5 Places to Eat and Drink Like a Local in Tijuana
Tijuana Chef José "Joe" Figueroa has a couple outposts under his belt. There is El Casimiro, which sits inside Insurgente's tap room at the Zona Centro and Cacho neighborhood. This August, he will also be debuting Carmelita - Molino y Cocina, a new restaurant and tortilleria focused on regional meats and seafood alongside seasonal Baja ingredients. While his establishments are great places to get a taste of Tijuana, Figueroa readily acknowledges "as a Tijuanense, it's the street food here that is bomb." We asked Figueroa to share some of his favorite places to eat and drink around Tijuana, a magnificent multicultural city with a fantastic and ever-evolving food scene, a place where he lives and works and says it's a privilege to be a fronterizo.
El Paisa
One of Figueroa's favorite places to get breakfast in Tijuana is El Paisa, a small seafood cart located on Calle Javier Mina in front of Mercado Hidalgo in Zona Rio. It's your classic Baja, Sinaloan-style seafood. The owner has a brother who sends Figueroa fresh-caught seafood from the Sea of Cortez, so everything is always fresh. "What I like to order here is their callo (scallop) tostada especial, topped with cooked octopus, sea snail, shrimp and garnished with onion, tomato, cucumber and avocado — it's so good!" Figueroa says.
Los Chilos
"My love for Los Chilos fish tacos was years in the making, before I was even born," Figueroa said. "When my mother was pregnant with my brother and me — we're three years apart and I'm 31 years old — she craved fish tacos and would go to Los Chilos almost daily to eat their tacos. So it's not strange that it's the one thing that both my brother and I could eat every single day. I don't get tired of fish tacos. My go-to is their traditional beer battered fish taco dressed in cabbage, crema, fresh tomato salsa and lime with a caldito (consommé) on the side."
Aruba Day Drink Bar
Kevin Gomez, a local mixologist and good friend of Figueroa recently opened Aruba Day Drink Bar — as co-owner and head bartender — in Tijuana's Zona Este. "It's an unpretentious neighborhood cocktail bar with a local vibe you'd expect from Tijuana offering simple yet well-executed drinks and signature cocktails," Figueroa said. "I'm always that guy that orders things off-menu so when I come here I usually ask for the bartender's choice and based upon my spirit of choice and whatever flavor profile I'm craving, Kevin always creates something great and well balanced."
Insurgente/Casimiro Cacho
Insurgente/El Casimiro Cacho, which opened this past December in Tijuana's Zona Cacho, is one of the most gentrified neighborhoods right now but in a good way," said Figueroa. "It's a pretty chill neighborhood. There's lots of businesses all around with tons of bars and restaurants popping up — we compare it to La Colonia Roma in Mexico City (a neighborhood celebrated as an art and dining destination)." On the rooftop at Insurgente, you can enjoy one of Figueroa's favorite beers, Dragula — an oatmeal stout that has notes of coffee and chocolate which Figueroa also incorporates into El Casimiro's Hokkaido bread pudding made with smoked honey.
Taquería El Frances
Just three blocks away from the beach in Playas de Tijuana, you'll find some of the best tacos de asada at taquería El Frances (by the same family as Tacos Franc in Zona Rio. A late night taco spot for locals slinging adobada tacos). "It's my favorite: your classic TJ-style carne asada taco filled with some frijoles de la olla, chunky guac, raw tomato salsa, onion and cilantro on a freshly made tortilla," Figueroa says. "They give you a little styrofoam cup of frijoles de la olla on the side that has just a tiny bit of carne asada, salsa, cebolla and cilantro in it. You take a bite of your taco and then a sip of the hot bean broth — oh, it's the best. All of the tacos (cabeza, lengua, eyeball, tripas, suadero and adobada) at El Frances are really good. Whatever you order here it's going to be a no fail."
