The call
Start with tJ-style bacon-wrapped hot dog (perro caliente), and check the restaurant’s current menu before you go.
What to order
- TJ-style bacon-wrapped hot dog (perro caliente)
Best for
- TJ street food without crossing the border
TJ street food without crossing the border
“all I have to say is, BOMB TJ perro calientes!”
Mexican
A Mission Hills-area taco shop with a lucha libre wrestling theme that Roger rated 5 stars, praising bacon-wrapped TJ-style hot dogs he no longer has to drive to San Ysidro for, plus free drink refills including horchata and jamaica.
Start with tJ-style bacon-wrapped hot dog (perro caliente), and check the restaurant’s current menu before you go.
Source-backed notes
Checked in 11 times on Yelp, most recently Sep 1, 2019. See the check-in log
“all I have to say is, BOMB TJ perro calientes!”
Parking can be tricky since most spots at the lot belong to an adjacent liquor store. Praised the bacon-wrapped Tijuana-style hot dogs and free refills on horchata and jamaica. The restaurant and even the restrooms are decorated wall-to-wall with lucha libre wrestling artwork and themed seating.
Stay in the neighborhood

Roger's late-night fallback near downtown when a taco shop or fast food didn't sound good: freshly made garlic bread and pizza that held up fine at 2am.

A Middletown dive bar with one of the country's largest whiskey selections, where Roger's advice is to skip the fussy cocktails and let the bartenders guide you to a pour that fits your palate.

A longtime Middletown/India Street gelato shop where Roger's go-to order was the pistachio, which he praised for being extra crunchy.