Here along the border miles from nowhere. El Paso and Ciudad Jurez pop up in the middle of the desert. And often these two cities feel like one. Many people cross back and forth daily to work, shop or visit with family. My guide for the day, is one of the region's best chefs, Chef Oscar Herrera, who owns and operates restaurants on both sides of the border. He's taking me into Jurez show me how these cities operate as one, but still maintain their own identities. Well, now, now that we have crossed the border, you can see, it, it's obvious that you are in another country. So obvious, yeah. So even though that it's just crossing, and even though it's like a street light, you can see that there are two different countries. For me crossing the border is something that I have done since I was born. Yeah You've gone back and forth. Yeah. It's, it's part of, completely of my life. So when I was a kid, the major census of the population is that we wanted it to be like El Paso Yeah and we felt more American than even Mexican. Then, then I got to get to know my country and then I felt very, very Mexican. But now that I feel the very border towner from (indistinct) my view to the U.S., well, it's one, it's not the promised land. I think none of the lands are. So it's just one cannot generalize. Exactly. That harms la frontera. Yes. Yeah? Instead of trying to see which one is better, I think that what we need to put is that we together are better. Right. Let's talk about something that I truly love about Jurez. I'm a huge fan of Juan Gabriel. He's been such a huge part of my life growing up. And I think of every Mexican and I don't think many people know that he grew up in Jurez. Well, yes, he was probably the number one promoter of our city, even though he was not born here. He was born in Central- - He was born in Michoacan. (upbeat music) Juan Gabriel is like Mexico's Elvis Presley. I grew up singing all of his songs Juan Gabriel's former home, here in Jurez, has been turned into a museum. To stand in front of Juan Gabriel's house is pretty unreal to me. One of Oscar's favorite spots, in Ciudad Jurez, is Menuderia Yeto's. He tells me there's something different about these classic Mexican dish here at the border. So many differences between the menudo I grew up with in central Mexico. Not only the seasoning with a, with a Chile Colorado, but also I love the contrast with the crunch of the corn and the chewy of the tribe. And then these bread things are so brilliant. Makes, makes a lot of sense. - Yes. The bread thing, and. You have restaurants on both sides of the border. Yes. What is that like? It's, it's different because in Mexico, well, they, someone can consider a service a career and in the United States, it's more like in between, before, because I'm studying. So having like real professional service is different, so. I never would have thought about that. So hospitality, the people you hire here see being in the hospitality business, waiters, manager, hostess as a lifelong thing where they're professionalizing and it's something they'll stay in versus in the U.S. where it's temporary. Yes. In order to have a successful business, you had really need to have good service and proper service here because everybody has it. Oh, everybody has good service. So you need to put yourself to the same level. Yeah. What are the common denominators that are standards on both sides of the border. There are none. None? - On both sides of the border, as far as similarities, you need to have a stove. Yeah. Probably that's going to be it. Yeah? In Jurez, any place can be a food place. On my personal opinion, I do think that the culinary scene of a city can transform in forms of benefits to the city. And that's why a place with really low investment can provide, if they do properly a great plate of menudo. So, if you want to start out in the food business, it's much easier to start a shop in Mexico. Yes. Versus in the U.S.? Oh yes. On the other corner, as far as servicing, it's pretty awesome because you can get product from pretty much everywhere. My seafood is, in Juarez is brought from Ensenada Okay. And we chip at once a week and it's fresh. It's really very good quality seafood. In the U.S. you do, can get it, but it's very, very expensive to get it fresh. But in Mexico, we get to know the company that has the local fishermen's. So what, what they catch one day prior, we get it within the next 48 hours. So you have more connection, a closer connection with the producer, with the harvester. And you get to know who is the producer. And it shows off on the quality of the product that you are getting. And I imagine on your menu and your dish design too, because you're an artist, you create dishes, it probably inspires you to know the stories of the producers. Always. It's something coming from me to get the best of both worlds and have, I don't know, a bowl of menudo right now and later on for lunchtime on a Saturday. Well, let's go for really, really good Texan barbecue on the other side. I think that the sense of being from, from one region that it's unique and that's starting to, to see the benefits, not of what city has or the other, but what we have the Together. Together. Yeah.
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