Being Gringo – The Corner :: East Village San Diego

No two ways about it, The Gringos love The Corner. If either of us lived in San Diego’s East Village, we’d absolutely make it a regular haunt.

East Village has that slick metropolitan feel you often find in the down town areas of America’s great cities. The Corner takes that metro vibe and adds an industrial angle to create a fabulous urban interpretation of the classic American burger joint. For all that styling, though, it’s utterly chill and totally inviting. They themselves describe it as built “for the neighbors, by the neighbors” – a great founding philosophy.

We wouldn’t say their food and drink offerings are particularly inventive, per se, so much as gently original reinterpretations of American classics. But they’re flawlessly executed, with fresh and flavorful ingredients, and they deliver great value. Burgers and cocktails tend to run $10 to $12, beers are $4 to $6, wines are about $8 a glass. Pretty fair. Also, we love that they source their produce and meats from small, responsible, family owned growers. That’s just good karma.

I enjoyed their Jalapeno burger with a Firehouse Pale. It was exactly what a burger should be: a little too big, a little too juicy, and ‘not for the faint of heart’ according to their menu. But I’m a Gringo, yo. ‘Faint” is not in my vocabulary; I annihilated that burger with mad flourish. Joel tore up their delicious Corner Sliders with a Yellowtail Pale — he didn’t talk much, but he cleared his plate and drained his glass in like 30 seconds. Pretty much self explanatory. He was clearly in a state of Gringo bliss.

All-in-all, we give them 44 million Gringo Points because this place represents the Essence of Gringo. First time a score like that has ever happened. God bless Gringo, and God bless The Corner. We can’t wait to get back.

(Quick note: Firehouse Brewing Company is a San Diego brewery, and Yellowtail is produced by Ballast Point Brewing Company, also in San Diego. We’ll be featuring them in upcoming segments. Stay tuned.)

For more details, see below:

The Corner
369 10TH Avenue, San Diego, CA
Phone: (619) 531-8804
www.thecornersd.com
Twitter: @cornerlounge
facebook.com/TheCornerSanDiego