I don’t have any upcoming tours. A few emails requesting September or October… but nothing for August. Although I don’t have tours, I still have a lot of work to do.
The Tijuana Newsletter is a self-proclaimed success. I enjoy writing it. It gives me an outlet to voice my opinion the way I want. Not in video format. There is too much pressure to keep it entertaining in video format. And there are too many kids doing the same shit. But that’s what people consume. Videos.
I have a lot of work to do on those.
I had two great tours. I already posted one tour. It started early on Friday and ended five hours later. By 7 pm, I was free. I enjoyed it.
The next tour was way longer, and it included Toros de Tijuana. Sixth time in a row that I go to a game and they lose. When we entered the stadium, they gave up a bunch of runs against them. It was 6-0 by the bottom of the second. By the third inning, it was a tied game at 6-6. But they ended up losing 8-11.
Nonetheless, it was hella fun. I love going to Toros.
Besides that, the tour was a classic downtown all-you-can-drink and eat tacos. The guys were fun, and I ended up going back home at 1 am.
More on that in the Tijuana Newsletter. Or here. I write part of it here, then convert it into the newsletter.
I feel like that was the purpose of this exercise of writing every week in my blog. Getting ready for something more solid. Less ramble. And more general interests besides my life.
The newsletter starts with the general ramble, then a food and drink section, and finalizes with an ad for my tours, merch, shirts, etc.
That’s the plan.
Let’s see if people pay to subscribe. Let’s see if I sell a lot of merch.
They are offering me a spot to open a store for $480 a month. It’s around 500 square feet. I could rent part of it to other people who have other merchandise to sell. I can have it all for myself. I could have a studio, art gallery, Tijuana souvenir shop, and more.
Exit through the Gift Shop: Tijuana Adventure style.
The dream.
What I don’t have. It’s the investment. I haven’t run the numbers. I run them in my head and calculate around 15k to have something solid. A store filled with merch, a couple of months’ rent, a part-time employee, and more.
But I don’t think it’s time.
I need to grow more. Sell more. More subscriptions. More followers.
TikTok has my account in ban warning mode. Somehow, two old ass videos of me reviewing bars got flagged as illegal stuff. Not sure what the fuck that is about. But I’m on my final strike. For shit that I posted more than three years ago. It doesn’t make sense.
But my TikTok might get banned… when I’m about to hit 20k followers.
It says you can’t display the sale of alcohol. But I didn’t. I was reviewing a bar. I appealed for no result.
TikTok. If you read this. Don’t ban me. It’s not how I make my livelihood, but a bunch of people recognize me from there. And I don’t break the rules!
I just got done cleaning the kitchen. I’m not that good at cleaning. I still need to vacuum the living room. Clean the shelves, the rooms, and the kitty litter. Fuck do I hate cleaning the litter.
If you are one of those companies that sells those fancy kitty litters… send me one for free and I’ll recommend it in my blog (if it works).
My stereo is busted. It turns on for a few seconds and then shuts off. I have to clean the fuck off my stereo and unplug everything to try to make it work. It’s an old stereo. But I like it. Old stereo plugged into an old iMac. I still get to write my blog, edit pictures, listen to music, and play DotA.
I have money for August, though I still owe rent. I have more merch coming out soon, but I also have a trip to New York.
Make money. Spend money. Always broke.
Innato Restaurant Review.
This is going in the Tijuana Newsletter. It’s my writing. It can go on both. I’ll be plagiarizing myself. For pictures, visit TijuanaAdventure.com
The restaurant invited me a few times. They first reached out to my Matingas account. They had this “influencer form,” and they wanted me to go do a video. I told them I charge per video. They didn’t want to pay. I ignored it. I don’t even want to charge per video anymore. I want YOU to support me so I’m not a sellout.
The influencer form had specifics. They wanted a video and stories showcasing the best thing about the restaurant and my favorite plates. In exchange, they would give me three free dishes.
“WHOA!!! What an offer,” I thought to myself. Four hours of work to get a discount and still pay them. FUCK THAT. Shit influencers with around 10k followers charge around $200 for a video. Bigger influencers go over a thousand. And they want me to do it for a discount! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. I don’t consider myself an influencer and I hate that term… but fuck… my work is worth three free dishes… wow.
Oh god. I still have the photo they sent and the message. It’s pretty cringe. And I hate when people use emoticons in the middle of their paragraphs. Added cringe, especially if you are a business.
I said thanks for the invite, but I don’t do collabs for free. The conversation stopped there.
And it got restarted… this time in English and on my other profile. The Tijuana Adventure profile. Same message as before. This time I simply replied “No thanks.”
They insisted, and again, no thanks. They said that I could come in and that I didn’t need to do any content, that they just wanted to know my opinion. There were no specifics. Just to come in and give them my review.
Here’s the thing… before they sent me the messages, I already had planned to visit them. My girlfriend and I talked about going. But the messages turned me off. But now it seemed like they were offering a full ride in exchange for nothing. This time I obliged.
I reserved a table for Thursday afternoon. I asked who was going to meet me, and they said a manager. The manager was nonchalant about the situation, which I prefer. I dislike over-the-top special treatment. It’s not the real experience. He suggested a few plates and was attentive but not intrusive. Great service.
The place is solid. It’s bougie. It has a sign over the top of the bar that reads “WINEBA.” I wondered what WINEBA was for a minute, then I realized that the R broke. It is a wine bar. They have a nifty board on the back that shows you their Spotify playlist, the beer and wine tap list, and other information. The big windows give it a great natural light, and you can see the open kitchen in the corner. There is another section of the restaurant with another restaurant, “La Loncheria Japonesa,” which I’ve heard is very solid, so I’ll have to try it. Strange layout, but they make it work. On the upstairs section, they are opening a tapas bar. Oh, and the bathrooms are cute and clean.
Oh, Tijuana… so much change so fast. I remember when this neighborhood was just old, dumpy houses. And now… fancy places.
The menu is extensive, and it’s similar to other upscale seafood market restaurants. At least it has a symbol displaying the suggestions.
For starters, I got the bluefin tuna tiradito that was topped with shiitake and algae salad. Oh fuck. I loved it. The shiitake counters the sea in a blissful umami earth meets the ocean way. The algae just adds an extra chef’s kiss. I want to go back just for that.
I also got a shot of mezcal mixed with Clamato and an oyster. An oyster shooter. Delicious. I can do those over and over. They have craft beers, but mostly in bottles. On tap, they only had Wendlandt, and that’s fine cuz it’s one of the best in Mexico.
So far… great!
My girlfriend got the black aguachile, and she loved that. I found it a bit too acidic, but it had plenty of shrimps, Persian cucumbers, and sizable cherry tomatoes. The manager suggested a loaded clam. It was decent with a nice mignonette sauce. I’ve had similar experiences many times before; if they added a different green like Salicornia or something new, I would have been excited. But it was solid.
And finally… Rockot ike-jime tostada with clam. This is top-notch carreta Ensenada delight level. They also gave me two of their house sauces, and though they weren’t my favorite, they were interesting enough that I couldn’t grasp what exactly I was tasting. The only thing is the price… You are paying $10 for a tostada. Everything is expensive, and Innato is another one that is on the pricey scale. Worth it. I want to go back just for this tostada, though I know there are more goodies I need to try.
And ANOTHER finally. The disappointing part. My girlfriend also got a smoked marlin quesadilla. It was tasty but tiny and skimpy on the marlin. If you are charging close to $6 for a taco, it should take me more than two bites to finish it. I took one bite from my girlfriend’s taco, and it was 40% of the taco (she ate it in three more bites).
Overall, it receives a very positive review from me. I don’t like throwing numbers out, but people like numbers. Reviews will get numbers on a scale of 10. I’m not a fucking dumbass like other people who go over the scale. Stupid people who write shit like “I loved it 1000/10.”
THAT’S NOT HOW RATINGS WORK, YOU DUMB FUCK!
It’s a great 8.37/10 from me. I still need to try more of the menu, but the ones I had were excellent. Then why 8.37? That’s so low WAH WAH! Because… there is room for improvement, and it’s on the pricey side. I’m VERY stingy with my ratings. Getting higher than a 9 is going to be rare as fuck. 8.37 means very good in my scale.
Have you been? Let me know what you think.
And full disclosure, they ended up giving me a discount for half the bill. I was sort of expecting everything to be for free, after all, they insisted… but it wasn’t. I’m not mad. I’m just perplexed. I will go back, but if you are not careful, you’ll spend over $100 on dinner for one.
That was the Innato review… Oooeee, that was long!
We also went to Club Ocampo after that. The newest trendy hipster cocktail bar in Tijuana. But I’ll write that later…
I’m busy with other shit.
August is about to start. I have several projects and no tours. I have books that I am writing and organizing photo books. I thought doing a Toros tour would be something… but they are already close to the playoffs. The season is nearly over, and they are in second place. I only went to the stadium once. I want to go a few more times this season.
I still have to vacuum, and it’s almost time for my girlfriend to get out of work.
So much work. I need to do more work.
So much work and instead of that… I went out with my girlfriend. I need to print Tijuana storm posters. I sell them in Pasaje Rodriguez, and the dude who sells them for me has already run out. You can also find my book special edition there. There are 17 more copies.
We had the seafood tostada at Otto’s. It is still the best one in town for the value. There are a lot of tasty seafood tostadas in the city, but that one is the best value and so fucking good. This is a seafood city.
We also went to Ramuri’s new tap room. They have the best value in craft beer downtown. Cheapest price, solid quality, and good guest beers. Other places are charging over 100 pesos a beer, and the bar is empty, and they wonder why…
Club Ocampo.
We went after Innato, and it was the anniversary of a local limoncello. I haven’t had limoncello since Danny DeVito had his brand. I photographed Danny DeVito before. He was wonderfully nice.
Limoncello was solid. They had martinis for 70 pesos (Thursday special). I’m not much of a martini guy. One is enough. They had live art by the artist who tattooed my leg, live bands, and ga uest chef. We had already eaten, so we didn’t try the food. Drinks were solid, but we barely tried two. The ambiance was great. It is by the end of all the fish markets hidden in what seems to be an old warehouse. It is not a typical location for a club. Decorations are wild and creative. They have some garbage art depicting animals that is enchanting.
I can’t score Club Ocampo right now. I need to go back on a regular day and try more of their menu. But like everything in Tijuana, it seemed expensive (except the discounted martini).
I have no tours in August, and that would normally be a scary thought. But I have money saved. I need it for my trip to New York, but I’ll be fine. I’ll get clients eventually, but the low season is coming. I might start searching for a part-time job. Save a lot of money. Open my own business. Hello, 40s with money. Hello, 50s with property. Hello, 60s with retirement, not quite retired. I don’t work for a company. Retired and still writing. Retired, making revenue in all the shit I’ve made in the past. This is post 685. That’s a SHIT TON of word vomit.
I’ll be amazed if I make it past 60.
Fin.
You can buy all my merch, books, prints, and more. You can hire me to be your tour guide in Tijuana or Ensenada. Or you can hire me to be your photographer. Or a guitarist. Or a writer. I can do it all. Well… not really. Just a lot.
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