Bottomless Mimosas, A Beach Bar & Wais Music At The Hotel Del
Wow!
Apparently, the last time I spent significant time in San Diego, I did not give Coronado Island enough of a look. I passed through a time or two on my bike and did not really see much to make me stop in my tracks.
But more recently, I not only stopped in my tracks, I locked up the bike and, to use a sailboat term, tossed out the anchor. As a result, I had a true Sunday Funday on Coronado Island in San Diego.
For starters, I found a beach bar. And not just a bar by the beach but a bar ON the beach. It was a little thatched roof place that you might find in some Polynesian paradise, with tables and seats right in the sand. It faced the walking and bike path and had picnic tables across the path.
If anything ever called out “hey PubClub!,” it was that place.
Believe it or not, I did not stop there immediately because it was before noon and I still wanted to pedal around a bit. There was more investigating to do and my final objective was an open-air patio bar that afternoon to see Wais Music, a great one-man-band musician I know from when he played Sundays in Hermosa Beach. He has started playing every other Sunday at the Hotel del Coronado from 3-7 p.m.
Along the main street, Orange Ave., there were people sitting at sidewalk cafes having breakfast. None of those places, tho, offered bottomless mimosas and I knew – just knew – there was a bottomless mimosas brunch somewhere on that island.
Eventually, I found one and really by accident. I walked into Brigantine just to ask if still had its all-day Happy Hour on Monday. Yes, I learned. Then I just happened to ask about its brunch and the hostess said “we have $5 all-you-can drink champagne.”
Bingo! I sat down and within seconds had a mimosa ($3 extra for OJ). The menu was a bit limited with egg dishes so I had the “Free Bird” chicken sandwich that came with three big slices of bacon, a side of blue cheese potato salad and cole slaw ($14). The best thing about this find was that I never had to ask the bartender for more champagne; she kept refiling it when it the glass got close to empty.
The chicken was covered in a spicy sauce that reminded me of a hot wings challenge so next time I’ll ask for it without the sauce.
By now, I was not quite sauced myself but was feeling good and wanted to go to that beach bar. I had earlier considered going there and having a few beers – or a couple of rum drinks – and ordering tacos until I found Brigantine deal.
Called Taco Bar, it sure was a great setup: toes in the sand, white stuff on the nose having a drink while looking out at the Pacific Ocean and all the activity on the beach and bike path.
I did not recall seeing this bar during my previous visits. How could I have possibly missed it!? I found out why from a regular patron; the bar is only open in the summer and I was last here in the winter. What!? In Southern California, it’s endless summer!
That beach bar regular, by the way, has a house in Coronado, as well as a few just across the border in Mexico as rental properties. Since this is obviously a good guy to know from a connection standpoint, I’m going to tell you his name is Larry French and his real estate company is oceanfrontbaja.com.
Taco Bar did have one catch: my beer cost $11.50 Whoa! A sign showed the tacos were $7.50 and I asked a girl sitting near my who had ordered them if that price was for one or two. She informed me they were $7.50 each. “It’s an expensive view,” she said.
You see, the beach shack is a part of the Hotel del Coronado and, well, you get those kinds of prices at the Hotel del. At that moment, I sure was glad I did not toss out the anchor here earlier instead of going to Brigantine; it would have cost a fortune!
The beer prices were not any cheaper half a block away at the deck bar where Wais was playing but Wais was entertaining as usual, the sun was out, the beach and ocean was in front of me, girls wanted to dance with me and well, it was a true Sunday Funday.
I then biked to San Diego Bay and took the ferry back to the city. I actually took the longer boat ride to the Broadway pier rather than the shorter one to the Gaslamp, and being on the water like that was a extremely nice way to conclude my Coronado experience.
#CoronadoIsland
#SanDiego
#sundayfunday
#bottomlessmimosas
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