El Poblano, delicious tacos on the streets of Tijuana

Just imagine this: You've hiked around Tijuana for 10 hours, put something, like 20-plus miles on your hiking boots, had a few too many Dos-XX beers, and your're heading back to cross "la linea" into the good ol' Los Estados Unidos. So you're stumbling down, and I mean down Calle 2, a.k.a. Calle Juarez past the tourist mecca of Av. Revolucion, and you reach Av. Francisco Madero and you suddenly realize that you're, well sort of, hungry. Look to your left and there's a Pemex station; not a good sign if you're hungry. However look to your right and at the corner of Calle 2 and Av. Madero you'll see a small, portable restaurant parked on the corner, displaying the name of "El Poblano."

Left: El Pobalno sets up shop at the corner of Calle 2 and Av. Madero, near downtown Tijuana. Right: Note the carne asada roasting over a vertical grill to the right of the photo.

What is unique about El Poblano? In Tijuana, really nothing, as they are just another small, street-food vendor that operates out of a trailer. But if you could transport their operation to any major city in the U.S. and created mouth-watering tacos for under 50 cents, they would have more business than they could handle. That's correct, as El Poblano sells delicious carne asada tacos, made from fresh ingredients, for $5.00; that translates to around 45 cents in U.S. currency. That is the best deal that I've ever seen in all of my travels to Mexico.

Like most portable restaurant operations in Mexico, El Poblano is a family operation, run by two brothers and a sister. They set up shop a the corner of Calle 2 and Av. Madero, near the tourist zone of downtown Tijuana, and have been operating in the same location for over five years. They specialize in carne asada tacos and you can see the meat being cooked, as it is roasted over a vertical spit, which is a common way to cook meat in Mexico.

Left: The guy in the yellow hat and apron is actually from another vendor just down the street, but he seems quite chatty to our hostess as she prepares guacamole. Right: After my meal, he's still there talking to her. Romance among competitors on the streets of Tijuana? Well, maybe...

The sister seems to be the person in charge, as she takes your order and passes it along to her brother, who appears younger, and does the cooking. In addition to taking orders, the sister seems to be in charge of preparing guacamole and cutting up onions, radishes and ciliantro for garnishes. Also, while my order was being prepared, she spent quite a bit of time chatting to a guy from another puesto just down the hill; he appeared to be quite interested in the young lady. Love on the streets of Tijuana among street-food vendors...

I walked up to the restaurant and placed my order. Mind you, leave your English back at Av. Revolucion, as you've wandered a block east of the tourist strip and now you're in Mexico, where Spanish is spoken. I really wasn't sure what was happening, as I was too busy taking photos, field notes and making pleasant conversation in my somewhat, murderous interpretation of the Spanish language. I watched the cook cut some meat off the tropa, which is the vertical piece of carne asada being roasted near a vertical gas grill. However there was a problem, as the cooking grill is charcoal-fired and the charcoal fire was low and they seemed to be out of charcoal briquettes. So the third member of the crew went to a neighboring store and in a couple of minutes, he returned with a bag of briquettes and a big bottle of water. While all of this was going on, the lady was making guacamole and flirting with the guy from the adjacent food stall.

Left: The brother lifts up the grill and adds more charcoal to the fire, as the competition looks on. Right: My 45-cent carne asada taco, complete with guacamole.

For some reason, I didn't choose to load my taco with the many garnishes offered, as it was late in the afternoon, I was tired from hiking the 20+ miles that day in the humid, 90+ degree weather, so I just sort of sat myself down on a stool on the sidewalk near El Poblano and devoured my 45-cent taco, as I watched the crazy world of Tijuana pass me by. Life just doesn't get any better than this...

When you find yourself at the coner of Calle 2 and Av. Madero, check out El Poblano for an inexpensive, yet delicious taco. You'll be glad you ate there...

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