Today was my first time crossing the border to Tijuana and I was honestly terrified!!! My coworkers were scaring me with terrifying stories, but my boyfriend kept trying to reassure me that it is a lot safer now compared to before. I told him I would go but we would have to come back by 5pm while it is still during the day. He said okay.
So his dad dropped us off at a friend’s house. There were about 12 of us that carpooled a big van to the border and walked over. They said it was faster if we walked instead of driving because coming back would be a lot of traffic.
There was a short line to cross the border and they stamped my passport!!! Ugh! I wanted to save space on my passport because it’s only been one year and I accumulated a lot of stamps already 🙁
The first thing we went to when we crossed in Tijuana was go eat tacos for lunch at Tras Horizonte.
This place was actually pretty cute!!!!! The decor was very green with a lot of plants and open space. There was a bar. Service was so friendly and attentive!
There was even a taco grill with water flowing from underneath into a small pond. The guy was making fresh tacos to order!!!! My boyfriend said the tacos in Mexico are way better than San Diego and I had to see for myself.
He was right.
This seemed like an upscale restaurant with relatively cheap prices for pesos. Everything converted to dollars was cheaper than what it would be in America.
The salsas and homemade chips were delicious. My favorite were the yellow mango, middle spicy chipotle red and far spicy pink.
Gun Powder – Homemade smoked salmon with chimole, poblano slides and mango sauce on top pomegranate. This was the prettiest taco that I ordered out of 5 tacos! The salmon was very tender, moist, and flaky when I bit into it. I saw the slightly raw pink of medium rare salmon. The mango sauce was very refreshing! It was a good taco.
Malacostra – Chile guerito, Filled with smoked marlin, cheese crust, Serrano and pumpkin seeds cream. This was my FAVORITE taco!!! I would come back To TJ just for this taco. The fish was tender and soft. The perfectly crusted cheese added an element of crunch and salt. The sauces are creamy. The flavor is just all there!!!
Pibil – Smoked marlin with Mayan seasoning. To the right… it was a good simple taco compared to the others. Good, but after eating the other tacos, did not WOW me.
Chicano – Charbroiled octopus marinated in olive oil, paprika, Mayan seasoning and cactus. This was good! My second favorite taco. There was a generous amount of octopus and it was cooked perfectly so that it was soft. This was just so good. I’m so happy.
El Chamuco – Mezcal espadin, pina y Chile morita, miel de agave y limon. My boyfriend’s drink. Pleasantly sweet and a hint of spicy from the peppers. My favorite part was the caramelized pineapple? Counteracted the sour with the sweet.
Tuna Alguita – Mezcal, tuna verde, menta, salvia y sal de alga nori. I asked my waiter for a sweet suggestion and he told me this one. He did not steer me wrong. It was strong but perfectly sweet. I hardly tasted the alcohol and it gave me a good buzz. The salt was necessary to balance the sweet and the sour.
Funky. Portobello in a goat cheese with red wine and spinach sauce. I was so happy with the four tacos that I wanted to try a fifth one. This was good too!! The goat cheese was light and creamy. It connected the spinach with the taco well. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked and nicely flavored.
Rey Purpura. Ginebra Emmienda 18, lavanda, agua tonica y un torcido de lemon. My boyfriend’s second drink. This tasted like a sweet cider.
Terrario Comestible. Peqeuno ecosistema comestible, sobra una tierra de achiote con pay de queso y hongos bunapi, regados con mermelada de moras y mezcal. We wanted to go out and be high end. We ordered this dessert because we were curious. This is just $5 in US dollars.
The fish bowl is very pretty!!!! The mushrooms add an element of mystical and magical. It was served raw. The terrarium tasted like a yummy mushy rice pudding with sorbet.
Overall, I really enjoyed this restaurant! I am totally bookmarking this place for another time. I definitely wanna come back in the future for more delicious tacos!
The best tacos I have ever had.. was in its motherland! Definitely everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more!