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Fish Tacos

We ordered $48.00 worth of the best fish tacos-- yes at 4 o'clock in the chilly Rosarito morning. These tacos are so good they put Baja Fresh and Rubios to shame. Were talking about real Authentic Mexican fish tacos, in Mexico, yes in Mexico... Frank claims he once ate 19 of them during his decadent drinking days. That is no Kobayashi feat but 19 fish tacos sounds sating. I had five of them that chilly morning and i was done...

In a dreary kind of way, Rosarito reminded me of the small beach towns in the Philippines we used to visit in the summer. A lot alike really except the bars in the Philippines are still the old rustic bungalow huts and no real legitimate hotels to offer (except for the purposely designed beach resorts like Boracay). The essence of the real third world i say... Rosarito is a bustling little town filled with mostly Southern California tourist and college kids looking to let loose of their inhibitions-- at least for the weekend. The bars and clubs are spacious with usually more than 1 bar and several patios typical of beach towns. Papas & Beer, an Island inspired club for instance, boast five bars conveniently located in every corner and patio. This place is so big they have a sand box the size of two basketball courts between the four bar structures. I wished i knew before hand because i wore dress shoes that tended to get stuck in the sand. Yeah dress shoes in Mexico. Imagine that!

After meeting up with my friend Alex and his girl Saturday evening, we piled up 7 people in his Nissan Titan and drove uncomfortably to Puerto Nuevo for dinner. "This is Mexico, its going to be okay" Alex slurred confidently. Well i don't know if it was worth risking our lives driving without seatbelts on treacherous and rail-less highway bluffs with Alex behind the wheel who appeared to be somewhat sober-- but the Lobster was amazing and the tortilla was to die for, no pun intended. Jee even joked he would order some to go... Puerto Nuevo has not changed a bit since the last time i visited over 7 years ago which is probably what is mort impressive about the place. This small fishing port still has unpaved streets and parking lots. Dusty yes-- but charming as the devil. Some of the restaurants still do not have names hoisted above their doors but were resourceful enough for 'DOS XX' beer signs above the tile roofs which seems to be the official beer this side of Mexico. Happens to be my favorite beer as well. Restaurant hostesses there not only greet and assign customers their table but will actually walk down the streets in hopes of luring customers to their establishment. Although the $10 going rate for a Lobster meal can not be priced down (nor anyone should be, those poor souls) these shrewd hostesses would offer anything from a free tequila shot to all you can eat guacamole to get business. In our case we got two lobsters, all we can eat rice beans and tortilla, two margarittas and a shot of tequila for a measly $10. Yep we walked down a ways... Alex skipped his tequila shot.

After dinner we walked around the shops a bit. Alex almost bought a Nacho Libre wrestling mask for his friend at work while Allan agreed to pay $30 for a blanket that was probably only worth $5. I guess we are all stupid tourist sometimes. Me i bought a useful bottle of Don Julio tequila and a guitar that doesn't actually work. Of course i didn't discover that important bit of information until i got home hahaha... Anyway after that bit of tourism it was back to Rosarito for more, well, tourism i suppose. Papas & Beer was bumping as they say, although Frank and i both felt we were too old for the scene. Well i never actually felt this clubbing thing as my scene to begin with but at least Papas & Beer was not your typical Hollywood bar that tends to be too, well, Hollywood... Papas is humongous and has many spots to hang out such as picnic tables that are precariously set on the sand underneath dance booths, bars, VIP cabanas, dance floors, and best of all if you're not the dancing type, patios that offer a birds eye view of the entire place. And although the crowd was predominantly tourist, clubbing outside of California just seemed very cool.

Driving in Tijuana and Rosarito by the way is an unforgettable experience in itself. So adventurous that if we never actually made it to our hotel destination i would have had enough blog material anyway. The directions provided by the Festival Hotel was so confusing it might as well have been in Sanscrit. Ya it wasn't helpful at all... I got used to the ultra-aggressive driving style there fairly quickly because it is actually they way they drive in my home country where i learned how to drive. Frank, a frequent TJ tourist who has never driven there profusely implored that i be careful in fear that we attract the attention of the local Policia. But we found that the local Policia do not mind a little reckless driving at all. Perhaps passive driving makes more of a conspicious tourist. The aggressor basically has the right of way, even over the pedestrians... See when i was looking for the International Border to cross back into the United States i was lost a lot and when i finally found the right street i was on the wrong lane. Frustrated i attempted a maneuver that probably only a local would ever dare attemp. I sent my car careening over 2 lanes cutting off a couple of pissed off Mexicans and a motorcycle cop in hopes of making a right turn towards the border. I thought that was the end of me when i saw the cop, but, shockingly, he simply gave my swerving truck a quick unconcerned glance then went about his business. The two Mexicans, though, were not amused hahaha... More interestingly, before that brave move i made an illegal left turn on a RED because a red car on my right hand side, mind you, for some inexplicable reason took the turn on a RED-- not to be mistaken for a passive driving tourist i followed suit. As a result my truck and the red car literally stopped traffic... When in Mexico, right?

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Monday, October 02, 2006