Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

El Sol: Jewel of University Avenue

Made my usual mistake tonight: Got the 7 and the 15 buses confused. Was aboard the #7, and we turned right on University. Wrong! Pulled the cord and found myself down at the bottom of that slope and that whole hill to climb up to Park. So I dawdle past the last little row of shops before the kudzu grass valley and then the climb.

But the second-last place is bright, full of lights and half of its tables full. And suddenly I remember.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24239/

This is “Nacho’s" place. Miguel, the Mexican cook who became famous by cooking burgers for President Clinton and his Secret Service posse when they were in town and Nacho cooked at Danny’s bar in Coronado.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24232/

Plus his burgers were voted by this paper and NBC and others the best in San Diego a few years back. And now he has created his own empire here, El Sol (2037 University Avenue between Florida and Alabama Streets 619-298-0874).

Just have to pop in. See what the happs is. And there he is, doing his own waitering and cooking as usual. Place is bright yellow and cream and dark red, inside and out, with lots of art on the walls, including all different kinds of metal suns, a long Last Supper print, a shrine, probably to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and old photos of Emiliano Zapata...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24251/

...and Pancho Villa.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24250/

Then: an avalanche of food: Two customers, Frank and Andy are munching away...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24235/

...Frank's dipping in to a carne en su jogo ("meat in its juices"). A rich stew in a bowl...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24237/

"This is the best," says Frank. "I mean this place, and this dish in particular. I live nearby. I'm in here all the time." He paid $7.99.

Andy gnaws on a mega burrito ($6.99). "It's got carnitas, pollo and asada in it," he says.

I was going to get the Clinton Burger, but start off with a coffee...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24238/

...a tostada de ceviche ($3.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24234/

...a sweet tamal ($2.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24248/

...and a churro ($1.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24249/

...that I see advertised on the menu.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24233/

It's only after I put those away that I ask Miguel for two burgers - a Clinton Burger (with mushrooms and bacon, $5.99) and, hey, a salmon cheeseburger ($5.99), from the specials board. Carla will really go for that.

Now I'm armed and ready to climb that hill. Thanks Nacho!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks

Made my usual mistake tonight: Got the 7 and the 15 buses confused. Was aboard the #7, and we turned right on University. Wrong! Pulled the cord and found myself down at the bottom of that slope and that whole hill to climb up to Park. So I dawdle past the last little row of shops before the kudzu grass valley and then the climb.

But the second-last place is bright, full of lights and half of its tables full. And suddenly I remember.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24239/

This is “Nacho’s" place. Miguel, the Mexican cook who became famous by cooking burgers for President Clinton and his Secret Service posse when they were in town and Nacho cooked at Danny’s bar in Coronado.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24232/

Plus his burgers were voted by this paper and NBC and others the best in San Diego a few years back. And now he has created his own empire here, El Sol (2037 University Avenue between Florida and Alabama Streets 619-298-0874).

Just have to pop in. See what the happs is. And there he is, doing his own waitering and cooking as usual. Place is bright yellow and cream and dark red, inside and out, with lots of art on the walls, including all different kinds of metal suns, a long Last Supper print, a shrine, probably to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and old photos of Emiliano Zapata...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24251/

...and Pancho Villa.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24250/

Then: an avalanche of food: Two customers, Frank and Andy are munching away...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24235/

...Frank's dipping in to a carne en su jogo ("meat in its juices"). A rich stew in a bowl...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24237/

"This is the best," says Frank. "I mean this place, and this dish in particular. I live nearby. I'm in here all the time." He paid $7.99.

Andy gnaws on a mega burrito ($6.99). "It's got carnitas, pollo and asada in it," he says.

I was going to get the Clinton Burger, but start off with a coffee...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24238/

...a tostada de ceviche ($3.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24234/

...a sweet tamal ($2.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24248/

...and a churro ($1.50)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24249/

...that I see advertised on the menu.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/11/24233/

It's only after I put those away that I ask Miguel for two burgers - a Clinton Burger (with mushrooms and bacon, $5.99) and, hey, a salmon cheeseburger ($5.99), from the specials board. Carla will really go for that.

Now I'm armed and ready to climb that hill. Thanks Nacho!

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.