June 17, 2021:
We had our secret parking lot. Twiggs at Juan. There were always spots, no matter how crowded with lost tourists.
Old Town was for us entirely about Lino's. Inexpensive family Italian. For Mexican we had Margarita's or Consuelo's in Ocean Beach. I don't think we ever went to Bandini's or Casa de Pico. I have no memory of ever being there with her. For us it was all about Lino's, and as I write this I can taste the antipasto, and see her thin and vibrant across the table, a charming image which makes me smile.
I had an epic drunk at Lino's. Schoolgirls and schoolboys, a summer home from college. Where friends visited, and the waitress brought bottle after bottle, long after closing.
That space is now a curio shop for tourists, selling loudly colorful items. Lino's is gone. Bandini's is gone, Casa de Pico is gone, for reasons unclear, except that all things change, whether they should be allowed to or not.