Best of 2001: Best Value Eggs

Rosticería Los Pollos
Constitución, between 6th and 7th Streets, Tijuana
(011-52-64) 90-96-88

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Depends which you want at Eduardo Riquelme Alcocer's "Rosticería Los Pollos" open chicken-roasting place on Tijuana's Constitución Avenue, not far from the Tijuana jail. The 13-spice chicken is delicious, but the racks of eggs are the greatest bargain. Don't want to start a whole new smuggling trade here, but recently one case of eggs cost 19 pesos -- around $2. That's 30 eggs! Problem is, you've got to eat them there or cook them. U.S. Customs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say "absolutely not" to Mexican fresh eggs coming across the border. The exception is boiled or otherwise cooked eggs. So go with the flow. Plan a "Big Omelet Weekend" in Baja. For two bucks you're 15 two-omelet meals ahead already.