Las Ahumaderas Tijuana - Tacos, Vampiros, Pelliscadas, and more

Founded back in 1960 Las Ahumaderas is a series of six taquerías, all linked together. Tacos El Paisa, Tacos Los Paisas, Tacos El Paisano, Las Quince Letras, and Las Tres Salsas. With all the different mesquite grilled meats, the billows of smoke permeating through the street can be intoxicating. Grab a seat at a counter and soak in the vibe.





Besides the usual tacos, tortas, gorditas, mulitas, quesadillas you can order some interesting menu items such as Pelliscadas and Vampiros (Vampires).

On a recent trip I grabbed a stool at Tres Salsas and ordered the Chorizo Pelliscada. The taquera grabbed a slab of masa from a huge masa-mound and started forming the shape. The masa was then placed on the comal and cheese was spread on top. She then covered it with a bowl for a minute or so until it was perfectly formed . The taquero took the soft warm masa and topped it with guacamole, chorizo, onion ,cilantro, and a dash of smokey salsa roja. The end result resembled a huge sope, and it was pretty filling.



Curious about Vampiros? On a Vampiro the tortillas are griddled, dried out and start taking a form of their own. Here is a bowl of them ready to go at Quince Letras



Vampiros are similar to a tostada but the shells are more firm, hold more, and don't fall apart when you bite into them. I ordered mine with Carne Asada con todo. Melted cheese, carne asada, salsa, cilantro, onions, and guacamole. I don’t think I will be replacing my tacos with Vampiros, however they are definitely worth checking out.





I've had some very good adobada tacos at El Paisa and Las Tres Salsas. The adobada at both locations was spiced, sweet, juicy, and packed with flavor



I have also had some very good house made chorizo at El Paisa. The chorizo was topped with guacamole, the guacamole was subtle and complimented the spice of the chorizo well.



The tacos are only 12 pesos, at the current exchange rate that's a whopping 81 cents!!!! Prices are painted on the wall at all the stands.



They have live entertainment at night and a good variety of antojitos to choose from. I've had better tacos on my city wide taco quest, but if you hit the right spots at Las Ahumaderas you will get some pretty good stuff, and some entertainment.

One thing I like about Las Ahumaderas besides the variety is the hours. Las Ahumaderas seems to never close, on my next trip I will get the exact hours and report back. Las Ahumaderas is located at Gob Balarezo and Agua Caliente Boulevard(The Blvd). Just follow the billows of smoke.

If you want to see the video action of the making of a Pelliscada you can watch here.....