Review of Loncheria Las Rosas, Zona Centro, Tijuana, Baja California...

Friendly people are priceless, and are truly a gift from God, and in Tijuana, you won't friend any friendlier folks than the ladies that work at Lonchería Las Rosas, in Tijuana's Zona Centro. Sunday morning, October 17, 2010, I had the pleasure of enjoying a large bowl of some of the best menudo on the planet at Las Rosas, and getting the chance to know Olivia and Tonni.

Photo: Lonchería Las Rosas is located in a tiny, hole-in-the-wall store, with a front to the sidewalk of maybe 12 feet wide. It's located on Av. Negrete, just a few doors south of Articulo 123, which is the route that most American tourists take when they walk from the border to downtown Tijuana to party. I doubt that many gringos even notice Lonchería Las Rosas, must less stop in. You can't see it in the photos, but Lonchería Las Rosas has a slogan painted on their sign which reads, "Comida Corrida y A La Carta," which translates to "fast food and a la carte."

Photo: Olivia, who runs the place, in her kitchen. It's Sunday morning, and the well-dressed gentleman is on his way to church, and he's enjoying a breakfast of bacon, eggs, beans and corn tortillas. Like your typical diner, Lonchería Las Rosas is open only for breakfast and lunch.

Photo: Olivia and her helper Tonni in the kitchen. Olivia is in the process of spooning menudo from the big pot, simmering on the back burner, into a bowl for my breakfast. Note the well-used, antique range, and the two chickens crowded into the small pot. Olivia and Melissa were very friendly and very talkative, and seemed amused that I was taking photos. As usual, Tonni asked me why I was taking photos, and I told her that I love to take photos of beautiful women - yeah, I really do! - and both she and Olivia giggled when I gave her that line. I then clarified that I'm a free-lance writer, and that I was doing an article for my Web Site about their restaurant, and both women seemed to understand what the Internet is all about.

Photo: This shot was taken at the extreme rear of the diner, and gives a good idea of how small the place is. I'd guess the inside measurements of the restaurant are about 12 by 35 feet.

Photo: Lonchería Las Rosas makes orange juice the old fashioned way - by hand, using a manual orange press, from fresh oranges, hanging from a basket. Tonni gives my camera a very coy look as she operates the hand press.

Photo: Olivia cooks chorizo for Carlos, a local who stopped by and sat on the stool next to me and started talking. Olivia and Tonni seem to know everybody, as most people walking by on the sidewalk would say "hola," and then the women would answer by saying something like "Buenas días, Paco," as they seemed to know everybody by name. Note the hanging utensils, the shabby paint, and the clutter, which gives this small diner a lot of character.

Photo: Olivia poses with my breakfast of a bowl of some of the best menudo that I've enjoyed in a long time. Olivia asked me where I was from, and I told her, and like most Mexicans, she had no idea where Sacramento is, but when I told her it was a couple hundred clicks north east of San Francisco, she get the general idea of where I was from. Lonchería Las Rosas does not have a posted menu, and they serve typical Mexican diner fare of menudo, pozole, beans, eggs, bacon chorizo, tacos, and Olivia was quick to point out to me that she'll be happy to prepare for me anything that I want. Next trip, I plan to stop by and enjoy a plate of bacon, beans, eggs and corn tortillas, which is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Photo: Olivia was kind enough to snap a photo of me, as I was about ready to enjoy my breakfast of menudo. Behind me, on the wall, is the nearest facsimile that Lonchería Las Rosas has to a printed menu, as it lists the daily specials. I love this little diner, I love the friendly service, and I absolutely love menudo. Lonchería Las Rosas is exactly the kind of restaurant that I love to patronize in my travels to Mexico.

Photo: My breakfast of a huge bowl of menudo, with all of the garnishes, and a stack of corn tortillas, which I paid MEX $48.00 for, which is slightly over US $4.00; quite a bargain. Lonchería Las Rosas does not make the tortillas in-house, but the tortillas are purchased fresh from a nearby tortilla. Olivia told me that she sends Tonni over to the torterilla several times a day when they start running low on tortillas. The menudo came from a big pot that was simmering on the stove, and Olivia told me that she had made the menudo earlier in the day. It has been a long time since I had enjoyed a breakfast of delicious menudo, and the menudo served at Lonchería Las Rosas is some of the best that I've ever tasted. Both ladies smiled and thanked me when I told them how delicious the menudo was. They were so friendly and nice that I left a 5 dollar bill as a tip.

Photo: The gentleman to the left, Carlos, who sat on a stool next to me, ordered a breakfast of chorizo, eggs, rice and beans, and alternated between eating, talking, and reading the paper. He was more than happy to talk to the women, anybody who passed by on the sidewalk, and me; quite a friendly guy. The gentleman standing had just sold Olivia several bunches of fresh cilantro. Lonchería Las Rosas seems to be a local hang-out on this Sunday morning in mid October.

Photo: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, I returned to Lonchería Las Rosas for another delicious breakfast, and some more friendly company. Both Olivia and Tonni remembered me when I showed them my camera and asked, ¿Me requerdas? This time was different, as I gave them a DVD of photos that I'd taken from my previous visit in October, and both these friendly ladies thanked me. Of course I stayed for breakfast... In the photo, Olivia is frying my order of eggs.

Photo: I asked Tonni what she was doing and Tonni told me they were making carnitas as a daily special, and in the photo, she's cutting up vegetables for the carnitas. Too bad I wasn't able to stick around for lunch, but I had to head back to my daughter's place in Canyon Lake, as I was expected for dinner.

Photo: I'm sitting at the counter, with my breakfast of bacon, eggs, refried beans, corn tortillas, and in-house made salsa. The "sort of" menu is posted on the wall behind me. The restaurant is really small inside.

Photo: My delcious breakfast of refried beans, scrambled eggs, corn tortillas, and house-made salsa. I asked Olivia what was in the salsa, and she gave me the ingredients, but I didn't have the time to write them down. Note the toasted corn tortillas; they toast them directly over the gas flame, and flip them by hand, without any mittens - now that's brave! This delicious breakfast and a can of Coke cost only MEX $38.00, which, at the time of this writing, was about $3.25 in U.S. dollars. This contrasts with McDonalds, who charges MEX $48.00 for their very mediocre "Desayuno Especial Mexicano" breakfast. I left these lovely ladies a U.S. $5.00 tip!

Lonchería Las Rosas
Av. Negrete 707
Zona Centro
Tijuana, Baja California

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