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Sanborn's Hermanos is a Tijuana landmark restaurant, and features authentic Mexican cuisine, and it's a destination restaurant for many Norteamericano visitors to Tijuana. It's located on Av. Revolución, at the corner of Calle Hidalgo, a.k.a., Calle 8A and Av. Revolución, near the iconic Jai Alai Palace, at the extreme south end of Tijuana's gringo-friendly central district. 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: Here's the entrance to the general merchandise store, at the corner of Calle 8A and Av. Revolución; Sanborn's occupies a good deal of the block. The sign says drigstore, gifts, arts and crafts, but the store really sells just about everything, including a good selection of consumer electronics.
Photo: The restaurant joins the drug store, and it's just south, facing Av. Revolución. You can enter the restaurant dirctly using a door that is open to the street, just about behind the lady that's walking on the sidewalk. Note that Sanborn's Hermanos offers outdoor dining on the patio. My first visit to Tijuana, and Mexico, was in 1970, as a senior in high school, and as president of the Spanish Club, we spent Spring Break touring Tijuana and Ensenada, and I recall eating a very American-style lunch at Sanborn's, and my vague memory of Sanborn's was something like a morphed-over Mexican, Denny's Restaurant wannabee. In the years gone by, I noticed that Sanborn's grew into what they are now - Sanborn's Hermano's - which is sort of like combining a WalMart and a fancy, full-service restaurant under one roof. I just couldn't get past the hamburger-and-fries lunch that I remembered from 40 years previous, but finally, on Saturday, October 16, 2010, I got up the courage to walk into the place, and order breakfast.
Photo: You walk in, and you step down a few steps to enter the drug store, but the entrance offers a commanding view of the store, which sells just about everything.
Photo: To enter the restaurant, you walk in the entrance to the drug store and take a right, and you'll walk to the cashier's station, where you will be seated. I'm standing near one of the buffet tables, and the drug store can be seen at the extreme right of the photo. They were serving buffet on this Saturday morning, and this was only one of three counters they had set up with many items to choose from. Note the four waiters all standing around doing nothing; it seems restaurants in Mexico are always overstaffed; all the male staff members that I saw were wearing suits.
Photo: The dining room is clean, spacious, attractive, light, airy and absolutely gigantic!
Photo: My waitress Sarah brings my order of huevos rancheros to the table. All of the male staff members wore suits, and the women were wearing traditional Mexican dresses.
Photo: Sarah was gracious enough to snap my photo, as I pose with my breakfast. Most people were enjoying the buffet, which featured mostly American cuisine, but I was in the mood for a traditional Mexican breakfast, so I ordered from the menu. I found it quite interesting that Sanborn's Hermanos caters to the American tour bus crowd, but none of the staff spoke English. Para mí, ningún problema, como hablo Español.
Photo: This is my MEX $92.00 meal, which was equivilent to about U.S. $8.00: Huevos rancheros, refried beans, sourdough toast, jam and coffee. The coffee was the best coffee that I've ever enjoyed in Mexico - Mexico isn't noted for it's quality coffee - and true to form, I got one cup, with no refills. In Mexico, you don't get refills when you order coffee. The meal was pricey, but it was made from fresh, quality ingredients, it filled me up, and it was delicious. If you can afford it, Sanborn's serves a great breakfast!
Photo: Here's where things got interesting, as after I finished my meal and left a generous tip for Sarah, I went to the cashier's station to pay for my meal. On this trip, I was just visiting the Zona Centro, so I didn't bother to change my dollars into pesos, so I figured a classy restaurant like Sanborn's wouldn't have a problem making change, so I gave the cashier a $20.00 bill. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, and said that he didn't have change and that he'd have to go and get some. C'mon... So I waited five minutes... ten minutes... so to amuze myself, I took this photo of fht fruit and juice buffet table. The guy in suit approached me and politely informed me that no photos were allowed inside the restaurant. So, just as I put away my camera, the cashier returned with $12.00 change from my $20.00 bill. I had to wait 10 minutes for the change... good I wasn't in a hurry!
Photo: In Mexico, you don't take public restrooms for granted, like you do in the United States, so you go every time you get the chance. All restaurants have restrooms for use of the clientele only, and most classy restaurants have a restroom attendent, who's job it is to keep the place clean, hand out toilet paper - the stalls never have toilet paper - and to assist in any way needed. (B.T.W.: I always tip the guy a few pesos, as most of them earn their living from tips...) Anyway, all of the urinals were filled with ice - I'd never seen that before - and I've used plenty of urinals in my lifetime. So when I was finished, I asked the attendent why the "pistoleros" were filled with ice, and he looked me right in the eye, and said very matter of factly, "Para lavar las manos en..." which means to wash your hands in. Folks, I'm not making this up... how could I? When he wasn't looking, I pulled out and snapped this photo of one of the urinals, filled with ice. Sanborn's Hermanos serves delicious, but pricey, food, but it's delicious and the quality is great. The restaurant would be an outstanding choice for the visitor that's hesitant to enjoy the local cuisine, or the street food, like I prefer to eat. I'm definitely put off by the no-photos policy, but I got my story and my photos, so it's a non-issue with me. Sanborn's
Hermanos Copyright(c) 2011 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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