San Diego’s East Village is getting ready to welcome another restaurant/bar concept to the block— The Blind Burro, specializing in Baja Mexican cuisine. From the Good Time Design Group, The Blind Burro will be joining owner Ty Hauter’s many other concepts which include Moonshine Flats, Cat Eye Club, Lucky’s, Bub’s, Bootlegger, The Tipsy Crow, The Double Deuce, among several others. The Blind Burro is taking over the space which used to be occupied by Fleetwood. Using mainly reclaimed wood and other material, The Blind Burro has been shaped into a South of The Border escape that features an atmosphere that is laid back and community driven.
Tables in The Blind Burro feature central “troughs” that, when filled with ice, let groups share chilled beer and pitchers of margaritas. The creators of this new restaurant concept believe that the key to good food and beverages is all about the communality of it—everything is a little bit better when shared. This ideology is also, incidentally, a wonderful quality of Latin culture on which the cuisine of The Blind Burro is founded. And while perhaps you’re thinking, great, all San Diego needs is another Mexican restaurant, you may want to consider giving Blind Burro a real chance. For one, they specialize in tequila and tequila tasting— and no, we don’t just mean shooting countless shots of salt-rimmed Patron followed with a squeeze of lime (though, that’s still an option). Tastings at Blind Burro are complete with sangrita, an authentic palate cleanser used by true tequila aficionados, as well as a thorough education on the type tequila.
Secondly, The food program at Blind Burro is being led by Chef Sara Polczynski, a talented educator and culinary wizard who has spent time traveling in the Baja region of Mexico with none other than world renowned chef and master of Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless. Polczynski has worked in the restaurant industry in San Diego for the past fifteen years, lending her expertise to such revered venues as the Prado and Analog. On a recent behind-the-scenes trip to Blind Burro, Polczynski told us, “This isn’t going to be like the [sic] food you find in Old Town –this isn’t just another Mexican restaurant opening in San Diego.”
In addition Polczynski said, “The simplicity of ingredients, yet the complexity of flavors are truly inspiring— I couldn’t think of a better way to become more entrenched in this cuisine than spending time in Mexico with Rick Bayless and his team, learning, cooking and eating our way through Baja!” The Blind Burro officially opens tonight, December 14, 2012 at 4 pm. In addition, the adjacent Cat Eye Club, a Manhattan “Mad-Men-esque,” speakeasy will soon follow.
