Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

El Patio: No Carne Asada for Three Months

I’m kicking myself.

That I didn’t get in here and try it.

I was outside El Patio de Old Town (261 San Diego Avenue, Old Town, 619-260-8389) one night where a mariachi with a beautiful voice was holding forth under the California pepper trees.

The delicious smoke of carne asada wafted out across the path where you walk under flowering giant yucca plants. The rancho timber fence was jes’ made for leaning on and listening.

That’s what I did for fifteen minutes.

But never went in and tried the carne asada.

Woulda coulda shoulda.

Last February 20th, a fire burst out in El Patio at around four in the morning.

Early drivers on the 5 freeway first spotted the flames at about 4.30 a.m. The Fire Department got there promptly enough to limit the damage to the kitchen and a storage area.

It’s not that the building is super-historic. It was built in 1945. But I talked with Tracy Ford, who works across the way at Miner’s Gems and Minerals. Tracy says the blaze also burned the roof and back wall of the little Chinese import store Gum Saan (“Land of the Golden Mountain,” the old Chinese name for California).

Both buildings will have to be rebuilt to historic standards, so the repair operation will cost about $1 million – an SDFD estimate, according to the U/T.

For us eaters, the worst news is we’re talking at least 3-4 months before we can chomp carne asada again under the pepper tree and listen to those warm mariachis in the cool evening air.

Pictured: El Patio before the fire

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?

I’m kicking myself.

That I didn’t get in here and try it.

I was outside El Patio de Old Town (261 San Diego Avenue, Old Town, 619-260-8389) one night where a mariachi with a beautiful voice was holding forth under the California pepper trees.

The delicious smoke of carne asada wafted out across the path where you walk under flowering giant yucca plants. The rancho timber fence was jes’ made for leaning on and listening.

That’s what I did for fifteen minutes.

But never went in and tried the carne asada.

Woulda coulda shoulda.

Last February 20th, a fire burst out in El Patio at around four in the morning.

Early drivers on the 5 freeway first spotted the flames at about 4.30 a.m. The Fire Department got there promptly enough to limit the damage to the kitchen and a storage area.

It’s not that the building is super-historic. It was built in 1945. But I talked with Tracy Ford, who works across the way at Miner’s Gems and Minerals. Tracy says the blaze also burned the roof and back wall of the little Chinese import store Gum Saan (“Land of the Golden Mountain,” the old Chinese name for California).

Both buildings will have to be rebuilt to historic standards, so the repair operation will cost about $1 million – an SDFD estimate, according to the U/T.

For us eaters, the worst news is we’re talking at least 3-4 months before we can chomp carne asada again under the pepper tree and listen to those warm mariachis in the cool evening air.

Pictured: El Patio before the fire

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.