briantroy
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TJ/Rosarito Restaurant Suggestions
Looking for suggestions for lunch this weekend. Nothing fancy, just a deliciously authentic place to relax and enjoy. We had lunch at La Fonda last
week and it was pretty good. The ambiance was great but I found the food a bit tame for my taste.
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David K
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Tacos Yaqui, halfway between the Rosarito Beach Hotel and the toll road, then one block north. Of course this is a taco stand with simple seating,
self serve format and not a fancy restaurant... but you won't be sorry!
Then in Tijuana, our fellow Nomad's place, La Hacienda de Tijuana... but it is fancy... not overly expensive however.
[Edited on 8-17-2005 by David K]
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Pops
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El Nido or Los Pelicanos in Rosarito. Los Pelicanos is on the beach usually with great views.
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jrbaja
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I see you mentioned "authentic"
In Tijuana there is a restaurant called "La Vuelta". It is very popular with the Mexicans and it is authentic. The foods are incredible including
breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have live "authentic" music at night, possibly just on weekends.
It is located where Revolucion turns into Agua Caliente at the corner.
You will not be disappointed!
Woops, forgot Rosariot. The only authentic Mexican restaurant in Rosarito is "Chipotle's". Dishes from all over Mexico including 3 flavors of
tortillas. It is in the center of town near Banamex on the west side of the street.
[Edited on 8/17/2005 by jrbaja]
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Bob H
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jrbaja
The only authentic Mexican restaurant in Rosarito is "Chipotle's". Dishes from all over Mexico including 3 flavors of tortillas. It is in the center
of town near Banamex on the west side of the street.
[Edited on 8/17/2005 by jrbaja] |
Jr, what's your favorite thing on the menu at Chipotle's? I'd like to try that place some time.
Bob H
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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jrbaja
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To tell you the truth Bob
I really don't remember what I had. Been there twice, but it was a long time ago. I remember having some kind of soup and the flavored tortillas but
other than that???? Sorry.
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JESSE
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jrbaja
In Tijuana there is a restaurant called "La Vuelta". It is very popular with the Mexicans and it is authentic. The foods are incredible including
breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have live "authentic" music at night, possibly just on weekends.
It is located where Revolucion turns into Agua Caliente at the corner.
You will not be disappointed!
Woops, forgot Rosariot. The only authentic Mexican restaurant in Rosarito is "Chipotle's". Dishes from all over Mexico including 3 flavors of
tortillas. It is in the center of town near Banamex on the west side of the street.
[Edited on 8/17/2005 by jrbaja] |
jr,
La vuelta is famous for being the clasic spot on wich to go after a night of heavy drinking, when everything is closed, la vuelta is open, i can't
comment on the food because the few times i have been there i was too drunk to tell if the food was good or not.
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Anonymous
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La Vuelta on Avenida Revolucion above 11th? Great place to bring your lover and has good cuddly carretitas...nooks. A little of OLD TJ..balconies,
in-house mariachis, and drinking..with some food ....all night long. What I remember eating there and how it tasted is a little fuzzy, but I had good
chili relleno, taco, and enchilada dinners from time to time. Also had to try the carne asada (always a favorite of mine) served in an old
earthernware pot. A good spot to go at 1:00 a.m. Good prices, too.
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jrbaja
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Yep, it's open 24 hours
para los borrachos! We on the other hand, have gone there specifically to eat.
A whole bunch of times. They do have great drinks as well though.
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Anonymous
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Our other TJ cafe recommendations...
We love to eat at places that have charm and cuisine to match....and have the time to travel and test things out, so here is what we think is
'authentic', 'relaxing', 'delicious', and 'enjoyable' about our dining experiences in this border metropolis.
Certainly La Vuelta should be tested ...but only after eating somewhere else...go there for the ambiance while sampling a nice after-dinner c-cktail.
Best to have a cab waiting if you decide to stay long.
For simply great cafes that have all the above conditions filled, we have loved being at:
Cien Anos in the Zona Rio. Lovely, comfy, casual-dressy place. (the kind of place that makes you glad you passed up the taco stand) Great Mexican
cuisine with many sauces (not all are spicy) made from tropical fruits, nuts, and the most variety of chili peppers we have seen. Go a few times to
sample everything. Mushrooms steeped in beef marrow or pozole with crab meat for appetizers. Beef/shrimp stew...Bravo. Never did try some featured
Aztec delicacies..next time we will. Best with reservations..and directions.
You are looking for 'authentic' so I assume that means Mexican/Spanish..which leaves out our favorite pizza place in TJ..which is D'Stefano's on
Carrillo Puerto. But forget that.
And that also means you wouldn't want to try our favorite French cafe, La Belle Claude. Looks expensive, but it's not. Atmosphere plus, like a
ship's saloon. Victorian and full of French cooking finely done. Le Croqu Monsieur is my sandwich of choice. (open-faced sandwich on honey bread
with ham, grilled Swiss cheese, and bechamel sauce..or ..is this making me hungry or what......!! Also here are some of the best salads we have ever
had..one called salade nicoise (tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, egg, onions, and black olives) Omelets? Si..and Cornish game hens,
fresh vegetables and honey all from the owners own farm. But then, it is not Mexican/Spanish, so forget about it...too bad. Great ambiance and food
count?
Then there's Cafe la Especial. Good times, half tourist-half locals. Once a favorite hangout of bullfight fans of the old Plaza de Toros. Good
atmosphere, good carne asada, bistek ranchero..standard Mexican/American fare. Started in 1948 with a steamed taco stand..still there and going.
For sheer enjoyment, good authentic food of Mexico, with some nostalgia thrown in for good measure..go to Chiki Jai on Avenida Revolucion in the Zona
Centro. Meet some oldtimers whose ghosts still haunt the bar and eatery. Plus many bullfighting stars and boxers of the age. Mainly it is for
people who crave Old Country food. One of TJ's historic cafes and has all the old photos, bullfighter cape with blood on it, Don Quixote art, pics of
Hemmingway drinking there, Errol Flynn, John Huston, Hayworth, Anthony Quinn, Ava, and others of the old Hollywood era. The food is all Spanish,
though, and very good. Paella is my favorite..with soup, salad, French bread, and blue cheese). Also had baby eel appetizers, chorizo, bacalao a la
Viscaina (cod fish), and Gallican octopus. Now this you gotta try!
That's just a few of the places we have found that fit what is important to your choice of an eatery in TJ and area. There are hosts of others we
like too...Los Pelicanos in Rosarito Beach, El Cid in Ensenada, Loncheria La Poca Lucha back in TJ..great experience that one.
You have a ton of choices...hope it all works out for you. Have a good Baja-style gastronomic delight!
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jrbaja
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But who will they complain to
if the touristy places you are sending them to suck?
Look at it like this, "those restaurants sucked you whoever you are" or "JR doesn't know diddly squat about the restaurants in TJ because the one
he sent us to sucked"
Anyways, this whole conversation has done nothing but make me hungry!!
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Anonymous
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Congratulations, JR person, your manners have eliminated another anonymous poster off of this forum. I tried this modem at the request of a friend
who is a registered poster, but these bad manners are enough for me. Too bad, I would have eventually registered with a forum name, and given some
small contribution to the people who really care about Baja. It must get very lonely where you are...pity. Perhaps someday you will be the only one
left on this forum...what then?
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comitan
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anon there you go knocking on that door, you did it loud and clear but theres nobody home. Really sorry to see you go because I think you would have
much to contribute.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Baja Bernie
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Cafe Especial
What old memories that brought out. We used to meet with the Tijuana mortorcycle squad in the basement. A bottle of good tequila (no not the little
ones) in front of each plate, a bunch of great cops and a free pass not to go to jail. Oh! I think to food was okay--but I couldn't swear to it.
1965/6. One quarter the meeting was in San Diego and then back to TJ the next time. Talk about getting to know your neighbors.
Never go to a ranch with a bunch of Mexican cops. They love to fire their pistolos and the drunker the more shooting contests. Just not safe. Stay
in town and the guns don't come out.
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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briantroy
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Cafe Especial
I remember going to this place all the time as a kid. Anytime relatives from Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, ..etc. came to visit we went shopping in TJ and
ended up here usually. We also used to go to Carnitas Uruapan (spelling)? Is that place still around? Once I watched a kid my age (10 or 11) doing
shots of tequila with his older brothers in Cafe Especial. They eventually had to carry him out.
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Anonymous
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By anon. Don't let the door hit ya.... you know the rest. Who needs a whiney anon like you anyway. Oooops, you would have fit in well with the rest
of the CCg'ers.
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Anonymous
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The thing about us Anons...there are always more of us to take the place of a casuality of bad manners. We are the 'Morlocks' of the Nomad forum.
Some are new posters who drop in, check things out, and decide to move on to more lucid surroundings. Some are registered already but hate the
juvenile insults and bickering.
And I doubt the previous anon-poster was much of a whiner...on the contrary that anon seemed like a person who could have held up his/her share of a
good dialogue...not recite boring monologues.
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jrbaja
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Ok Pal
Let's take it outside.
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Anonymous
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yawn...
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