, and never got sick. But the staff at a villa in Bali washed some breakfast fruit in some local water and laid me low for damn near a week.

[Travv]

Tacos Guanajuato was just starting up that afternoon and I had a carne asada taco and a suadero taco with the free vegetable plate of cucumbers and radishes and the green salsa. Likely the grill wasn't hot enough to kill the bacteria then or a contaminated work counter. I just ate at La Perla this morning so I'll post if I get another case of the runs later on.

Classic food poisoning, aka Traveler's Diarrhea, rarely starts a few minutes after eating. Typically it starts several hours, to a day, after eating whatever contained the e. Coli, or other nasty bacteria. So I suspect in your case it was something at the taco stand the previous night, and not at La Perla. Getting immediately sick from a contaminated orange peel would be very rare. Possible, but rare.

I know in my case I stopped getting "sick" (I never got really sick, just a mild case of the runs on occasion) when I stopped eating in the ZN. My rule of thumb wherever I travel is that if lots of tourists eat at a certain place, I will avoid it if possible. The food will be bad and the sanitation often marginal..

[Squid1234]

It was on the food network, it said never defrost chicken in water. I've gotten sick in LA at Alberto's Taco and in SD at Slater's 50 50 at liberty eating a burger. We may not have a tolerance for foods were not accustom to either like Indian spices. Vietnam has field rats, Korea, Scotland and Mexico all have a version of menudo and Philippines has a dish with swine face, ears, feet, brains and the street food is a duck embryo. Thailand street food is bugs. Cheap hot dogs here may have similar Pig parts if the cart doesn't say all beef or kosher but it may be the mayo not kept cold that gets you sick. So even if the cart is clean with good intentions, we may not have a tolerance for tripe, brains, tongue, etc. But it may be the salsa and other stuff left out that was the issue. There's a pharmacy around the corner open all night. I'm not bashing the carts, Google Gastrointestinal illness and Norovirus and it will most likely return cruise ships.