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Food is not just a biological necessity, it is a cultural responsibility and societal ointment par excelence. Early as the poets of Homer in the Iliad -- when Achilles implores Hektor's father Priam to break his grief and eat -- ancient literature shows that the taking of food together in a social setting is an important sign of respect and consideration, an almost religious duty and ritual. The dinner party -- even as we have seen it manifested in the infamous binLauden/Pentagon videotape -- is a universal cultural custom celebrated by both friends and enemies. Most probably it has been like that for tens, even hundreds of thousands of years, from long before anyone actually got around to writing down the fact in poetry or propaganda. One wonders how CroMagnon hosts treated their Neanderthal neighbors. But I digress.
As a Spanish-speaking descendant of Mediterranean culture (like the Greeks and Trojans), as well as an outpost of post-conquest Mesoamerican civilization (with Aztec/Maya food like tortillas and tamales), Tijuana is full of churches and temples of this most comestible religion, from grand cathedrals of food in every style, Argentine beefsteaks baroque, Baja California seafood gothic, tipico renaissance, and then all the way down the line to streetcorner chapels with daily specials (comida del día, sometimes called comida corrida or especial) which cost three or four dollars and give you soup, a main plate, and usually a drink. A delicious burger with fries and a coke at 1st & I street will set you back almost five dollars -- but it's worth it.
There are literally thousands of little restaurants around the streets and neighborhoods, hundreds just in downtown within walking distance of the Revolution. Daniel has even written poems about some of them, here and here and here.
One of them regularly repeats his clientonish presence. That would be Max, who cooks some excellent daily specials from Sinaloa recipes his mother has handed down to him. You can dine for four dollars (unless you buy desert) under some of his personal art collection hanging on the walls. Breakfasts are three or something.
The food is damgood, but he only speaks a little English, so we recommend it especially to our Chicano friends/readers. We always talk Spanish and he cracks jokes we just don't understand. Bibi's Fuente de Sodas.
Choosing a place to eat while walking around:
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO is trust your instincts. Your body craves food but doesn't want to get sick. The restaurants and food carts here do NOT want to make you sick, either. BUT the thing is, you ARE in a different environment, here, Gringo, and you MIGHT have a reaction to one kind of food that someone else will eat and feel perfectly fine. Trust your Nose and your gut feeling. If you don't like the smell of a place, don't go in.
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Getting Around
Busses /
Taxis
Walking
Bicycling
Disabled
Leaving Town
Things to See.
Revolution Avenue.
Eating
Movies
Museums/Galleries
Markets/Swap Meets
Shopping Malls
SHOPPING!
Drinking
Buying Liquor
Baja California wine
Cigarettes
Customs/Border
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