Roadtrip to Tijuana: Why All Your Foodblogs are Posting From Mexico

Thanks to the tireless work of Mexican food expert and blogger Bill Esparza--in conjunction with the Tijuana Tourism Board Tijuana Convention & Visitors Bureau--a group of bloggers, food writers, chefs and restaurateurs headed south last week on a mission of exploration and eating, to consume some of the best food and drink of Tijuana, Ensenada and the Valle de Guadalupe. The trip was orchestrated in the hope of disproving some of the general expectations that people in the United States have of Mexico right now. The best way to do this? Dine well, and often.

N. Galuten

Meats and salsas run wild on the streets of Tijuana.

So off we went, a diverse and interesting group including the people behind such enterprises as La Casita Mexicana, Ciudad, Border Grill, Las Cabronas, Food GPS, Table Conversation, Deep End Dining, Eating LA, Teenage Glutster, NancyZaslavsky.com, LA/OC Foodie, Mattatouille, Gourmet Pigs and Gastronomy Blog.

N. Galuten

Carne asada, with three kinds of beef, from Tacos el Poblano

We arrived late on the first evening, and after a quick stop off for some delicious tacos de asada (prepared from three different cuts of beef) at Tacos el Poblano, I took the opportunity to wander off from the group and observe a little of the nightlife for myself. While the red light district may not be the first place city officials would want to see us traipsing about at four in the morning, in actuality, it's the perfect place to start.

N. Galuten

The beef taco de barbacoa that you wish you've been eating your entire life.

A short meander will find you stands of creamy, fatty, fist-sized beef tacos de birria, with salsas and pickled onions that will make you cry both from pain and happiness; fresh oysters shucked to order; and sidewalk coolers stuffed with small, skinny burritos de chicharron, thankfully devoid of irrelevant additions like rice and lettuce. (To be continued.)

N. Galuten

Even the beer tastes better.

Tacos El Poblano, 7813 Boulevard Diaz Ordaz.