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Specialty restaurants abound in Tijuana, and, if you know where to look, you can find cuisine that ranges from Afganistan to Zimbabwe, and everything in between. But, if you ask me to name a "niche" cuisine in Tijuana, one place immediately comes to mind: Kentucky Fried Buches... As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: Parking is scarce on Ave. Constitución in front of Kentucky Fried Buches, as the street heads downhill in the Zona Norte, land of the hookers, working girls, and prostitutes.
Photo: Mid Friday afternoon, October 15, 2010, it was time to pay a visit to Kentucky Fried Buches, as they serve some of the most specialized, and unique cuisine that I've every had the pleasure to enjoy. This is a classic, world famous diner, located in Zona Norte, just north of downtown Tijuana, Baja California. This is the view as you enter the restaurant, with co-chef Robert frying buches - chicken necks - in the gas fired deep fryer, with owner and chef Pancho in the background. There is no menu printed or posted above the kitchen, as this restaurant only serves deep fried chicken necks, in-house made salsa roja, and corn tortillas. Unfortunately, as of this writing on March 10, 2020, the restaurant is closed.
Photo: At 3 O' Clock on this Friday afternoon, the place is empty, and I asked the owner of the business, Pancho, who's dressed in the blue tee shirt, a simple question... "Why?" He told me just wait a few minutes and the customers will show up, and as I finished my lunch of buches, the customers did show up... in droves. Note the large bowl of fresh salsa on the counter, and the open storefront to the street.
Photo: Local resident, loyal customer, and lover of chicken neck tacos Eduardo, sits at the table next to me and allows me to take his photo, as Pancho works the counter in the background of the photo. Like most small restaurants in Tijuana, Kentucky Fried Buches is open to the street, as can be seen in the photo. Each table has a trash can, and the de facto format is that you either sit or stand at your table, and as you enjoy the buches, you spit, put, or place the remains of your buche into the trash can.
Photo: Robert, to the left, and the owner of the business, Pancho, pose for my digital camera, as they prepare my order of Kentucky Fried Buches. Robert speaks "pretty good" English, and was interested in everything that I was doing... he didn't want to speak my "pretty good" Spanish when I started rattling off in Spanish. Naturally, he asked me where I was from, and when I told him that I was from Sacramento - really Roseville, but who's ever heard of Roseville?... - he actually knew about Sacramento, which is a rare thing when you talk to citizens of Tijuana.
Photo: There is no seating at Kentucky Fried Buches, as all tables are "stand up" and no chairs are offered. Dining is as informal as it gets. Note the open front of the restaurant, open to Av. Consitucion, which is very common for small restaurants in Mexico.
Photo: Kentucky Fried Buches are cooking in the deep fryer. All this restaurant sells are deep fried chicken necks, in-house made salsa and corn tortillas. Talk about specialized cuisine!
Photo: I give a "thumbs up" to my lunch of deep fried chicken necks, salsa and tortillas. No, I'm not faking this, as the sign in the background says it all...
Photo: What is a Kentucky Fried Buche? Simply put, it's a chicken neck that's rolled in flour and deep fried. At Kentucky Fried Buches, you get 6 deep fried chicken necks, a couple of heaping spoonfuls of some of the best salsa made in Tijuana, and six corn tortillas. This will set you back MEX $30.00 and no tips are expected... but I just gave them a US five dollar bill which was WAY too much for the meal, and WAY too much to tip, but the experience I enjoyed at Kentucky Fried Buches was both unique and interesting, and... I love chicken neck tacos... I pose the question: Where else in the world are you going to find a restaurant that serves nothing but chicken neck tacos... a.k.a., Kentucky Fried Buches? Only in Tijuana... Back on Wednesday, August 24, 2005, around 1700 in the afternoon I paid my first visit to Kentucky Fried Buches... When you're traveling to Anytown, U.S.A., sooner or later you'll come across a K.F.C. store, freshly painted in the familiar red and white colors, with a likeness of the king of fast-food chicken, Colonel Sanders, featured on the outside sign, and upon various banners and posters inside. Yes, I'm a fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and I eat their outstanding chicken quite frequently, most likely to the chagrin of the health police. But this article is about Tijuana cuisine and, lawsuits non-withstanding, we'll head south of the border to feast on Kentucky Fried Buches, a rare cuisine that I've only had the pleasure to dine on in Tijuana. OK, you ask, just what are Kentucky Fried Buches? Oh, to eat them is to love them, but to describe them is simple: Chicken Neck Tacos! No, I'm not kidding, how could I make this up? ... K.F.B. features chicken neck tacos, and only chicken neck tacos, as the restaurant doesn't sell anything else. Tijuana's Zona Norte features quite a few small restaurants that specialize in fried chicken, Mexican style, but to my knowledge, there is only one place in town that serves exclusively deep fried chicken neck tacos, that of course, is K.F.B..
Photo: Felipe cooks buches, as Salvador smiles for the camera, as he dishes up a spoonful of their delicious salsa on my order of buches. So if you're trolling in Tijuana's Zona Norte for your kind of pleasure, and you have an appetite for something a little out of the ordinary, a visit to K.F.B. is a must. They're located in a small, storefront restaurant near the corner of Av. Constitución and Calle Primera, on the east side of Av. Constitución, across the street from the large Turino Bar on the corner. Just down the street from K.F.B. is Tijuana's Zona Norte police station, which has quite a few working girls outside, but the presence of the Tijuana police will give you peace of mind as you're munching on delicious Kentucky Fried Buches. Like most small restaurants in Tijuana, K.F.B. is open to the street and features a roll-down steel door that can be rolled down and locked after business hours. They operate irregular hours; I previously visited them at 12:00 in the afternoon in April, 2005, and they were closed, but on this visit, August 24, 2005, around 1700 in the afternoon, they were open. Eureka! Time for buches!
Photo: Felipe and Salvador stand behind the kitchen counter and keep the buches coming. The photo shows the simple kitchen in its entirety. Note the front of the restaurant is completely open to Av. Constitución. As you walk into the restaurant, the kitchen and counter are to your left. Inside, next to the street, is a huge pot of hot oil, as that's were the chicken necks are deep fried. Three brothers work the restaurant, the older one, Felipe cooks the buches, Many cashiers, busses and waits on tables, and the third brother, Salvador makes salsa, sweeps the floor and helps out Felipe and Manny in whatever chore is needed. To your right are the tables, stand-up only; there are no chairs. You eat your buches standing up! Clustered around the tables are convent trash cans to throw the bones from your chicken neck in. As you're standing at your table enjoying your buches, you just can't help to notice that the basic decor of the place is red and white, including the tile table tops. Hmmmm... did these guys take a trip north of the border. Oh yes, leave your English on Av. Revolución, as Spanish is spoken here.
Photo: Felipe cooks buches. Note the large plastic container of delicious, in-house made salsa, that makes a perfect condiment for the buches and tortillas.
Photo: Stand-up dining is the order at K.F.B.; note the trash can under the table. Note the television on the wall that's tuned to a soccer game; the patrons seem quite interested in the game, as they munch on their chicken necks. I walked in, placed my order with the cook and was handed a plate of 5 buches, along with some of the best salsa on this planet. I walked over to a table, started on my feast, and within seconds, I was rewarded with six warm, freshly made corn tortillas. Yes, they make their own tortillas at K.F.B. so you know the tortillas are always delicious and fresh. Just in case you're interested, they don't bread or flour-down the buches before they throw them in the pot; they just throw 'em in. Sort of like buffalo wings before the sauce is applied... Now you ask, how do you eat chicken neck tacos? Ok, you spoon some salsa on about half of the chicken neck, put it in your mouth, tear off the meat from the bone and the salsa, with your teeth, and chase it down with a bite of a corn tortilla. When you're finished with your buches and you have extra tortillas, just ask one of the guys at the counter for some extra salsa, and he'll give you a refill without charge. Their salsa and tortillas are to die for.
Photo: Salvador makes salsa, while patrons enjoy their buches. The wok-like pan where the buches are cooked is hidden behind the metal baffles in the foreground of the photo. Note the naked fluorescent light fixtures that provide the illumination. How much do you pay for this little piece of heaven? MEX $38.00, which at the time of this writing was around $3.00 in U.S. dollars, which kept me happy hiking around the town until dinner time, several hours later. Good food at rock-bottom prices. Kentucky Fried Buches has carved out quite a reputation, both in Tijuana and the Internet, and they must be doing something right, because they've been in business since 1963. I got to talking to Salvador, the guy at the counter who was making the salsa, and serving the buches, and upon a bit of questioning in my impromptu Spanish, I was able to get out of him a pretty good idea of how they make their salsa. I took a few digital photos, and took a few notes and when I got home, I came up with a recipe for Kentucky Fried Buche Salsa which is pretty close in taste, texture and appearance. If you interested in their salsa and you don't want to pay them a visit, click on the link so you can make it at home.
Photo: My partially-eaten order of deep fried chicken necks, house salsa, and corn tortillas. Despite the fact that this entrée is a bit unusual, it's really delicious. These buches are so good, that the only item that Kentucky Fried Buches offers is the buches. No chicken breasts, legs or buffalo wings, just Kentucky Fried Buches, chicken neck tacos. Awesome! Pay a visit to Kentucky Fried Buches so you can brag to your friends and family that you have eaten deep-fried chicken necks. Only in Tijuana, and only at Kentucky Fried Buches! Kentucky Fried Buches Copyright(c) 2020 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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