Tijuana Adventure

The Gringo Hunters Netflix Series

The series came out a few weeks ago. The first episode didn’t convince me much. It seemed like another forced Mexican Netflix drama with a bad script. Mexico is not great at doing action sequences, not sure why they keep trying. And the first few minutes started with that… a shitty action sequence. They seemed to hire a good parkour athlete to make an escape… but it was… so shitty.

That’s the main issue with the show… the action sequences are… meh. But that seems to happen in almost any Latin action sequence. The script is not that horrible. And the series… well.. it gets a pass.

I’m mostly watching to see what parts of Tijuana made it in the show. And to complain when they make obvious cut scenes that have nothing to do with the city. Oh.

And the accent.

The two main characters have used words that you never hear in Tijuana: coche, ya te la sabanas, and more. Whenever they say a non-Tijuana word, I look at my girlfriend and ask her if she knows anyone in the city who uses that word. Tiny mistakes, but someone from Tijuana notices that shit. Besides the two main characters, other actors in the show sound more Tijuana-like, which is a big feat. So kudos to The Gringo Hunters. You managed (so far) to do a good action drama in Spanish on Netflix. Based on a true story as well… I’ve read the stories before and sometimes tell some of them in my tours.

Have you seen the show? What did you think? Leave a comment… BUT NO SPOILERS. We still have half the season to go.

My street made into the show for half a second on b-roll!

I’ve lived there for SOOO many years. And I’ve had that TV since 2009. Fuck.

McMorris at Morris Wine Bar

I called this the best burger in Tijuana on my social media, and shit went wild.
Morris Wine Bar became a quick favorite after visiting it a year ago. They didn’t have the burger back then, but everything that they served us was top-notch. After watching the viral burger video, I discovered why they have such a great kitchen. It has over 1,000 shares, but one of those was by the chef. And the chef is… the chef from another favorite restaurant of mine: La Cevicheria Nais.

Chef Abril Borunded, you create wonderful dishes. I just wish it weren’t so expensive. And that the burger came with fries, tater tots would be my preference.

Speaking of preference, what I want in a burger, I chase my childhood bliss. The first time you had McDonald’s or a really great burger, that made your taste buds flower. Simple stuff. A meaty, cheesy disaster. I don’t dislike burger monstruosity with a ton of toppings and extra ingredients; it’s just not my preference.

And stop calling chicken sandwiches chicken burgers, you dumbfucks. Or do. I don’t care. If you like burgers that you need to unlock your jaw to eat them… Then good for you as well. Those fucking burgers with onion rings, bacon, and more shit in it that you can possibly put in a burger, then topped it with Cheetoh dust or nacho cheese… then… good for you! They make okay food, but it is not the burger of my dreams.

To understand my burger preference, this is my In N Out order: double double, animal style, and raw onions, extra spread (sometimes I say: no pickles, no tomatoes, sometimes I just let them be). Pretty in line with what Anthony Bourdain’s favorite burger was. A cheap burger slut, except I am not. The McMorris comes at a hefty price, 250 pesos or $14, but it’s still that slutty cheesy, meaty monster disaster. It is topped with caramelized onions, bacon bits, and a lot of spread. But instead of being served out of a fast food place, it is in the bar of the lobby of a hipster refurbished hotel decorated with art by Art Pusher.

Does it justify the price? Probably. But I’m not rich… so I can’t be eating $14 burgers and $12 cocktails regularly. I wish I could. They also have a great selection of wines… but those are also expensive (like wine tends to be). I’ve never been much of a wino, but this bar makes me want to be a winesnob. Featuring local wines from Baja California, I have found some of my favorites here. The bartender/server, Nahim, knows his shit well, so he is great at recommending wines according to your taste buds.

If I could afford it, I would spend many afternoons at Morris. Alas, I can only do it once or twice a month if the finances agree.

There is still a lot of food that I haven’t tried at Morris Wine Bar, but from the previous year, we had the beef tartare with anchovies and cotija, the softshell crab mounted on a bed of babaganoush, and the pork belly aguachile. In that video, I gave it 9 out of 10… which is accurate. 9 is one of my highest praises ever, and for now, Morris gets the highest praise in fine eating in downtown Tijuana.

People want me to do a top 5 burger places in Tijuana … and well… It’s not ready! There are too many burger places to try in this city, but so far on the list are the McMorris at #1, 80/20 at #2, and a bunch of other places that I’m not sure I can include in the list: Bite Me!, Yo Mommaz, and more. I need to try at least five more places before I make a proper list. Discarded from the list are: Barrio Burgers, El Purista, Smash Bros Burgers, and many more.

The best burger in the area is still The Friendly in San Diego. And I still believe the USA does way better burgers than any place in Mexico… but hey… the burger game in Tijuana has grown EXPONENTIALLY in the last couple of years.

After writing the review, I went back because I was hungry for another McMorris. Miguel, of Morris Wine Bar, was there. The aforementioned chef is his wife. Both of them created the burger and the menu at Morris. And the bread is by Brot, a bakery/pizza place in Tijuana, by someone I know from like 10 years ago! She started making bread during the pandemic, and I have pictures of some of the first loaves she baked. Found them, April 9, 2020. 

I also clicked on every single burger people recommended and holy fuck… there are some really bad ones there. Solely on their social media posts… a lot of those burgers don’t look any good. They are trendy shit burgers with too many ingredients or things going on. Not to my liking. I won’t be visiting those. But I need to visit at least another five before I make a final top 5 burger list in this city.

Tours and Merch:

I have a massive bachelor party tour this weekend with 20 people. That will be a record. The previous record was 17 people. I don’t tend to do groups this big, but not that many people are interested in touring Tijuana with me this August.

Tours are open for August, September, and the rest of the year. 

Schedule your tour now. Just hit me up and give me money.

If you want to tour with me… go to TijuanaAdventure.com 

I dooooo private tours in Tijuanaaaa!!! People shout that shit at me while walking down the street. People want to take their picture with me. Yeah yeah yeah. Almost 30k followers and another 20k on TikTok and more. I’m some sort of Tijuana celebrity tour guide. And this is my newsletter. 

Shirt updates! Old design, NEW SHIRT! 

Ecru color t-shirt (yes, ecru is a color, look it up). The design is the Long Bar La Ballena. Look up old posts if you don’t know what that means. I only have 24 (3s 3m 12l 6xl). 

$25 plus $10 shipping or local pickup downtown Tijuana!

Also! New tote bags! Same design, but white or black tote bags! $20 each ($10 shipping).

This is what I have left from previous generations:

1xs chinese white, 1S 1M chinese black, 1M 2 XL chinese crewneck, 2S 1M 1 XL First edition,1 L classic logo, 1XXL 1XXXL 2XXXXL Aloha black, 18 Tj adv books in Español.

Venmo, Zelle, or Cash.