Anchored two blocks away from the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is one of the neighborhood\u2019s oldest restaurants, where the recipes for chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas and beef tacos haven\u2019t changed in 55 years.
\nLike a museum to its time, Nati\u2019s Mexican Restaurant shows off its longevity on a memorabilia wall containing vintage photographs of staff and customers at a time when Ocean Beach was much sleepier. Interspersed within the arrangement are original menus, media accolades and a photo from the early 1970s of teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy donning a Nati\u2019s T-shirt.
\nBut despite the restaurant\u2019s loyal patronage spanning four generations, a critical piece of its past remains a mystery.
\nLongtime co-owner and general manager Marilyn Thomas says little is known about the restaurant\u2019s original founder, Nati, including her surname and background. “She\u2019s been deceased for many years, and we have no idea prior to 1960 exactly when she opened the restaurant,” says Thomas. Nati sold the business in 1960 to Vern Lontz, who had operated a gift shop on the property for several years. He, too, is deceased. “After selling to Vern, she may have moved to Arizona, but we\u2019re not really sure,” adds Thomas.
\nLontz ran the restaurant until 1973, at which point employee Dennis Kerr and a friend of his took over. When Kerr\u2019s partner eventually left, Thomas stepped in as manager before becoming a stakeholder. “Dennis and I had originally started working at Nati\u2019s at a young age,” Thomas says, “while each attending Point Loma High School and then going through college. We\u2019ve been the owners ever since.”
\nKerr, who became an attorney along the way, is now retired. He lives half the year in Idaho. Thomas, a registered dietitian, earned her degree in food and nutrition from San Diego State University and oversees Nati\u2019s year-round.
\nIn addition to upholding the primary recipes that were established long ago by Nati, the duo has adhered to the operational policies implemented originally by Lontz, who had also added a second dining room, expanded the patio and created a spacious parking lot behind the building during his tenure.
\n“We still bonus our employees and give them paid vacations, which is especially rare in small restaurants,” notes Thomas, adding that a handful of staff have been working at the restaurant for 45 years.
\nNumerous menu draws have remained firmly intact as well. Nati\u2019s is among the few Mexican restaurants in San Diego that uses ground beef in its tacos and burritos, although the kitchen obliges customers requesting the shredded version.
\nThe hand-battered chili rellenos are still made with fresh Anaheim peppers, as opposed to the canned varieties used lately in many other places. And to those who might scoff at the inclusion of lard in refried beans, Nati\u2019s makes no apologies for using it as a traditional flavor booster.
\nCombination plates remain the biggest sellers. They feature two or three items such as tostadas, tamales, burritos and machaca as well as rice and beans. For vegetarians, the No. 7 appeases with a guacamole tostada, a lard-free black bean taco and a cheese enchilada spiked with raw onions.
\nCarnitas are missing from the menu “because we prefer keeping it streamlined with customer favorites,” says Thomas in referring to the restaurant\u2019s spotlight on Angus carne asada marinated in a secret blend of dry-rub spices. The flavorful steak appears prolifically in plates, burritos, tacos and enchiladas.
\nRight down to the four varieties of salsas and the white sauce draping tilapia fish tacos, everything is made in-house, with the exception of tortillas, sourced daily from two different local vendors.
\nA variety of margaritas and boozy coffee drinks are also in the offing, along with beer and wine. Ranking as the most popular libation is the kicky and traditional Puerto Vallarta margarita, constructed with a shot and a half of Cuervo Gold tequila. The drink list extends also to “Kahlua Coladas” and “Tequila Roses.”
\nIn one form or another, Nati\u2019s celebrates its birthday every year, although at milestones such as this, Thomas says, “We\u2019re doing something each month throughout the year.”
\nCurrently, a raffle is running until the end of June that gives customers a chance at winning a Nati\u2019s meal certificate worth $25. Upcoming drawings and specials are posted on the restaurant\u2019s Facebook page and Twitter account.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Anchored two blocks away from the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier is one of the neighborhood\u2019s oldest restaurants, where the recipes for chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas and beef tacos haven\u2019t changed in 55 years. Like a museum to its time, Nati\u2019s Mexican Restaurant shows off its longevity on a memorabilia wall containing vintage photographs of staff […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":258146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Nati\u2019s Mexican Restaurant has been serving Ocean Beach for 55 years","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}