There was neither Miller Lite nor Spotted Cow anywhere to be found. But watching the Green Bay Packers game this past weekend at El Prez Mexican Restaurant in San Diego more than made up for the lackluster performance we saw on television.
My family was lucky enough to spend the week at a vacation rental on Mission Beach in San Diego, and one of the first things I needed to scope out was where we were going to be able to watch the Packers take on the New York Jets. A cursory Google search, followed by stops at Yelp, Trip Advisor, Reddit, and, of course, PackersEverywhere.com, led us to decide that El Prez was a hotspot for Green Bay fans. Fortunately, it was within walking distance of where we were staying. When we initially planned this trip over the summer, the expectations for each team were quite different than the current state of affairs, and that naivete about how the game would transpire carried all the way up until kickoff.
And how could it not? Watching the Packers play at 10 a.m. local time was a novel concept. Nothing on El Prez’s website would lead the average person to have any idea that the second level of the restaurant would transform into a green-and-gold slice of heaven on Packers gameday. Walking into the restaurant wouldn’t give it away, either. The grin on my face stretched ear to ear when I saw exactly where I’d be spending the next few hours.
The real estate adage is a familiar one — location, location, location — and El Prez checked off every box. The second level had much more of a sports bar feel, with a large, centralized rectangle bar in the center flanked by a bank of TVs on each side. The walls were adorned by Packers paraphernalia — banners, pennants, flags, and more — to make sure all the cheeseheads knew they were in the right space.
And then, there’s the view. It’s one thing to bundle up in ice fishing bibs and your finest parka to watch a game in the Frozen Tundra. It’s another to have a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean as you get set to watch the Green and Gold. Two sides of the second floor are lined with open-air windows, giving you not only the majesty of the waves rolling in but the sounds and smells of the fresh ocean breeze as well.
The menu wasn’t particularly Wisconsin-centric, but our crew welcomed the offerings of pancakes, carne asada breakfast burritos, and biscuits and gravy because we were there during prime brunching hours. We grabbed some nachos with fresh pico de gallo, avocado sauce, and delicious carne asada that put any Wisconsin nacho offering to shame. Our server also informed us that they indeed had cheese curds available.
By the letter of the law, they were cheese curds in that they were fried and battered nuggets of cheese that could be dipped in marinara and ranch. The most delicious part was getting them over 2,100 miles from Green Bay.
The raucous crowd engaged in a hearty “Go Pack Go” chant in the leadup to kickoff. Unfortunately, that was about all there was to cheer about in this particular contest. The blocked punt drew more surprise than anything, and the first-half field goal was applauded. At least the in-house DJ who helped to fill dead time during commercials knew how to play the hits, dropping in a club remix of the FOX NFL theme music, a steady flow of Jock Jams, and, directly after a Jets score, a much-welcomed rendition of “The Bears Still Suck.”
Approximately 75% of the patrons had on some sort of Packers gear, which led to easy conversation between those with midwestern sensibilities, engaging in the customary “Where are you from? Wausau? Oh yeah, I’ve got a cousin that lives there” type of pleasantries that Wisconsinites are famous for. We had a rogue San Francisco 49ers fan, a man in a Buffalo Bills jersey, and a vintage Dallas Cowboys Deion Sanders jersey. But, make no mistake, this was a Packers bar.
I certainly haven’t sought out locations like this for too many other teams. I’d venture to say that this type of situation is unique to fans of the Green Bay Packers. The game was horrendous, but I couldn’t be happier to have discovered a little paradise of Packers fandom at El Prez in San Diego. I have no idea if I’ll ever make it back out there, much less for a Packers gameday. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend the experience to anyone traveling to the Mission Beach area. And if you find yourself in an unfamiliar city on game day, check to see if there’s a Packers bar nearby. A little bit of Green Bay might be closer than you think.
