Beautiful women... mouth-watering seafood tacos... beautiful women...  beautiful women... did I say beautiful women?  What more could you want? If that's the filling in your taco, Tacos El Sabnoso in Tecate is the place to dine.

 

Photos:  Tacos El Sabnoso, at the corner of Av. Juarez and calle Carranza, across from the Pemex station.

Tacos El Sabnoso is located at the busy corner of Av. Benito Juarez and Calle Pote V. Carranza in downtown Tecate, Baja California.  Their specialty is fish tacos, but they serve other types of tacos, and menudo.  Like many small restaurants in Mexico, there is no printed menu, not even a hand-painted one.  You go up to the counter and simply make your request; if they have the ingredients, they'll make it for you, con no problema, if they don't have the ingredients on hand, or they can't get them from the guy next door, you're out of luck.  I love the simplistic approach of these small Mexican restaurants!

 

Left:  Friendly Tabalota prepares a delicious fish taco for me.  Right: El Sabnoso has a completely-enclosed dining room.

Since Tacos El Sabnoso is on a corner, the architect that designed the building took a approach that capitalizes on the corner location.  The griddle and stove faces Av. Juarez, open to the street and gives the cook a good view and some choice people-watching while performing cooking duties, while the walk-up order-counter faces Calle Carranza.  You also enter the open dining area from Calle Carranza.  Not only does the design of the building provide maximum commercial exposure, but it is airy and pleasant, which is a boon during the hot, dry summers.

 

Left:  Tabalota prepares my fish taco as Kathy gathers ingredients for menudo.  Right:  Kathy cuts up vegetables. Note the aquarium full of goldfish, a rariety in small Mexican restaurants in Northern Baja California.

Tabalota cooks and runs the place, and will greet you with a cheery hello and an infectious smile.  Her two helpers are Kathy, who cooks, prepares food, cleans, cuts veggies, while Elena is in the background, cutting veggies, cleaning, busing tables, making menudo, and whatever else needs to be done to keep the business running.

 

Left:  Look at how many onions this girl is cutting!  Right:  Friendly Tabalota banters with a customer who has come to the walk-up windo on the street.  Note the condiments on the counter for the walk-up customers.  Also, note the good view; the street in the background is Av. Benito Juarez, the main street in Tecate.

For some reason I passed on menudo for breakfast, unusual for me, as a I had an urge for a fish taco.  So I walked inside, greeted friendly Tabalota, and asked for a fish taco, for the bargain price of $8.00.  Naturally, I was greeted with the response of "No problema."

At Tacos El Sabnoso, the fish is cut into strips, about the length of the cd-sized corn tortilla.  The strips are dipped in batter and deep-fried in vegetable oil in a wok-like pan, heated over a propane burner.  While the fish is cooking, Tabalota will place a corn tortilla on the griddle, and toast it on both sides.  You can tell that she knows what she's doing, as she times it out so the fish and the tortilla are done at exactly the same time.

 

Left:  Kathy takes a break and steps out in front of the restaurant to check out the action on Calle Pote V. Carranza.  Right:  Kathy prepares a couple of bowls of delicious menudo.  I usually have menudo for breakfast, as is the custom in Northern Mexico, but on this day, fish tacos sounded better.

Each taco contains one piece of fish.  That may sound "cheap," but it isn't, as the piece of fish totally dominates the corn tortilla.  You sit at the table, and Kathy brings you a tray loaded with bowls of condiments, including shredded cabbage, sliced onions, fresh salsa, sliced key limes, and two kinds of red salsa.  Each table in the colorful dining room has a bottle of chipotle picante sauce and a squeeze-bottle of white sauce, which is basically watered-down mayonnaise laced with lots of lime juice.  It all adds up to a delicious combination to tempt any palate that's partial to Mexican food.

 

Left:  Kathy grills some pre-battered fish for another customer.  Right:  Here is is:  My fish taco and the plate of garnishes.  Ymmm!

If you're in the mood for a coke or a Tecate, you just walk up to the glass cooler, open the door and grab one.  Cash register?  What cash register?  Like most small restaurants and street vendors in Mexico, transactions are on the honor system at Tacos El Sabnoso.

I sat at a table munching on the most delicious fish taco that you could ever imagine, watching the beautiful women employees go about their daily business.  Tabalota was busy filling an order and chatting with a customer, Kathy was spooning menudo into a bowl and Elena was busy chopping onions, a seemly never-ending task. When I finished my taco, I asked Tabalota for another one.  I really wasn't all that hungry, but I just had to have another one, as it was that good!

 

Left:  I can're resist snapping a photo of the condiments that El Sabnoso presented to me.  Clockwise, from the 7 o'clock posistion; smoky chipotle salsa, salsa cruda, onions, cut limes, shredded cabbage and a watery tomato-based salsa.  Of course, bottled picante sause, salt and white sauce are offered on the side.  Truly a feast to be enjoyed.

One very unique feature of El Sabnoso is that they have an aquarium in the dining room, stocked with goldfish.  I asked shy Kathy if they grow the goldfish for their tacos and if I'm really eating a goldfish taco.  She softly giggled and blushed and Tabalota, and a couple of my fellow diners broke out in a laugh.  I'm a married man, but I can't resist to flirt a bit with beautiful women!

When you're in Tecate and you're hungry for a delicious fish taco and you like to watch beautiful women, visit Tacos El Sabnoso.  You'll love the place.