Located in Tijuana's Zona Norte, Restaurant La Jaibita de Jocelyn specializes in seafood, but their…read moremenu advertises a wade variety of everything "Mexican," including a combination plate featuring fried chicken, which was exactly what I was in the mood for.
My visit was actually last September, and I'm just getting around to publishing my dining experience.
Jocelyn's differs from many small, family owned and operated restaurants in Tijuana, and Baja California, in that it's not open to the street, and that you actually enter the restaurant through a door that you have to open. The restaurant is staffed by two friendly women, Melissa, who in the friendly waitress, and the person who keeps the place spotlessly clean, and Jocelyn, who is the owner, and the person who actually cooks the meals. As you walk into the restaurant, Melissa greets you with a friendly smile, and makes you feel at home. Menu choices are posted on the door and outside windows, but Jocelyn's features a menu, which further differs it from many other small restaurants in Tijuana, and Mexico in general.
From the overhead menu, I ordered a lunch of "Combinacion Pollo Frito," which is a combination plate of fried chicken, refried beans, Mexican rice, a small salad, along with corn tortillas.
My friendly server, Melissa brought my delicious combination meal to me, after only about 10 minutes after being served my appetizer of salsa and chips. For a mere MEX $28.00, besides the puffed tortilla chips and salsa, I was treated to a delicious combination plate featuring a whole fried chicken leg, rice, beans, a salad consisting of diced lettuce and chopped tomatoes, and a tortilla warmer containing six, steamed, corn tortillas. Salad dressing is almost unheard of in Mexico, so two haves of key limes were used to garnish the salad, for a healthy, yet tangy additive.
The chicken was fried, Tijuana-style, in a large wok-like bowl, over a propane burner. The chicken leg wasn't coated with flour, as it was simply fried in oil until it was a crispy, golden brown. The refried beans were well-mashed and runny, which seems to be the preference in many restaurants in Tijuana. The rice was also typical Tijuana-style, as it was simply white rice, cooked in homemade chicken broth, which gives the rice a very earthy flavor, and a nice light brown color. Outside of the cities of Tijuana or Mexicali, it's quite unusual to enjoy a combination dish that includes a salad with lettuce, as cabbage is more commonly used in other parts of the country.
The salad was simply diced lettuce, sliced tomato, diced white onion, with a couple of lime wedges for seasoning. When it comes to the fresh salsa, it was on the spicy side, which is the way I love it, which made an excellent appetizer with the fried corn tortilla chips.
Not meal in Tijuana is complete without a stack of warm, corn tortillas, and La Jaibita didn't disappoint me, as I received a stack of warm tortillas, lovingly wrapped in a soft towel.
This is NOT the sort of Mexican food you get north of the border, as this IS Mexican food, the way it's served in Tijuana, and Restaurant La Jaibita de Jocelyn serves delicious Mexican cuisine. I absolutely LOVED everything about this wonderful lunch.
During your next visit to Tijuana, you owe it to yourself to pay a visit to Restaurant La Jaibita de Jocelyn, as you'll never find a friendlier restaurant, and you can't beat the food for quality, quantity, and price. I highly recommend that you pay a visit to Jocelyn's Restaurant.
Due to the amazing food, the friendly staff and the low price, in my humble opinion, this is a 5-star restaurant any way you look at it.
