Tijuana and Los Angeles are unofficial sister cities, forever connected by deep corruption, violent crimes, and amazing tacos.
Every weekend, thousands of Southern Californians, many from L.A., brave the 5 freeway all the way south just for the thrill of eating tacos. The reason? The combination of tortillas, salsa, and carne asada or seafood just hit differently in Mexico.
We all know T.J.’s foundational tacos that are about a $4 Uber ride away from the border, like Tacos Franc, featured in “Las Crónicas del Taco” and Tacos El Gordo, which has gone on to open franchises in the U.S. But surely, a fluid city of nearly two million that sees way upwards of 100,000 people crossing its border every day cannot be reduced to just the taquerías and restaurants you see on TV and come across on the internet.
Tijuana, after all, is “The Upside Down.”
Working together with Ed Calderon, the famous urban survivalist, security specialist, and tactical genius who was born and raised in Tijuana and behind the popular Instagram account @EdsManifesto_, L.A. TACO is bringing you this new weekly series on Youtube dedicated to finding and eating the deeper taquerías in Tijuana. Many of which he grew up going to.
For the first episode, Calderon takes us to Mariscos 7 Mares “El Toñito,” a stand that only sets up early mornings and usually sells out by noon that has been doing Sonoran-style seafood soup brimming with wild fish for 30 years now. In true Calderon fashion, it has no true address. But this location pin will get you there: 15602, Maurilio Magallon, 22116 Tijuana, B.C.
Say what you will about Tijuana, the city is a bastion for international culture and home to some of the best tacos in all of Mexico. New episodes drop every Tuesday at 2 PM.
