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LOCATION:
El Fandango Restaurant can be found
in the Old Town Historical Park.
Address: 2734 Calhoun Street, San
Diego, CA 92110. * 619-298-2860
Web-Site
DESCRIPTION:
El Fandango Restaurant is in a building
which was built on the spot of the burned ruins of one of the Machano
family's three mansions, which
burned to the ground in 1858. It is a two story, brownish cream-colored
building. Upstairs are used for office space
and a banquet room while downstairs there is a very nice dining area,
dining and event area and an outside patio area also used
for dining.
The menu selections offered today
reflect the rich mix of cuisine which evolved in this area during the
1846 - 1856 era, because of the number of people who came to California
from all over the world to participate in the gold rush. A "cosmopolitan
collection of various cuisines," besides traditional Mexican fare,
became popular as the people settling here obviously enjoyed eating and
were open to new recipes.
The name of the restaurant was inspired
by the traditional huge, special parties called Fandangos, thrown by rich
families to celebrate major family events. The whole town would be invited,
and were fed on the host's patio traditional Mexican dishes and beef,
while enjoying musical entertainment. Close friends of the family were
fed inside "very elaborate cooking." In
the spirit of the Fandango's of old, live music is offered as entertainment
on Thursday through Sunday, 6:30- 9:30 pm.
Menu
Selections
HISTORY:
The Patriarch of the Machado family,
José Manuel Machado, was one of the first soldiers stationed at the Presidio
of San Diego and one of the first settlers
of Old Town. He was born in 1756 and arrived in San Diego in 1781.
He married a young woman, Serafina
Valdez, aged 20 when he was 53, in an arranged marriage which produced
15 children, who became important people in
the history of San Diego.
After the unfortunate destruction
of one of the Machado family's mansions in 1858, several other businesses
were built on the land over the years. A
billiard saloon, a bakery and then another home were built on this site.
MANIFESTATIONS:
The theory is that one of the Machado
Family's women died in the fire of 1858.
1) A wispy, white female apparition,
dressed in Victorian attire, not in a good mood, either sad or angry,
likes to sit at a darkened corner table near one of the front windows,
only when the window shade is drawn shut as she doesn't like the light.
2) It has also been reported that
this white female apparition, dressed in white Victorian attire, also
likes to float through the various parts of the building, often disappearing
into the walls and doors.
PSYCHIC RESEARCH:
In 1992, William Hauk reports that
some historical investigators did some research and came to the conclusion
that the unhappy entity was a woman Machado
family member who died in the 1858 fire.
STILL HAUNTED?
Yes Indeed.
She doesn't interact or
want to play with the living. She keeps to herself and avoids contact.
Sources: Web-Site * SanDiegoHistory.org * GoThere.com/SanDiego
The National Directory of Haunted Places,
by William Dennis Hauk, 1996.
Some Pictures taken by Tom Carr
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