Taste the Flavors of California’s First Town |
- The Birthplace of California
- Learn about the early Spanish missionaries
- Get your Fiesta on!
- Mexican tastes at 4 local restaurants
- Haunted tales, mariachi music, lots of food, and fun!
$45 per person – 2.5 hours
Tour : Join us on a titillating San Diego Food Tour right in the birthplace of America’s Finest City. Step back in time while we meander through Old Town San Diego’s State Historic Park, which recreates life as it would have been in from the 1820s through the 1870’s. Learn how the early settlers survived and built from one of San Diego’s limited natural resources: Adobe. View original adobe homes, with their distinctive thick walls and white exteriors. Some still in use today!
Taste Tales of the Past: Let your imagination run wild as your guide divulges stories of the past. On this fantastic San Diego Food Tour, you’ll taste the excitement of an eager crowd as you sample food and drink at El Fandango and gaze at Plaza De Las Armas—where bullfights, horse races, pistol shootouts, dances and political events once took place in the town plaza. Learn about the Mexican period of Old Town as well as the American/Gold Rush period that followed and the mesh of cultures that resulted. As you immerse yourself in the past on this historical and culinary food tour, let your taste buds do some exploring of their own from four of our favorite Old Town restaurants with authentic food, including a stop at a local favorite that has been voted Best Mexican Restaurant six years and running! You’ll also get to taste test a few traditional cocktails along the way—but this is not a tequila tasting tour, so no shots of tequila here!
Telltale Heart Old Town didn’t survive hundreds of years of history without a few ghost stories to its name. Visit one of the oldest graveyards in San Diego and learn why the past still haunts the streets of Old Town. Here tell of Yankee Jim, an extraordinarily tall man for the time who stood 6’3, but his height couldn’t save him from the long arms of the law. Stop by the Whaley House—named America’s Most Haunted House by the Travel Channel—and learn why the undead are particularly restless in this historic home.
Participating Restaurants:
El Fandango: Look out onto the Plaza de las Armas on the patio of this Old Town favorite. Taste home-made Mexican cuisine and sample one of their specialty cocktails.
Old Town Mining Company: Known to be one of San Diego’s best casual steak houses, you will taste delicious tri-tip BBQ and locally brewed, award-winning Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel: A beautifully renovated historic hotel, formally known as Casa de Bandini. We end the tour here with decadent desserts made fresh daily.
Cafe Coyote: For over 20 years Cafe Coyote has been heralded as one of San Diego’s Landmark restaurants. Enjoy traditional Mexican food and the festive atmosphere of a restaurant that has been voted Best Mexican restaurant for six years running!
Details:
When: Wednesday – Friday @ 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Price: $45 per person
How Long: 2.5 hours
Walking Path: The tour covers about 1-1/4 miles of flat terrain.
What to wear: Comfortable clothing and shoes. Check weather.
Who: All ages are welcome, but we suggest that guests are 21 years of age, or older.
What: This is a historic tour with food and drink samples. Drinks are served “sample-sized”, and are not served at each stop. The cumulative food tastes should be enough for a full meal. Restaurants are subject to change without notice.
Where to meet:
