Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Juice Rule

Place

Landings at Carlsbad

2198 Palomar Airport Road #100, San Diego




The green liquid bubbles down my throat like a cold witch's brew.

"Well, I'm a cactus," says Hank.

"You know, dude?" I mumble. "This ain't half bad."

My breakfast is a humungous-sized cocktail glass filled with thickish nectar. Cactus. Nopal. Plus spinach and OJ, to help gentle down that "nyuck!" flavor of the cactus.

Did I mention? We're in Rio.

Zona Rio, that is. Tijuana. Heh heh. But I tell you what: It could just about be the real Rio. Spiffy tree-lined boulevards, smoked-glass office buildings rising out of the pavement, looking like architectural drawings of themselves. Government departments, Office Depots, Nextels -- the whole capitalista enchilada. In fact, we're here in the building with the giant "Nextel" sign on it, a new cream-and-terracotta place, mostly doctors' offices. Across the road is the Secretaria de Economía and PROFEPA (Procuradoría Federal de Protección Al Ambiente), the Mexican EPA. We're talking sophisticated foot traffic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Hank brought me down after a buddy of his told him about Al Natural. "It's a health food restaurant in a pharmacy," he told me. Who could resist?

We caught a $6.00 yellow cab from the border and jumped out just before the Baja Inn hotel. Al Natural's on the corner, all white tile and mustard-yellow walls, with models of fruit in blue box-frames as art. There's an open kitchen on one side, a pharmacist's counter on the other.

Fernando Calzada's the guy who started this up. He's the pharmacist brother of a homeopathic doctor upstairs. That explains why half the people eating here are Americans, popped over the line for a little alternative medicine.

Fernando runs the pharmacy while Tania, his wife, is in charge of the eatery. She suggests we start off with a fruit-smoothie thing. She has a dozen on the menu, all around $2.15 (depending on the exchange rate). Like the Conga, with papaya, pineapple, melon, apple, guava, and water melon, or the "Tijuana" -- papaya, strawberries, bananas, and orange juice.

There's only one rule. Fernando rubs his belly in warning. "Never combine peach with papaya. It causes trouble." On the other hand, he says, if you want to get your waters flowing, "Take the diurético, pineapple and orange juice. Soon you'll be running, guaranteed."

I chose the verde smoothie, the one with spinach, OJ, and cactus, mainly 'cause my friend Willy, the folk singer who lives down here, swears by cactus juice. Takes a shot every morning. Says it keeps his diabetes at bay. Makes him feel good. "Taxi driver told me about it. I haven't missed a day since," he said.

But Hank's getting twitchy. "Breakfast, pal. Let's get some real breakfast."

By now, I'm full of cactus juice, but I go back to the counter anyway. "It's all natural," explains Tania. "Everything we buy is organically grown and raised. No chemicals." She hands over the English menu. Hmm. Guess that applies to the chickens in the "three-chicken enchiladas" (they come with frijoles, avocado strips, corn tortillas, $3.50). And the eggs. Omelets (like the one with mushrooms, spinach, turkey, ham, and same sides, $3.00). I like the sound of chikichiki eggs (any style) with onion, tomato, spinach, lettuce, and cheese ($3.00). Or, you can abandon breakfast and do lunch. A sandwichazo (chicken, turkey, ham, mozzarella) costs $3.50. A green salad with chicken is $3.50. The Al Natural sandwich is spinach, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, onion, alfalfa, and cheese ($2.75).

"We bake our own bread too," says Fernando. "It's 12-grain. Organic. Twenty calories. Eating here I've lost weight myself. You should have seen me before."

He holds his hands out to surround his ex-stomach.

Hank does the omelet, and I go chikichiki, scrambled. It's nice. Taste is fine. Not something you'd wake up nights craving, like an adobada taco, but hey, it's healthy. Eat good, feel good, do good to that big bad bod of yours. Plus you get frijoles and hot corn tortillas in round plastic tortilla boxes.

Half the interest here is the other people. They've mostly come for a purpose. Helyn, at the window table with her husband Russell, has traveled all the way from Ogden, Utah. "I've just had my last mercury filling out. Dr. López, upstairs," she says. "I feel so-o good about it."

She's been eating a veggie omelet ($3.00). "If I had my druthers, I'd go for the fruit salad," she says. "It has lots of fruit with cottage cheese, honey, and granola. Three dollars. But not today."

Turns out Russell is a naturopath too. Says he sends patients down here from Utah to see Fernando's brother.

Why come all this way? "Because Mexican medical doctors are better trained," he says. "In the US, doctors are God. Patients just obey. Mexican doctors have a heart. They see themselves as servants of the people."

Wow. Food for thought. For some reason, it makes me hungry again. So Hank and I go halves on a "sandwichazo" ($3.50). To go. We munch through the chicken, turkey, ham, and mozzarella all the way to the border. "God, that bread's good," Hank says. "I think I'm becoming a convert. How 'bout you?"

"Me, I'm becoming a cactus," I say.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Place

Landings at Carlsbad

2198 Palomar Airport Road #100, San Diego




The green liquid bubbles down my throat like a cold witch's brew.

"Well, I'm a cactus," says Hank.

"You know, dude?" I mumble. "This ain't half bad."

My breakfast is a humungous-sized cocktail glass filled with thickish nectar. Cactus. Nopal. Plus spinach and OJ, to help gentle down that "nyuck!" flavor of the cactus.

Did I mention? We're in Rio.

Zona Rio, that is. Tijuana. Heh heh. But I tell you what: It could just about be the real Rio. Spiffy tree-lined boulevards, smoked-glass office buildings rising out of the pavement, looking like architectural drawings of themselves. Government departments, Office Depots, Nextels -- the whole capitalista enchilada. In fact, we're here in the building with the giant "Nextel" sign on it, a new cream-and-terracotta place, mostly doctors' offices. Across the road is the Secretaria de Economía and PROFEPA (Procuradoría Federal de Protección Al Ambiente), the Mexican EPA. We're talking sophisticated foot traffic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Hank brought me down after a buddy of his told him about Al Natural. "It's a health food restaurant in a pharmacy," he told me. Who could resist?

We caught a $6.00 yellow cab from the border and jumped out just before the Baja Inn hotel. Al Natural's on the corner, all white tile and mustard-yellow walls, with models of fruit in blue box-frames as art. There's an open kitchen on one side, a pharmacist's counter on the other.

Fernando Calzada's the guy who started this up. He's the pharmacist brother of a homeopathic doctor upstairs. That explains why half the people eating here are Americans, popped over the line for a little alternative medicine.

Fernando runs the pharmacy while Tania, his wife, is in charge of the eatery. She suggests we start off with a fruit-smoothie thing. She has a dozen on the menu, all around $2.15 (depending on the exchange rate). Like the Conga, with papaya, pineapple, melon, apple, guava, and water melon, or the "Tijuana" -- papaya, strawberries, bananas, and orange juice.

There's only one rule. Fernando rubs his belly in warning. "Never combine peach with papaya. It causes trouble." On the other hand, he says, if you want to get your waters flowing, "Take the diurético, pineapple and orange juice. Soon you'll be running, guaranteed."

I chose the verde smoothie, the one with spinach, OJ, and cactus, mainly 'cause my friend Willy, the folk singer who lives down here, swears by cactus juice. Takes a shot every morning. Says it keeps his diabetes at bay. Makes him feel good. "Taxi driver told me about it. I haven't missed a day since," he said.

But Hank's getting twitchy. "Breakfast, pal. Let's get some real breakfast."

By now, I'm full of cactus juice, but I go back to the counter anyway. "It's all natural," explains Tania. "Everything we buy is organically grown and raised. No chemicals." She hands over the English menu. Hmm. Guess that applies to the chickens in the "three-chicken enchiladas" (they come with frijoles, avocado strips, corn tortillas, $3.50). And the eggs. Omelets (like the one with mushrooms, spinach, turkey, ham, and same sides, $3.00). I like the sound of chikichiki eggs (any style) with onion, tomato, spinach, lettuce, and cheese ($3.00). Or, you can abandon breakfast and do lunch. A sandwichazo (chicken, turkey, ham, mozzarella) costs $3.50. A green salad with chicken is $3.50. The Al Natural sandwich is spinach, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, onion, alfalfa, and cheese ($2.75).

"We bake our own bread too," says Fernando. "It's 12-grain. Organic. Twenty calories. Eating here I've lost weight myself. You should have seen me before."

He holds his hands out to surround his ex-stomach.

Hank does the omelet, and I go chikichiki, scrambled. It's nice. Taste is fine. Not something you'd wake up nights craving, like an adobada taco, but hey, it's healthy. Eat good, feel good, do good to that big bad bod of yours. Plus you get frijoles and hot corn tortillas in round plastic tortilla boxes.

Half the interest here is the other people. They've mostly come for a purpose. Helyn, at the window table with her husband Russell, has traveled all the way from Ogden, Utah. "I've just had my last mercury filling out. Dr. López, upstairs," she says. "I feel so-o good about it."

She's been eating a veggie omelet ($3.00). "If I had my druthers, I'd go for the fruit salad," she says. "It has lots of fruit with cottage cheese, honey, and granola. Three dollars. But not today."

Turns out Russell is a naturopath too. Says he sends patients down here from Utah to see Fernando's brother.

Why come all this way? "Because Mexican medical doctors are better trained," he says. "In the US, doctors are God. Patients just obey. Mexican doctors have a heart. They see themselves as servants of the people."

Wow. Food for thought. For some reason, it makes me hungry again. So Hank and I go halves on a "sandwichazo" ($3.50). To go. We munch through the chicken, turkey, ham, and mozzarella all the way to the border. "God, that bread's good," Hank says. "I think I'm becoming a convert. How 'bout you?"

"Me, I'm becoming a cactus," I say.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader