BajaNomad

Caf� Sabina: The room upstairs

Gypsy Jan - 12-1-2012 at 03:42 PM

From The San Diego Reader

By Ed Bedford

(For original story and photos, go to: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/feast/2012/nov/30/cafe... )

Little literary hideaway in Tijuana delivers world's best panini?

Tijuana: I come out of La Tasquita (see La Tasquita yesterday�s blog), the world�s smallest pub, and head left up Miguel Aleman street. Maybe 9:30 p.m.

Come upon this pretty nice-looking eatery almost straight away. Called Caza Club. (It means "Hunt Club.") Three doormen outside the entrance. I check the menu. Oh no. Too expensive.

�You could go upstairs,� says one of the doormen. �Different place, different prices.�

So up I go, climbing circular stairs. Halfway up, a sign says �Cafe Sabina. Art, library. Second level.�

Arrive up at this�living room...

Comfy chairs, cloth, leather, fifties moderne, cozy table lamps, a back wall that looks like a piece of modern art in itself, people, talking lowly, with caf� lattes in front of them.

Some of the little tables look like beautiful antiques. And in the middle is what looks like a really old steamer trunk.

Trunk with a history: Pics inside are probably from the Roaring Twenties.

And music. A gravely folk singer on the sound system sounds like a Spanish Leonard Cohen.

�It�s Joaquin Sabina,� says this gal, in English. �He�s very loved in the Spanish-speaking world. He�s partly why we called this Caf� Sabina. But also the name has this Bohemian feel that anyone, from Lima to Madrid would recognize.�

Her name�s Valeria. She�s the manager. They�ve been open a whole month. Just a wild idealistic try to create a place to hold literary and artistic events in.

�So far we have some musicians coming, and people speaking monologues on Thursday nights,� she says.

Not sure about the food part, but the whole room�s so inviting, I order an Americano, the nearest thing to drip coffee (20 pesos, say $1.50), jes� so I can take it and sink into one of the chairs.

The two guys working with Valeria, Jorge and Gil, get that cawfee lickety-split. Because I asked for milk in it, they carve out a little heart on top.

�That�s my first, ever,� I tell Valeria as I�m paying.
�Something to eat too?� she says.

It�s only now I notice the bottom right hand corner of the big chalkboard men up behind them talks about a soup of the day (35 pesos, say $2.50), paninis for 65 ($5), quiches ($5), plus things like galletas, little pastries for 15 ($1).

�Maybe a panini?� I say, kinda tentatively.

�We have a vegan one, or a ham and cheese
�Guess the ham and cheese,� I say.

And man, I�ve never made a better decision. Jorge slams on that pesto which Valery says they make right here, and toasts the whole thing.
Maybe it�s being out here tonight, but I swear this panini sandwich is extra soft, squidgy, rich with flavor, and specially with that pesto, packs a flavor punch I�d walk a mile for. Plus, it comes with a macaroni salad with peas and avocado.

That�s the thing about TJ. It�s packed with unlikely treats, if you�re up to sticking your nose in, here and there.

But by now it�s past ten. Got to go, before the trolley stops running on the other side. Have to pack most of the panini and run.
First thing when I get back to the ranch: share this with Carla. She wolfs it down.

"Not too fast," I say. "There ain't no seconds."

Then I look up Joaquin Sabina online. See if I can download his music."