Return to Panama 66

Today was such a grey day. It was cloudy and gloomy all morning, then it warmed up a tiny bit, then got cold again.

This was San Diego's infamous June gloom...


Bert and I dropped off TC at the Spreckel's Organ Pavilion so she and various Philippine dance groups could practice blocking for the upcoming Balboa Park Centennia 2015 Philippine American Celebration which kicks off tomorrow, June 5th and ends on Sunday, June 7th.

While they practiced,  Bert and I had a tiny bit of dinner (not a full dinner, eh) at a place I'd been wanting to revisit since last Fall.

The massive space in front of the SD Museum of Art is now car free and has been since last summer. A new addition is more seating (benches, chairs, tables with umbrellas). While it can't be seen in this photo, there was another seating area with fake turf. I read in the papers last year that giant beanbags were also purchased. I wonder how long those will stay intact.We didn't see them earlier this evening.

So, yes, we wanted to check out Panama 66 once again.

I don't remember there being two separate lines last time but it turns out the bartender rang us up on the same bill.

Another rarity like last week when I went out to Romesco's, it felt a bit "odd" going out on a weeknight. However since tomorrow is my last day of work, I didn't care, haha!  So, we both had drinks, Bert tried the Societe Harlot Belgian Blonde while I went with the Cafe Cubano cocktail.

The bar's setup...

We sat on the other side of this wooden sculpture/wall.

Our drinks...


And here is another (and better) view with the Museum of Man and part of the California Tower as a beautiful backdrop.

This cocktail was so good...I could have this everyday.

It consisted of rum, cold brew coffee,tiramisu liquer and soy milk.

As for the food, we shared the Tiger Fries, the Burrata Salad and the House Sausage sandwich.


Everything tasted as good as it looked.



The fries, while tasty, were kind of short making it not so fun to eat as long thin pieces. The sauces were house made ketchup and a creamy dipping sauce.

The  burrata salad was so delicious with the mixture of flavors and textures - Spring mix with creamy burrata, candied pecans, grilled peaches, a light raspberry vinaigrette as well as fresh raspberries. I loved it and would gladly have this again.

The Andouille sausage was topped file  cream (accent aigu over the "e", so it is pronounced 'fee-lay'). I was pleasantly surprised to see that since file is an ingredient used in  making gumbo; it is seasoning made from ground sassafras leaves with a tiny bit of a root beer flavor. It made sense for the flavor combination because of the sausage.The slaw was green onions with endive which provided  some sharp bitterness. This was perfect for us to share.


I noticed the back page. They had Sat 6/6 twice.

 Looks like we went on a good night. Because of weddings, they wouldn't be open on Saturday (when we also wanted to come back).

Previous visit to Panama 66:
"Panama 66 and the SDMA Sculpture Garden" September 2014

Bert and I (along with TC) will have to come back sometime during the summer break. This is probably one of the better places to eat in the park. Of course, with the great food and beer and cocktail selection, it makes it a great place to sit back and enjoy the park as we did this evening.