TACO TUESDAYS: Old Town is Getting Old

THE PLACE:  La Pinata 

San Diego Old Town

LOCAL WALLY REPORT CARD: 

Atmosphere:  A-

Food:  B-

Teachers Comments:  Good place to take tourist friends, bad place to take Mexican friends

You guys owe me big time.  I'm getting sick of Old Town.  I know there has to be some good Mexican food somewhere in Old Town.  I mean, there's a ton of restaurants there selling tacos and margaritas, isn't there one that isn't taking lessons from El Torito?  I went looking for it at La Pinata.  With their funky cool interior and nice Summery patio, I had high hopes.   Wait!  What's that noise?

Damn, the mariachi band!  Quick, stop drop and roll under the table or they'll be singing Besame Mucho at jet plane decibels in front of your table and asking to be paid to to stop tormenting you!  Shoo, shoo, go away, no speak English.

On to the food.  You can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant by their margaritas and let me just say that my heart sunk with the first sip.  It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't good - it tasted like the gallon jug of mix with a splash of tequilla.  Chips and salsa were OK, also not great.  

Carnitas burrito.  Well, not bad.  Funny think is I like burritos from my taco shops just fine "dry", but in a restaurant I sort of like them "wet" with sauce. 

And here's why - the carnitas was a bit dry, not fatty goodness but stringy nonsense.  Augghhhh, why do I do this??? Why did I say I would find the best Mexican food in San Diego????  Luckily the beans were pretty good but the burrito was average.

The final verdict - good enough for tourists (maybe even great for tourists), not bad for locals looking for a fun setting with friends, not so good for those looking for authentic Mexican food. 

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