First things first, this is not a part of the American based fast food chain, Taco Bell, but rather a tiny hole in the wall slinging authentic street tacos and cervezas while simultaneously stealing their namesake. Why? Well, the real question really is: why not? It's Tijuana, baby!
As an almost native San Diegan (according to time spent and not birthplace), I've been going to TJ since I was a young buck. During high school it was the place to sneak down to on Wednesdays for "college night," and now as I am quite a bit older it's the place to go down to for, wait for it, college night! Okay, okay, I'm only kidding but regardless of the reasoning, a stop at Taco Bell is not only tradition but taco-ly delicious!
As much as I want to give trusty Taco Bell five sexy stars, I have to admit that there is nothing sexy about my love affair with this place. It's dirty, it's relatively hard to find, the bathrooms are disgusting, the locals will turn the music up to obnoxious levels, the sun will hit you like a laser between the hours of 10am and sundown, you'll be bothered every five minutes by street vendors, there are flies... the list goes on, and on, and on. What's not to love, right?
Now let's tac' tacos. You have your choice of carne asada, pollo and al pastor at Taco Bell - I always order the al pastor con todo and don't look any further. I've tried them all but these little guys are my absolute favorite with a squeeze of lime, fresh cilantro, onion and a spoonful of the red salsa, which has a varying spice level depending on the day. There's a nice young lady that seemingly does everything here and she's been doing it for years - when she's not in, there may not be any tacos. I actually learned this the hard way when taking some co-workers from Europe down for a quick run south of the border. Total bummer!
The prices have always been the same throughout the years with the occasional exception. On a recent visit, our girl wasn't there, they were still serving tacos and we were helped by another young lady who pulled a fast one on us assuming we were first-timers. The usual price is three tacos for $1.00 and $1.00 beers. This day the price skyrocketed to $1.00 tacos, the XX bumped up to $2.00 a beer and The Corona and Pacfico remained at the $1.00 price. You don't argue here, you just pay since you're likely to make out on the next trip.
Sample order for a group of four (most times):
24 tacos and 8 Coronas = $16.00*
*sometimes they'll charge "tax."
It's just so funny/awesome on so many levels. read more