El Faro has closed.
Welcome back the the blog called mmm-yoso!!! Today, Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are researching places so they can write posts. Cathy is finished researching and this is the rough draft.
Hi. The other day, The Mister and I were (yes, again) taking a little "stay-cation" in San Diego, Balboa Park, to be precise. Here is the Sculpture Garden, near the Old Globe Theater.
The parking lot near the Aerospace Museum was pretty crowded, as were the restaurants in the park, so after about two miles, we drove on the side streets looking for a place to have lunch.
Somehow, we got to Imperial Avenue -looking for the Farmers Market Building (it's for sale)- and a block later we saw street signs welcoming us to both Sherman and Logan Heights…and then saw the word "Family" on this building. I stopped and parked.
El Faro, Spanish for "the lighthouse" . Of course, they serve seafood. Thing is, we saw a mariscos truck and a small mariscos restaurant on the same block…never considered this part of town to have mariscos. But what do we know…
Lunch Specials…
and for future reference, Happy Hour. We walked in.
Five booths, seven tables and the kitchen in the middle. Like eating in Mexico. I asked and found out these owners have been here 13 years, and before they bought this place, it was a seafood restaurant.
Lime wedges, fresh (light and very good) corn chips and a mildly hot salsa were brought to the table (after ordering, a group of appropriate hot sauces were brought out, however, I used this salsa for everything- no vinegar or sugar and a good heat to it).
We decided to try a fish ceviche tostada ($2.25) as an appetizer. Really, really nice. The fish was fresh, flaky, tasty and the lime juice, tomatoes, onion and cilantro were complimentary and not overwhelming. The tostada was placed on top of lettuce and that cucumber slice, so it didn't get soggy. 
The Mister's meal came with this large cup filled with a seafood soup. Excellent, fresh, very nice amount of seafood in the not too tomato flavored broth (it was more of a seafood stock base) .
After a long discussion with myself, I had decided on the camarones (shrimp) salad because of the description. Plain (home made) mayonnaise was the dressing and it complimented the very large (in size and number-24) shrimp. Lettuce, shredded carrot and chopped cucumber were the only salad ingredients. The topping of avocado, two slices of cucumber and the tomato added enough variety so that I could enjoy those shrimp in the dressing. This was filling, refreshing and worth the lunch price ($8.95). 
The Mister's Pescado Entero ($8.95). A whole fried tilapia. Very fresh, firm fleshed, not muddy, fried perfectly (I ate the fins; so crispy).
The Mister ate just about everything else…
El Faro Family Restaurant 2249 Imperial Avenue San Diego 92102 (619)2311388