By David Nelson
In the 19th century, the Casa de Bandini, as it was then known, was the residence of Juan Bandini and his family. Bandini built the original adobe in 1827, and was known as a gracious host who loved to formally entertain. He reputedly had quite the ear for music and introduced the waltz to the little settlement on the edge of the Pacific. (Cinco de Mayo wasn’t an occasion for margaritas and guacamole in Bandini’s day.)
The state of California is the building’s landlord, and the structure has periodically expanded over the decades. It now includes a number of hotel rooms on the second floor, and recently the state invested several million dollars to rehabilitate it. Today, mid-Victorian era period pieces grace the elaborate dining room and are reflected in staffers’ costumes. Tread thoughtfully upon the highly polished floor boards, because they contain remnants of Bandini’s original flooring.
Operated by a partnership that includes the founder of the TinFish chain, The Cosmopolitan presents three meals daily, supplemented on Sundays by a brunch menu that extends from all-American flap jacks to a scramble of chorizo and eggs with tortillas and the restaurant’s own, fire-roasted salsa. This is typical of the restaurant’s other menus, which offer both contemporary fare and south of the border-style preparations, some listed as “Juan Bandini’s Favorites” (a heading that earns a chuckle from those who know that fajitas were invented in Texas several decades ago and would have been unknown to Bandini and his fellow townsmen). On the other hand, the carne asada with nopales (cactus) and grilled onions might well have been everyday cooking when Old Town was known simply as “San Diego,” as would be true of the pollo asado, or roasted chicken served with white beans and roasted squash.
The Cosmopolitan is a good destination at lunch hour, when all Old Town attractions are open and sunshine streams through tall windows edged in fringed Victorian draperies. The food can be sunny, too, like an appetizer of albacore tartare served with crushed avocado and crisp flatbread. The optional chips and salsa are inevitable in Old Town, but they’re satisfying if you decide to splurge on a margarita or one of the inventive house cocktails. Local flavors resonate in the sopes (thick cups of masa dough) filled with shredded carnitas and decorated with avocado and sour cream. It’s a very satisfying dish, and with a cup of the days’ soup, quite sufficient for lunch.
The Waldorf Salad was created in New York around the time The Cosmopolitan became a hotel (the latter part of the 19th century), and that this rich arrangement of poached chicken with apples, walnuts and grapes remains popular today is no surprise. To find it in Old Town is something of a surprise, and the kitchen turns in a satisfying performance with this classic. On the lighter side, the menu offers a grilled vegetable salad, a grilled Romaine salad (both can be garnished with a choice of meats or seafood at additional cost), and a spinach salad garnished with bacon, egg and a creamy poppy seed dressing.
The Cosmopolitan meets San Diego’s preference for seafood with lunch entrées like a grilled mahi sandwich—a straightforward presentation dressed with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce, and garnished with french fries—and a none-too-local plate of fish andchips. On the dressier side, mussels and clams are steamed with bold seasonings of spicy linguica sausage and preserved lemon, and served with a salsa verde.
There also are fried fish tacos garnished convincingly with cabbage, salsa fresca and white sauce, just as they are at some of the stands near the Ensenada fish market. Besides the pollo asada and carne asada mentioned earlier, the menu offers a full plate of carnitas, here interpreted as pork slowly braised with orange and chilies. The plate is finished Baja-style with plenty of garnishes, and everything is served in abundance. It would be unthinkable for an Old Town restaurant not to offer a burger, and the Meyer Ranch patty served here is dressed with Cheddar and grilled onions and sided with a mound of herbed fries.
Desserts include elegant indulgences, such as chocolate soufflé and warm, individual-sized apple tarts, but the choice that echoes the neighborhood’s flavor most closely is the plate of churros, fried crisp, coated with cinnamon and sugar and served with a cup of melted Mexican chocolate for the ultimate in dunking.
