“If you don’t have anything to nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” It’s an English proverb that I tend not to follow. Family, friends, and strangers are always recommending places for me. I …

Being both Mexican and American did nothing to prepare me for the bizarre life at the border. Mastery of Spanish did little to help understand the complexities of Tijuana. In this city, cultures clash, streets …

"We’ve witnessed tourism making a slow comeback. But it’s not at all the type of tourism that wants to see star-studded sidewalks."

I have walked by Açai Café on the beach boardwalk of Playas de Tijuana countless times and thought of it simply as the café with the Mario Bros. mural painted on the side. I had …

Clickety-clink-clack. Toques! Toques! A man wearing polished shoes, a zoot suit, and a fancy hat walks through a bar with a decorated electric box attached to his hip. Two metal tubes that he smashes together …

My friend Danger Dave took me to Los Compadres for the first time a few years ago. He guaranteed that they had the best camarón enchilado taco (spicy shrimp), better than Tijuana favorite El Mazateño. …

The torta ahogada (“drowned sandwich”) is one of the many signature dishes brought to you by Jalisco, the state that is home to tequila and also my paternal family’s home. From what I know, there …

“We are doing the first grassroots campaign in Tijuana,” Antonio Ley tells the Reader. “We are doing it Obama style.” Ley is the downtown canvass coordinator for one of the independent candidates running for Tijuana’s …

In Tijuana, if you crave sushi you are limited to two things: bad but cheap sushi or decent sushi in a fancy sit-down restaurant. I knew that the Friki Plaza, the nerdy mall where Dorian’s …

“Governor Quiko [Kiko] Vega violates rights of trans.” “Religions: Stop promoting trans assassinations.” “Stop the abuse by policemen against trans in Tijuana.” “To be trans is not a sin nor a disease.” These were just …

“We accomplished our primary task, which was to have as many tap rooms as we can in one place,” says Juan Carlos Bucio, the mastermind that turned Plaza del Balazo into Plaza Cerveza. “The second …

Asada days and adobada nights — A little taste of Loreto in San Diego. by Mary Beth Abate Tacos where you least expect them — Looking beyond standard tacolandia. By Ed Bedford Taco mecca — …

Tijuanenses will never agree what taquería has the best taco, but what they can agree on is that the very best in the world is found in Tijuana. Though Tacos El Gordo dominates the San …

More than 20 tap rooms opened in Tijuana last year, many of them in the same Plaza, giving the area a feel of a daily beer fest. Partially thanks to San Diego, the Baja region …

“El Parque de la Ocho is more than just a space for activities, it is also an area to develop values like respect, harmony, and a sense of belonging,” Dr. Jorge Astiazarán, Tijuana’s mayor said …

“We started in 2011 with a food truck named Greengo grilled cheese,” explained Gaston Corbalá, chef and creator of Grater Grilled Cheese Bistro. “We wanted a name that was a play on words and represented …

Puerta Mexico, a.k.a. La Concha (“the shell”), a googie-esque immigration office on the Mexican side of the San Ysidro border crossing, was demolished in 2015 . Constructed in 1961, the structure also served as a …

"I have no idea what is going on," Enrique Sanchez, a taxi coordinator, told me last week when I inquired about the plans for taxi drivers to strike in Tijuana. "The director instructed us to …

Young couple David García and Ariss Mercado started delivering vegan food via bicycle around Tijuana over a year ago. After biking around the city, they garnered enough fans via Facebook and Instagram to open a …

I found myself in a bizarre, nerdy dreamland called Otaku Anime Café. Similar to Plaza Friki, this is where nerds congregate in downtown. Welcome to Nippon in Tijuana. As I enter, a video of Kyary …

Tijuana punk band DFMK were on their way through California for their RnR Spring West Coast tour, when they had to pull over to the side of the road to attend Vanessa’s wounds. Vanessa was …

“My dad started this stand in March of 1970, the year I was born,” says Israel Carrillo, who runs Mariscos el Buzo, a small seafood stand in the corner of Calle Segunda and Gonzalez Ortega …

I remember the first time I had birria in the city of Guadalajara. I was only seven and wasn’t much of a meat eater. Without asking for it, a bowl of spicy greasy red soup …

“As soon as you sit down, a guy will come over and offer you sexual favors,” a gay friend told me a couple of years ago. “You pay around two dollars and you can stay …

“It all started in my backyard in the summer of 2014,” Andrés Corella recalls. “We did it to share music with friends. We had no intention of making it a big public thing. They were …

The first time I tried a Buda Burger was two years ago. My roommate had left a half-eaten burger in the fridge, and I was hungry. He later gave me directions on how to find …

Waves crashing, rooftop dogs barking, seagulls squawking, the banter between people (mostly in English), music playing in the background, improvised couches, random pillows and cushions, a long wooden table, a bookshelf with a sign that …

The zonkey business seems to be dying of natural causes, not because of animal rights activism.

“The Persian one, that’s Zed,” says Elizabeth Barajas, the founder of Bastet Cat Café, pointing at a napping kitty. “Zed is the house cat. He is always here and welcomes all the newcomers. More than …

“We need to find another news story for people to get distracted; we call it la caja China (Chinese box).” That’s a translated line from a Mexican movie that came out in 2014 named La …

My parents woke me and my brothers up in the middle of the night when I was six years old in my hometown of Querétaro (1992). Three men dressed in robes, crowns, and white gloves …

Droning sounds start to build before The 1975 came onstage at 9 p.m. Shrieks from fans filled my ears as the frontman, Matthew Healy, came out with his bandmates. It felt as if I was …

The first time I went to La Corriente Cevicheria Nais was around five years ago, one of the first restaurants I visited in Tijuana. Back then, the sign that says how many red snapper tostadas …

A 17-year-old identified as Adal Mundo Rodríguez was videoed abusing a homeless man, making him repeat different humiliating phrases in the Otay region of Tijuana, on December 20th. The teenager holds what seems to be …

The last time I went to McD's was in 2010 at LAX, one of the worst airports at which to eat. That day, I strayed from the burgers and got nuggets and a McFlurry. I …

A tad late with the trend of cooking everything with bacon, Sweet Bacon opened its doors a couple of months ago in downtown Tijuana. They are located on the main road (Revolución) between 6th and …

Last week, the van that Border Psycho brewery uses to transport kegs to their tap room and other bars was stolen with beer inside. The reward offered by the brewery for information that leads to …

Tijuana is a city that loves its delivery food. Hundreds of motorcycles with all sorts of food zoom down the streets day and night. One morning I woke up to find out my roommate had …

“Whoa, they have the Link Amiibo. I can’t find them anywhere in L.A. I’m getting one for my lil’ brother.” I was touring my friend Gabe through Tijuana when he got excited and we stopped …

One year ago, El Tigre had punk shows on a regular basis. They served cheap beer on tap, caguama (bottled beer), and mixed drinks intended to get you drunk for the least amount of money. …

Of the many ways to find out what is happening on the San Ysidro or Otay border lines, the best source of current information (and misinformation) is the Facebook group “Como esta la Línea.” The …

“Why don’t you try Praga? They have really good chai.” My friend Claudia suggested this after I told her that I did not feel like eating vegan at her Happy Vegan locale. I was looking …

A mile west of the Tijuana airport, where the road ends and dirt road begins, a mural that reads “¡Rape Trump!” has been painted on the old border wall. The presidential candidate's face is depicted …

Thousands of locals and tourists flocked to Avenida Revolución to party and celebrate Halloween, also known in Mexico as “Día de las Brujas.” I arrived at the scene around 9 p.m. and police had already …

Last year, Calle Segunda in downtown Tijuana was destroyed in order to be redesigned. For a couple of months, it looked like the end of the world. Businesses and residents suffered difficult access and water …

The carnivore paradise that is the Telefónica food-truck park had one stall that served vegan food when I last visited in July. That place is gone and has been replaced with a food truck named …

“Si güey, el Zacas va a cerrar” (“Yeah man, Zacas is closing”), a musician named Osvaldo “el Teme” said, confirming the rumor. “Someone told me it will happen before the end of the year. We …

Follow the stairs with the gnomes painted on the side to the second floor of one of the many locales that is the maze of Plaza Fiesta and you will find a kitchen with a …

When I first met Oliver Castañeda a couple years ago, he was running a small coffee shop named El Gnomo (The Gnome) in downtown Tijuana in the alley known as Pasaje Gomez. When Pasaje Gomez …

“The dollar keeps getting more expensive! Isn't it awesome?” Jimmy told me excitedly one payday a couple months ago. At age 20, Jimmy was my youngest coworker while I was working in retail. He had …