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Friendly people are priceless, and are truly a gift from God, and in Tijuana, you won't friend any friendlier folks than the ladies that work at Loncherķa Las Rosas, in Tijuana's Zona Centro. Sunday morning, October 17, 2010, I had the pleasure of enjoying a large bowl of some of the best menudo on the planet at Las Rosas, and getting the chance to know Olivia and Melissa.
Photo: Loncherķa Las Rosas is located in a tiny, hole-in-the-wall store, with a front to the sidewalk of maybe 12 feet wide. It's located on Av. Negrete, just a few doors south of Articulo 123, which is the route that most American tourists take when they walk from the border to downtown Tijuana to party. I doubt that many gringos even notice Loncherķa Las Rosas, must less stop in. You can't see it in the photos, but Loncherķa Las Rosas has a slogan painted on their sign which reads, "Comida Corrida y A La Carta," which translates to "fast food and a la carte."
Photo: Olivia, who runs the place, in her kitchen. It's Sunday morning, and the well-dressed gentleman is on his way to church, and he's enjoying a breakfast of bacon, eggs, beans and corn tortillas. Like your typical diner, Loncherķa Las Rosas is open only for breakfast and lunch.
Photo: Olivia and her helper Melissa in the kitchen. Olivia is in the process of spooning menudo from the big pot, simmering on the back burner, into a bowl for my breakfast. Note the well-used, antique range, and the two chickens crowded into the small pot. Olivia and Melissa were very friendly and very talkative, and seemed amused that I was taking photos. As usual, Melissa asked me why I was taking photos, and I told her that I love to take photos of beautiful women - yeah, I really do! - and both she and Olivia giggled when I gave her that line. I then clarified that I'm a free-lance writer, and that I was doing an article for my Web Site about their restaurant, and both women seemed to understand what the Internet is all about.
Photo: This shot was taken at the extreme rear of the diner, and gives a good idea of how small the place is. I'd guess the inside measurements of the restaurant are about 12 by 35 feet.
Photo: Loncherķa Las Rosas makes orange juice the old fashioned way - by hand, using a manual orange press, from fresh oranges, hanging from a basket. Melissa gives my camera a very coy look as she operates the hand press.
Photo: Olivia cooks chorizo for Carlos, a local who stopped by and sat on the stool next to me and started talking. Olivia and Melissa seem to know everybody, as most people walking by on the sidewalk would say "hola," and then the women would answer by saying something like "Buenas dķas, Paco," as they seemed to know everybody by name. Note the hanging utensils, the shabby paint, and the clutter, which gives this small diner a lot of character.
Photo: Olivia poses with my breakfast of a bowl of some of the best menudo that I've enjoyed in a long time. Olivia asked me where I was from, and I told her, and like most Mexicans, she had no idea where Sacramento is, but when I told her it was a couple hundred clicks north east of San Francisco, she get the general idea of where I was from. Loncherķa Las Rosas does not have a posted menu, and they serve typical Mexican diner fare of menudo, pozole, beans, eggs, bacon chorizo, tacos, and Olivia was quick to point out to me that she'll be happy to prepare for me anything that I want. Next trip, I plan to stop by and enjoy a plate of bacon, beans, eggs and corn tortillas, which is one of my favorite breakfasts.
Photo: Olivia was kind enough to snap a photo of me, as I was about ready to enjoy my breakfast of menudo. Behind me, on the wall, is the nearest facsimile that Loncherķa Las Rosas has to a printed menu, as it lists the daily specials. I love this little diner, I love the friendly service, and I absolutely love menudo. Loncherķa Las Rosas is exactly the kind of restaurant that I love to patronize in my travels to Mexico.
Photo: My breakfast of a huge bowl of menudo, with all of the garnishes, and a stack of corn tortillas, which I paid MEX $48.00 for, which is slightly over US $4.00; quite a bargain. Loncherķa Las Rosas does not make the tortillas in-house, but the tortillas are purchased fresh from a nearby tortilla. Olivia told me that she sends Melissa over to the torterilla several times a day when they start running low on tortillas. The menudo came from a big pot that was simmering on the stove, and Olivia told me that she had made the menudo earlier in the day. It has been a long time since I had enjoyed a breakfast of delicious menudo, and the menudo served at Loncherķa Las Rosas is some of the best that I've ever tasted. Both ladies smiled and thanked me when I told them how delicious the menudo was. They were so friendly and nice that I left a 5 dollar bill as a tip.
Photo: The gentleman to the left, Carlos, who sat on a stool next to me, ordered a breakfast of chorizo, eggs, rice and beans, and alternated between eating, talking, and reading the paper. He was more than happy to talk to the women, anybody who passed by on the sidewalk, and me; quite a friendly guy. The gentleman standing had just sold Olivia several bunches of fresh cilantro. Loncherķa Las Rosas seems to be a local hang-out on this Sunday morning in mid October. Loncherķa
Las Rosas Copyright(c) 2011 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been published on the web since January 19, 2005. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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