male announcer: On this episode of "Crossing South," we go to a galaxy far, far away and we visit a group of Middle Eastern friends bringing their cuisine to Tijuana, and it's all coming to you now.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Jorge Meraz: You know, the more cosmopolitan Tijuana becomes, the more different cultures start to make this place a home.

You know, it used to be that Mexicans from Southern Mexican would bring their culture to Tijuana and make it part of the city, right?

Well, now you have people from different parts of the world bringing their culture, their cuisine, all their--all the things that make them to the city.

And Tijuana as a city is just embracing all these different cultures and trends and foods and culinary experiences.

One of which is the one you see in the background, Sahara.

And we're gonna talk to one of the owners, and her name is Hala, and she's standing right next to me.

How you're doing, Hala?

Hala Assal: Hi, good, good.

Jorge: Very nice to meet you.

Hala: Nice to meet you too.

Jorge: Likewise, likewise.

Where are you from?

Hala: Originally, we are from Syria, and my husband from Jordan.

Jorge: You're a long way from home, Hala?

Hala: Yeah.

Jorge: How did you get to Mexico to begin with?

Hala: Actually, we live in San Diego in the United State, and we coming here to TJ for tour, you know, business.

Jorge: That's how you got to Tijuana first?

Hala: Yeah.

Jorge: Just vacation?

Hala: Yeah.

Jorge: What kind of food do you guys specialize in?

Is there a lot of difference between Syrian food and Jordanian food?

Hala: No, not so much difference, no.

All of them--all the food is called Arabic food.

Jorge: What's been the reaction to your dishes?

Hala: Actually a lot of people here, like from Tijuana, from Mexico, from different places in the world.

They are coming to Tijuana for some of them like tour-- Jorge: And they stop here?

Hala: Yeah, and they stop here, try our food, they like it.

They like the difference and the very healthy ingredient.

The Mediterranean food is known for longevity, reducing the risk of many diseases like cardiovascular diseases, like diabetes diseases because of due to the combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, you know, food.

Jorge: Are you saying that Mediterranean food has antioxidant properties-- Hala: And anti-inflammatory.

Jorge: Really?

Hala: Yeah, because it's full of healthy ingredient and nutrients.

Jorge: Really?

Hala: Yeah, it's combination of many healthy food, like leafy green, such as tabbouleh, Greek salad, Arabic salad-- Jorge: How have the locals, the local Tijuana, let's say the local Mexican, what have they said to you about the food here?

Hala: They like it.

They like to try different flavor and different kind of food especially when they know that, about healthy stuff that we have it here.

Jorge: Yeah, for sure.

I've known that the city for many years didn't have ethnic food, and they're ready for it, they want to try new things.

Hala: Exactly, and especially when the cook is like from the same country.

Jorge: Authentic.

Hala: Authentic food.

All are very welcome.

Jorge: You're gonna show us some dishes, right?

Because we want our audience to get to know-- Hala: We prepare for you some food here from Sahara.

Jorge: The food here from Sahara.

Hala, thank you very much.

Hala: Thank you, thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Jorge: Very nice to meet you.

It's "Crossing South" folks.

Don't go anywhere.

There's more to come.

Jorge: Okay, folks, check it out.

This is like the first wave, they're telling me they're not even done.

I mean, this is the beginning of it, and wow.

Look at the fanciness.

This is called Adele.

I guess it's the teapot.

And they brought me some chai, I already poured it.

And let's try it.

Wow.

This chai is delicious.

Okay, so there's a lot to untangle here.

Like, look at all this stuff.

It looks amazing.

I am incredibly excited.

We're gonna start with this one right here.

Lemme show it to you guys.

It's an eggplant baba ghanoush, you supposed to create a little spoon with this, which I'm gonna-- oh, I think I did that nicely.

Look at that.

Exquisite.

If you can put a smile on my face with something that's made out of eggplant, I think you've done a good job.

This is natural hummus.

This is chickpeas and tahini.

But this is not the one you buy, no preservatives, that's what Hala was saying, no preservatives.

Look at this, but right now, let's try the hummus.

Let's get a little bit of the oiliness glistening food.

You know how much we love that here.

Let's try that.

Delicious.

Wow!

This one is called mthawame, and you have to pronounce that M at the beginning.

This has garlic, it has oil, it has lemon.

Look at the oil underneath, that's--that can't be missing.

That has to be your base.

So we gotta grab some of that.

It's all amazing.

This one is called labne.

It is like a heavy, creamy yogurt.

Kinda like a Greek yogurt.

Little bit dehydrated, they mentioned it was.

So now we're moving to this big, you know, platter right here.

So these rolls are made of grape leaves.

They're filled with rice and meat.

They were cooked in, like, a grape, a sour grape juice.

And this is lamb.

So grape leaves, meat and rice inside.

So soft.

Just full of flavor.

Wow.

Very unique.

Now this lamb meat, they told me that you can actually take it with your hand.

So I'm gonna try it here on camera.

I haven't practiced this.

We're gonna see if it breaks off.

So you're in a table, you see a piece of lamb, and you break it off, and it did.

It did on camera folks.

We--I'm not kidding, we didn't practice it.

They just told me, I'm like, "All right, we'll see."

It did, this lamb meat.

Wow.

That piece of meat was so good.

Wow.

You can also use your rolls to dip.

So you can dip on the sour grape sauce.

Just remember "Seinfeld" you never double-dip the chip.

I wanna introduce you guys to Randa.

Randa, how you doing?

Randa Haddadin: Hi, how are you?

Jorge: You're a client here, right?

Randa: Yes, I am.

Jorge: Like, I saw you with your attire, I thought, staff, you belong to--no, you're a client.

Randa: I am.

I sure am.

And a very permanent client.

Jorge: Yeah, how long have you been living in Tijuana?

Randa: Nine years from now.

Jorge: Nine years.

And how long will you live in Tijuana?

Randa: I really don't know.

I think it's gonna be, like, eternal or something.

Jorge: How have you liked living in TJ?

Randa: I love it.

Jorge: You really?

Randa: It was difficult at the beginning because I--I'm a Spanish national person, so I'm a European.

I lived 42 in Europe.

Jorge: So you have the Spanish.

Randa: Yes, so 42 years in Europe.

And then moving to TJ was a shock at the beginning, that's the truth, but then you get to love it.

And they're generous, they're giving.

They open their home for you.

They're not like most--other countries, you would go to other cities, like, you'd feel rejected 'cause you're a foreigner.

It's all the contrary here in this country.

Mexicans love foreigners.

Jorge: What does it mean to have a restaurant like Sahara in your city?

Randa: Wow.

It is great.

Honestly, because it's so difficult to buy some Arab products here in Mexico, mostly in the US.

That's the only where you can get Arab products.

Randa: I mean, I'm here almost, like, every weekend at least.

And if there's nothing to do where I don't wanna feel like eating alone at home, I would-- Jorge: You show up.

Randa: I just come, you spend time, and this is so welcoming.

They don't bother you asking you, "All right, what do you wanna have?

What do you want to have?"

They leave you.

If you decide you want something, they--then, you know, usually you go into restaurant-- Jorge: You're not gonna be rushed.

Randa: And people--yeah.

"Are you waiting?

Okay, what's--give me your command and--" Jorge: "Let's get it done 'cause we need the table."

Randa: It's all the contrary here.

People come and just smoke a hookah and they sit for hours.

And I say, "You only give 'em tea and hookah?"

"It's all right, they're having fun, leave 'em."

Jorge: Very nice.

Randa: He's very generous.

Jorge: It's good to know a place to just crash when you just wanna relax.

Jorge: Check all this out.

So we'll go from minor to large.

We're gonna try for the tabbouleh.

So that was perfect.

There's buffets in Mexico that'll offer tabbouleh, and it's never tasted like that.

I want you to take a look at this chicken right here, which reminds me of the Indian chicken, tandoori chicken.

But this is shish tawook chicken.

It's a tenderloin with Palestinian seasoning.

Check it out, folks.

Wow.

Folks, I'm not kidding you, It's delicious.

The seasoning on this chicken is delicious.

Wow.

These are filet mignon squares with salt and pepper.

You can't go wrong with filet mignon, right?

So that's what this is.

So let's try it.

Oh, salt and pepper is all you need.

If you got a good thing going, why change it?

That's why.

I don't know how far into, you know, the competition we're in right now, but everything has been amazing.

Now, this is a shish kebab.

And this one is made with a combination of lamb and beef, garlic, onion, cilantro, parsley, you know, it's--you can see it all there and obviously your salt and pepper.

Delicious.

We're gonna try this Yemeni rice, you kind of grab it like that and then-- Everything has been really good.

Everything has been really, really good.

Jorge: I continue trying all these amazing dishes that were coming out of the kitchen.

So the next one was the lamb chops, which tasted amazing and only salt and pepper.

So after that I had what they called batata harra, which means spicy potatoes.

Jorge: I mean, it looks like basically squared French fries.

That's what it looks like.

My mom would make potatoes like this when she just didn't want to cut, you know, long strands of French fries.

She just cut squares, a potato into squares.

And it looks a lot like that, just in a frying pan, but we'll see the difference.

We'll see if there's any different taste.

Jorge: I have to say that even though this dish was good, in this head-to-head competition between all these dishes, this one just wasn't as outstanding as the other ones.

So next up was the kibbeh and the fried kibbeh stuffed with meat.

Jorge: We're gonna have some kibbeh.

I'm making a mess of this.

I'm still not an expert in grabbing with the peanut bread.

You have to cut a mint leaf from it and put it in because apparently, it enhances the flavor.

All right.

It's good.

Maybe not the most explosive dish out of all of them.

I can feel almost like a pastie, you know, a meat pastie kind of thing.

So this one, it says a fried kibbeh stuffed with meat and it's inside it has pine nuts, it has almonds, which sounds awesome, right?

So I'm gonna take a little bite before putting a yogurt just to give the chef his due.

I always like to taste it before I mess with it.

So.

I like this kibbeh better than the raw one.

They're both good, but this is just much better.

Let's try it with yogurt.

Jorge: So after having this tasty kibbeh, I tried the musakhan.

The musakhan is a Palestinian dish primarily made up of pita bread, chicken and a lot, and I do mean a lot of onions.

I mean, look at that.

One of the ways to eat it, I guess, you know, you break some chicken apart, you know, you drop it into the--into what is essentially a pizza slice.

And you grab like a corner of this and it is hot.

Oh my goodness.

Ow, ow, ow, ow.

Come on, Jorge, get it together.

You roll it up.

You try to roll it up, even though it's falling apart, this is gonna be messy.

I think I may need a bib for this one.

Okay, folks, we're gonna give it a shot.

We're going in.

Musakhan has an "Mmh" in the sakhan.

That's why it's got a big M at the beginning.

The flavor is so good.

They were showing me every layer that they bake this in had onions, onions, onions, and more onions.

I was asking 'em, "Is this something you whip up like any given night, you know, in a Palestinian home?"

No, this is a party dish because it takes so much to make.

So I understand this, you know, you didn't--you didn't just show up from work, from school and mom whips it up really quick.

No, it's a very labor-intensive dish.

Jorge: And as if that wasn't enough, the most spectacular dish was still to come.

A dish that you eat in a very peculiar way as the chef here demonstrated for us.

Ammar: I'm eating.

Do you see this?

Jorge: Oh, okay.

Ammar: Good, good Jorge: So I didn't know why he was moving it.

He's moving because it's scalding hot.

Okay, so look at the size of the one that he made.

Ammar: Okay.

Jorge: Mmh.

Whoa.

Ammar: Nice?

Jorge: Very good.

Ammar: Very nice.

Jorge: It's delicious.

Whoa.

It is so hot.

Like, you have no idea.

Okay.

I think the other guys around was like, "Come on.

You know, have mercy on him.

Look at, oh, he's in pain.

Give him a spoon."

And he's like, "No, he's gotta man up."

Jorge: So after sharing this amazing dish with the entire staff, there's still time to try desserts.

As you all know, it is my favorite part of the competition.

Jorge: This is it, folks, the baklava, some pistachio ice cream.

And look at this chocolate-covered strawberry.

Oh my goodness.

I live for this--these desserts.

Look at the pistachio there.

You put some ice cream, some pistachio ice--oh wow.

Should I mean, I already ate that gigantic, you know, ball, so might as well, right?

I have seen everything there is to be seen.

This is called muhallabieh, it's made with milk, corn starch, sugar, it's got pistachios.

All right.

So, so good.

Ammar gave me this chai.

It's called a chaikatta.

And he told me how different cultures fill it up in a different way.

Like, for instance, he said in Iraq that if you fill it, you show the person that, you know, you appreciate them, you're honoring them.

But in Jordan, if you fill it, it's like you don't like the person.

So like different cultures, you gotta know how to give it.

Also, if somebody gives it with your right--with their right hand, they're honoring you.

If they give it to you with your left, it's almost like an insult.

Jorge: We ended the day with a full-on Arabic dance party.

This is the ultimate token of Middle Eastern hospitality and acceptance, which I enjoyed very, very much.

Experiencing other cultures certainly enriches one's life.

Jorge: So, if you ever doubted Middle Eastern hospitality, right here.

Thank you Ammar and Hala.

Thank you so much.

It's Sahara, "Crossing South," folks, don't go anywhere.

More to come.

Thank you, guys.

Jorge: We now take a trip across Tijuana to meet a group of people who exemplify the influence of Hollywood across the world.

Jorge: I am right now in the patio of the kids's museum, science museum El Trompo, we've been here before.

We did an episode once, but there's reason why we're coming back.

We're meeting a group of passionate people who are very devoted and very, very, very much excited about something that happened in a galaxy far, far away.

We're gonna meet 'em right now, folks.

Stay with us, it's "Crossing South."

Jorge: You know, "Star Wars" is something so international.

There's cosplayers and clubs that, you know, every year dress up as their favorite characters from the saga.

We're gonna talk right now to some of the members here in TJ.

Jorge: Victor, how you doing, my friend?

Victor Flores: I'm doing great, thank you, how are you?

Jorge: So you're part of the Tijuana Club?

Victor: Yeah.

Jorge: Star Wars Club.

What's the name?

Victor: The name is actually in Spanish, "Fuerza Rebelde Base Tijuana."

Jorge: Fuerza Rebelde--that's a different place in the world, right?

It's--are there different locations for that?

Victor: That's exactly why we have to say Base Tijuana because-- Jorge: Tijuana base.

Victor: Yeah, exactly.

Because otherwise, it gets into conflict with other rebel alliances out there, so we want to keep it us and this is us and, you know, you guys.

Jorge: Do you guys talk to each other like the Tijuana Rebel force base?

Victor: Yes, we do, because we try to stay as tied to each other as possible because it's a big family at the end of the day.

Jorge: Okay.

Other than dress in really cool, you know, costumes.

What do you guys do?

What does the club do?

Victor: Activities, we-- sometimes there is events here in the museum for children and we come over, we bring toys for the children.

There's the hospital events as well, we go there and also bring toys.

Jorge: Kids love seeing you guys?

Victor: Yeah, kids love "Star Wars" at the end of the day, so their faces light up, of course.

The--I mean, children look at us, and they kind of familiarize the characters with us a little bit because of the customs.

And those are the events we do.

We like doing those kind of stuff.

Jorge: Yeah, I'm not gonna hide it, folks.

I'm a "Star Wars" nerd and I like the classical period of these films.

I love to see clubs like this that do cosplay as a hobby.

So I'm pretty excited to know there's one here in TJ.

Jorge: When you were kids, you know younger, we played video games, "Star Wars" video games.

So they ask you to put your name.

So we kind of did it like we would do like an acronym of our full name.

So I was Jammer Rodd you know, my brother was Charlim Rod, you know.

We'd be in a game and I would go, you know, I would do an English accent.

I would like, "Come save me brother."

And he'd come and rescue me in the video game.

Sorry if I took it to another nerd level.

I apologize, I kinda revealed myself.

Victor: No, it's all right.

No, yeah.

And I relate because with my brother, we used to do the saber sounds and go like zoom!

Jorge: Hey, don't worry about it.

Even Ewan McGregor would do that.

He said that he would do that.

Victor: Oh yeah.

Jorge: As Obi-Wan in the first "Phantom Menace," like, they had to stop him because he's in the--on the set.

He's saying, you know, he's doing the "zoom, zoom".

Jorge: There are clubs like Fuerza Rebelde around the world.

Many countries have their own chapter of the "501st Legion," for example.

"Star Wars" is a worldwide phenomenon that has inspired cosplayers like these to join in their love for the franchise.

This popularity is why George Lucas was able to sell it for billions of dollars.

This is a subculture where young and old alike share their love for this legend.

Jorge: What else involves being--belonging to a club like this, how often do you guys meet?

Victor: That's at least two times a year.

Jorge: Two times a year?

Victor: Yeah.

Jorge: So you plan events and you get together for that.

Victor: Exactly.

Sometimes we go to conventions as well here in TJ.

Jorge: Do you guys go to the Comic-Con across the border or no?

Victor: We are planning on that.

Jorge: You're planning on that?

Victor: Yeah.

Jorge: I'm probably thinking that a lightsaber is not gonna clear customs.

"What are you bringing?"

"Oh, just a, you know, plasma weapon that can pierce through metal."

You know, probably not gonna fly with customs agents.

Maybe that's why.

That's why.

So Victor, I just have one more question.

Have you guys ever done a fan film?

Victor: We haven't.

Jorge: You haven't?

Victor: No.

Jorge: Let's change that.

Jorge: So it was time to get creative and decide what sort of silly "Star Wars" film we could make with these guys.

You know, we need to figure out how to integrate Tijuana, the spaceships, the lasers, the tacos, heroes.

It's time to get a little nerdy.

Jammer Rod: We have reports that the Empire is actually attacking the city of Tijuana and it's taking it over.

Imperial officer: Destroy them.

Imperial trooper: Yes, sir.

♪♪♪ Jammer: Gentlemen, my name is Admiral Jammer Rod, I will be leading this outfit.

We need the Jedi to defend the people of Tijuana from a ground assault.

[lightsaber sounds] Jammer: This is a map of the Tijuana Cultural Center, we have intelligence that the Empire has taken it over and has turned it into the Death Bola.

We need a squadron to lead the attack to neutralize the danger.

Captain Acto, can your squadron be ready to mount a defense?

Acto: Yes, sir.

Jammer: I will be joining you today.

May the Force be with you all.

♪♪♪ Jammer: All right, all squadrons, let's all check in.

Captain Acto, can you check in?

Acto: Tijuana leader, checking in.

Jammer: Good to have you with us Captain Acto.

Everybody ready now?

Oh, look at the size of that thing.

You're gonna follow me in on this trench run.

We're not going to use torpedoes.

Now pay attention, right?

We are going to use tacos.

Acto: Wait, what?

Jammer: Yes, Captain Acto.

And that goes for everyone else.

We're going to use tacos.

Okay, everyone, make sure you have your guacamole settings up.

I'm going in.

Stay on target.

Stay on target.

Stay on Taco.

Tacos away.

♪♪♪ Jammer: Direct hit.

Empire, Empire officers, has this changed your opinion of Tijuana?

Will you retrocede and cancel your invasion?

Fellow squadron leaders, we can call off the attack now.

The Empire is retreating from Tijuana.

Thanks to our well-placed tacos, there is peace in the galaxy now.

May the Force be with you.

Let's go home.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Jorge: So, after packing 10,000 calories of Middle Eastern hospitality and saving the city of Tijuana with fellow "Star Wars" fans, we look forward to more spontaneous adventures, the next time we get to cross south.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ male announcer: Like to know more about the places you've just seen?

Maps, videos, podcasts, and more at crossingsouth.com.

We also do Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.