Misión 19

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, my wife and I had dinner at Misión 19 in Tijuana. It was fabulous. The restaurant was reviewed by the New York Times several years ago, as it was part of an overall effort to rebuild the city's image after being ravaged by the drug war.

There are no margaritas here. I had a cocktail with tequila, agave honey, lemon, and a jalapeño, while my wife had a light mezcal drink with fruit and a chile de árbol. She then had seared tuna and I had risotto. Meanwhile, the wine list shows how far the Mexican wine industry has come. The food was tremendous and the service was excellent.

I had not walked across the border in 15 years, and of course things have changed a lot. We had to wait 25 minutes in line to return, which was primarily because the immigration line was clearly understaffed. This seemed odd given how much money is being invested in the border. We had to suffer through an older American who talked loudly (of course!) and then in bad Spanish (of course!) on his phone about how they're "lookin' for El Chapo" and he's not an illegal so he shouldn't have to wait in this fucking line.

If you are in San Diego, make sure to bring your passport and check out Tijuana. It could not be simpler to park and walk across. If you have a destination already figured out, then you can just quickly grab a taxi. It's well worth it. And I hope you're not stuck with an obnoxious American on your way back.