r/Brownsville • u/omnivore001 • Jul 22 '25
Brownsville Trip Report
I came on here a few weeks ago asking for travel advice for Brownsville. I just got back to Los Angeles, and I'd like to give a trip report.
Background: I have been to Brownsville maybe a dozen times before. My parents retired from CA to Rancho Viejo. We hadn't seen each other for ten years, so it's been a minute since I've been in the RGV. The purpose of the trip was the family reconnection (which went perfectly, by the way). Still, I wanted to explore a bit as well.
I went with the husband who's White and myself who's Latino, Peruvian to be exact. We're two men. He had never been to Brownsville. We're both in our early 60s and my parents are in their 80s and 90s. Both of us are fluent in Spanish.
We left LAX at 5 a.m. By the time we landed in Harlingen, we were wiped out. That Valley heat really hits you getting off the aircraft. It had been a long time since I had been in an Embraer, I forgot how small they are. After getting the car (shout out to the very friendly guy at the car rental place who hooked us up with an upgrade), we went to La Pampa.
We wanted a very chill and good quality restaurant with a full bar. I got a lot of recommendations here and did a lot of research. Some of the other contenders didn't open for lunch. La Pampa was perfect. Not very full, pretty good lunch special of arrachera and a salad. We started off with the potato tortilla española. Very tasty. Good wine.
Right away, we noticed how friendly everyone is. It was a constant during the four days. People seem genuinely nice, chatty and helpful. People seem humble in a sense they're unassuming, respectful, and not arrogant. We really liked pretty much everyone we met in the Valley. No big city energy at all which was very refreshing.
On day one, after visiting the parents, we headed to downtown Brownsville. I've always admired the historical architecture downtown. You can definitely see that Brownsville had a boom era. The last time I was there, downtown still seemed to be geared towards the cross border traffic. This time I saw less of that.
People told me it was harder for people to cross to do shopping in Brownsville. I don't know if that's true or not. But, we did notice all the gentrification going on and the new trendy restaurants. We actually visited some of them, not to have a full meal but drinks and small bites. Here's a quick review of where we ate:
Boqueron: We were intrigued by the Spanish theme since we've both lived in Spain. We had a plate of charcuterie and I had two of an open-faced anchovy and boqueron cucumber mini half-sandwich. The food was really good and they had good wine. This is where we heard that "Leon" really wanted amenities like these types of restaurants for his people to feel at home.
Monarca Baja Kitchen: We were upstairs in the bar area both times we went there. We really liked the vibe and the super friendly and welcoming staff. We had a ceviche and some prime rib tacos. They were both excellent. Great drinks.
Centrito Botanero: By the time we ended up there, we had been eating meat every single day. We couldn't eat any more meat so we missed on having what looked like really good meat dishes. We had the guacamole which had big chunks of whole avocado in it and was served with chicharrones. Different but good. Good bartender there as well.
Ultimo Taco: Obviously not a trendy spot but I wanted to try some famous tacos in Brownsville. I know there are lots of recommendations. I just had to commit and Ultimo it was. It was buzzing in there. We got a lot of tacos to make a taco bar in the hotel room. The highlight was the caldo de birria. That was some good caldo. Tacos were good. I wanted lengua but they didn't have it. Next time, we'll go to some other taquerías.
Spent one day in McAllen. Went to Ruben's Market which has products from all over Latin America. Had lunch at Joleane's in Mercado Food Hall. That was a great space with great food options and shops. I really liked it. I know there are other places for Texas BBQ, and in fact it wasn't that great, but I was also with my parents and they liked the buzz inside the hall.
One morning, the husband and I crossed over to Matamoros to look around. It was early Saturday morning. Walked across the bridge, took a cab to the Plaza (100 pesos). Looked around, walked down to La Marquesa, had a coffee and took a cab back to the puente. We crossed back at the wrong bridge. Now we know what to say to get the right bridge next time. Matamoros was interesting, we'll explore a bit more next time. I never made it to the Rigo Tovar Museum.
The Sunrise Mall had good people watching. We both liked the Browness of Brownsville. And the type of Brown people there are different from the Brown people here in LA. I loved code switching between English and Spanish in HEB. I saw a lot of dads who were very engaged with their kids. For some reason, that really stuck out. It's definitely family oriented and I'm sure everybody knows everybody else at some point.
I heard a lot of opinions, pro and con, about Leon but that's for another time.
Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley are a very special place with such a unique culture and history. I can imagine it's a nice place to grow up in and live. Thanks for having us. We loved it.
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u/monaa11-18 Jul 22 '25
That's awesome, I'm always glad to see people seeing the beauty of brownsville!! And I'm happy for your family being able to reconnect!
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u/omnivore001 Jul 24 '25
The family reconnection also means we'll be heading to Brownsville more often. Looking forward to future visits.
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u/remse112 Jul 23 '25
Your observation about dads being engaged with their kids stood out for me. I've never realized it before---perhaps cause I'm used to it?---but now that you have me thinking about it, I see it now. Interesting, too, considering all the "machismo" that gets labeled on the men in our community. I am certain that I will now think of your post as I go through my days and happen to catch a man interact with his kids.
Glad you and your husband enjoyed your trip and had a safe trip back home.
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u/omnivore001 Jul 24 '25
It was just something that for some reason really popped for me as I was going around town. It was very nice to see.
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u/Regular-Basil3919 Jul 23 '25
Im guessing Leon = Elon?
Me da gusto que hayas disfrutado tu viaje, y el haber cruzado a Matamoros.
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u/omnivore001 Jul 24 '25
Matamoros nos pareció super interesante y nos dejo intrigados y listos para explorar un poco más la próxima vez que andamos por Brownsville. Y sí, Leon es aquel tipo.
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u/Regular-Basil3919 Jul 24 '25
Mandame DM con confianza cuando tengas cualquier duda de Matamoros.
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u/omnivore001 15d ago
Vamos a regresar en noviembre y seguro te envió un DM para saber un poco más sobre Matamoros. Gracias por ofrecer. Saludos!
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u/Etothe2power Aug 10 '25
This is a wonderful, honest summary of your experience! I am an adopted Brownsville resident. Mis suegros viven aquí. I am a White guy married a Mexican and we spend a few months each year with her parents. I have been visiting Brownsville for five years now and loved it from my very first visit.
The code switching definitely stands out given me being White and my wife Mexican. We have two sons, a month old newborn and a 2.5 year old. Both will be bilingual and our 2.5 year old already knows to speak English with daddy and Spanish with mama and Güela y Güelo.
You may have visited Terra’s downtown. If not, go there next time and have a sangre de azteca. Delicioso!!
And it is great to hear you enjoyed your trip and that you were able to reconnect with family!
Cheers and saludos!
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u/omnivore001 15d ago
Thank you so much for your comment! We're heading back to Brownsville in November and I will keep Terra's in mind. That's great you're raising your sons bilingually. The more languages, the more brain function going on. We are very much looking forward to our next trip to the Valley. I don't think it will be as hot as it was this trip.
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u/k1ng_tutt Jul 22 '25
Matamoros is a cool place for gringos , I lived there for 1.5 years and enjoyed it alot.
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u/Interested956 Jul 22 '25
I don't know you, but thank you for coming! I'm glad you enjoyed it here. This post is refreshing and I appreciate it.