San Diego Spotlight : Finding Something to Your Taste Is Easy Task in Tijuana

One of the salient truths of heading for dinner in the booming Zona Rio district of Tijuana is that if the restaurant you have in mind doesn’t seem appealing when you arrive--or has closed, as is sometimes the case--there almost certainly will be a place next door or down the block that fits the bill perfectly.

Two recent visits ended in successful searches for alternatives when the intended destinations did not work out. The trip that ended at the door of the Restaurante Del Bol Corona in the fairly new Pueblo Amigo, a collection of shops and restaurants placed strategically just before the U.S.-bound lanes at the San Ysidro border crossing, proved especially fortuitous. This unassuming restaurant, decorated in bold tones and undersea murals of fish and mermaids, served perhaps the best basic Mexican food--not the fanciest, and not an approximation of Continental cuisine, but the best Mexican cooking--that I have sampled in 28 years of visiting Tijuana.

This Bol Corona is a branch of the downtown landmark that opened in 1934 and lays claim to inventing the burrito; while the idea of rolling a tortilla around a filling seems a little too obvious to have been so recent a creation, the restaurant serves up a stellar selection of 16 styles of the savory stuffed bundles. The choices range from the simplest bean burrito to versions filled with beef tongue in pepper sauce, chile relleno, breaded beef, chicharron (rather forbidingly described by the menu as “smoked pork pelt”), carne asada, chicken, Mexican-style barbecued meat and machaca con huevo , or shredded beef with eggs. The great house special combines two favorites (this is listed on a back page as Combination No. 1, and includes rice and beans), a deliciously succulent shrimp burrito and one filled with a well-seasoned, equally savory machaca mixture. On an a la carte basis, these are extremely inexpensive, and cost from less than $1 to $3. (The combination plate weighs in at $4.) Other entrees run from $3 to about $12 for most steak and seafood dishes.

The menu runs to considerable length and includes a fairly nice avocado salad that falls on its face when the waiter places bottles of American blue cheese and Russian dressings on the table; a good, smooth Caesar salad, blander and creamier than is common in San Diego, and somehow more appealing, and what is evidently another house creation and specialty, the merequetengue . Served in a triple-deep bowl, this soup meets the requirements of a meal and is an incredibly heady blend of beef broth, Mexican-style beans (the soupier-style frijoles del olla , not frijoles refritos ), chopped, marinated beef, vegetables and enough hot sauce to give it a life of its own that leaves a lingering after-glow. With this and many other dishes, Bol Corona sends a basket of just-made flour tortillas of exceptional quality; a sign on the wall claims “The secret of our burritos is our delicious flour tortillas,” a point it would be hard to dispute.

Chicken in mole sauce, offered Sundays only, again offered deliciously balanced flavors and well-cooked meat. The carne asada Tampiquena was a decided triumph of the genre, the meat piquant and tender, and the accompanying enchilada--filled with goat cheese rather than the usual Jack-style cheese--exotic and almost perfumed in its flavors. Excellent beans, rice and guacamole accompanied these dishes.

Other choices include numerous steak and shrimp preparations, pork chops, enchiladas Suizas and even liver with onions. The dessert tray offers the inevitable flan , here interestingly flavored with orange rind but not very well done.

A second drive to Zona Rio ultimately led to Hacienda El Abajeno, an immense, imposing place built along the lines of a grand colonial residence; the courtyard and fountain at the center of the main dining room add to the comforts. Located at the intersection of Boulevard Sanchez Taboada and Antonio Caso, it is easily reached from the border by taking Avenida Ninos Heroes to the landmark Calimax grocery; turn right at the traffic circle, proceed one block, turn right again and El Abajeno is just ahead on the right.

The menu is both shorter and, to a degree, less familiar than at many Tijuana establishments. Since neither the menu nor the staff offers translations, a certain amount of guesswork will be required of guests not conversant in Spanish.

The appetizer called cesina huasteca , ordered blindly, was interesting and good, although a little of this bacon-like dried beef, fried until sizzling and aromatic, goes a long way--the extremely chewy texture becomes somewhat wearing. The queso fundido con chorizo , while typical, was nicely done, and fresh, hot corn tortillas accompanied the bowl of melted cheese sprinkled with crumbled sausage.

Besides such familiar offerings as chicken and pork mole , barbecued lamb, carne asada , pork carnitas and grilled chicken, there are a variety of shrimp selections, and the simple breaded version offered surprisingly well-flavored, juicy specimens. The house special, however, seems to be the filete tapado , which is served for two persons and could easily serve three.

It is a surprising dish that layers sauteed, very lightly sauced strips of beef, marinated pork, ham and veal between a bed and coverlet of overlapping corn tortillas, which infuse the mix with their own distinctively Mexican flavor and ensure that the meat arrives smoking hot. A decidedly salty dish, it definitely is not for those who dislike heat, since it is liberally strewn with shredded serrano chiles of notable strength. A small serving of well-seasoned frijoles refritos accompanies the serving; nothing more is required.

El Abajeno does make a superior flan , so rich that it seems cheese-like, which is particularly soothing and welcome after the hot assault of the filete tapado . This restaurant is considerably more expensive than Bol Corona, with starters and desserts in the $3 to $5 range and entrees from $6 to $11; the filete tapado , served for two, costs about $20.

RESTAURANTE DEL BOL CORONA

Pueblo Amigo, 60 Via Oriente, Tijuana

Lunch and dinner daily

Credit cards accepted

Entrees $3 to $12; dinner for two, with

one Margarita each, tax and tip, about

$15 to $35

HACIENDA EL ABAJENO

Boulevard Sanchez Taboada at Antonio

Caso, Tijuana

Lunch and dinner daily

Credit cards accepted

Entrees $4 to $11; dinner for two, with

one Margarita each, tax and tip, about

$25 to $55