We recently took JJ to Old Town since we hadn’t been in a while. Even though it was the weekend…it’s not major tourist season right now and things were pretty mellow.
All the Dia de los Muertos displays were up and we strolled around a bit.
The Missus enjoyed the La Calavera Catrina Fashion is the U.S. House Building.
The small, but colorful display of dresses, hats, crowns and such by various artists was very nice.
In case you want to know the history behind La Catrina – this article is short but informative.
U.S. House Museum
2765 San Diego Ave.
San Diego, CA 92110
And of course, since Dia de los Muertos is on November 3rd this year, Old Town is having some major events this weekend if you’re interested.
After walking around a bit we decided to get some lunch……unfortunately, our favorite stop in Old Town, Tahona is not open for lunch. And the Missus wasn’t feeling like having an $25 arepa at Encuentro. I had read that a spot specializing in Double Baked Stuffed Potatoes had replaced the Living Room on San Diego Avenue….named…well, Papa Guapo! Now, I thought having a “handsome potato” might be fun. Plus the lovely courtyard was perfect for JJ.
We walked over and the place was totally empty. In fact, we were the only customers for the entire meal! In addition to the usual “taco suspects”, like carne asada, pollo asado, and the strangely spelled “el pastor” (???), the menu included Barbacoa….so I ordered the Barbacoa Tacos, which, with the Old Town upcharge was $17.99. We also wanted the Baked Potato with El, ahem Al Pastor…but the rather serious woman working told us that the potatoes weren’t going to be ready for another hour or more….so we decided on getting the Al Pastor Fries ($16).
The Barbacoa was quite stringy, the marinade was very mild and lacking in the smokiness and spices I enjoy. I mean, I wasn’t expecting Aqui es Texcoco or even the now closed El Borrego. But along with the brittle tortillas this was a miss for us.
The salsa roja was super mild, really lacking in spice as well.
As for the fries; well, I guess I couldn’t complain about the portion size.
Man, this was pretty salty, the chewy pork lacking in carmelization, so closure to an adobada, than al pastor….definitely not from the trompo. Also lacking in the touch of smokey mildly spicy-sweetness of a decent al pastor.
What wasn’t lacking was the cheese……..
Same bland salsa though the fries stayed crisp thru the entire meal.
Not really our kind of meal. Kind of dumbed down for our taste….though perhaps typical for the location. Man do we miss Tuetano! Hack, I’d even take Hola Paris! I’m wondering if El Agave allows pups? Or perhaps we need to do a staycation and even though we can’t stay at the Cosmopolitan with JJ, I think the Fairfield is pup friendly….and then we can go beck to Tahona?
Papa Guapo
2541 San Diego Ave.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 8pm
Sat – Sun 10am – 8pm
Well, at least we had fun walking around Old Town.
at least walking around was nice
Yes, we enjoyed our walk Kat!
Just what we needed in OT more overpriced gringo Mx.