Oh my god! I can't believe I forgot to post about this. Most of you probably already know, but Joe Marty's El Chico burned down early saturday morning. Here's the story in the Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/13132320p-13976417c.html For those of you who don't know, Joe Marty's was opened in 1938 (the same year the Tower opened) by a hometown baseball hero.
I went around to investigate the scene on saturday morning (so that I could keep my loyal readers informed) and there were charred napkins littering the street. Employees of the Tower theater are holding on the one of the last menus in hopes that it will become a collector's item. The bar may be salvageable, which is good news. I like that bar. All the baseball memorabilia was saved. The restaurant is toast, however. I have only eaten there a few times and I may have mentioned before that the cleanliness level kind of grossed me out. The cook appeared to be in ill health and to have only a passing acquaintance with soap and water. And it figures that a bug bomb would have set off the fire. I wouldn't be surprised if they were skirmishing with vermin quite often back there. You know what this means, though. No more pizza burrito. Please feel free to share your El Chico memories with me.
"Broadway Comics and Cards, next door to Joe Marty's, survived the fire, but much of the shop's inventory has taken on a smoky smell, hurting its value, according to owner Wilson Lew."
ReplyDeleteThanks comic shop guy from the Simpsons.
6 years ago, right before I moved from U St, I was frequenting all the neigborhood businesses one last time. I went to Joe Marty's to get a pizza burrito around 9:30 PM and, when the guy gave it to me, he said "the new owners take over tomorrow & they're discontinuing the pizza burito. You got the last one". I probably should've had it mounted. Ed told me that they may have reinstated a version of the pizza burrito but that he heard it's not up to it's former glory.
Also, my sister hung around the, shall we say, "wrong crowd" in high school & I always heard that owner dude Dave Garabay's name mentioned by her. Come to think of it, that dude was born with a skipping school & drinking name.
miller
We used to get a 50 percent tradeout with Joe Marty's many years back, and I don't remember it ever being very good...I know there are many who will miss the broasted chicken, though. And the word "broasted" in general.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the Fire Department is claiming that the blaze wasn't set off from a bug bomb hitting a flourescent light. Apparently, it was a gas fire, so rumor has it around 16th and B'Way that some foul play may have occured. Particularly since all the memorabilia was saved. But anyways, the Tower theater is closed today and might also be closed tomorrow because of the smoky smell in the theaters. I'm expecting conspiracy theories to abound.
ReplyDeleteBrew
I just want to get this in writing so I'll look smart later, but I predict the Tower theater will burn down some day. I have heard bad things about the wiring and I was actually working there when it did catch on fire a few years back. I think the wiring is circa 1938, too.
ReplyDeleteI remember how I was grossed out by the pizza sauce on the walls above my table, maybe 12 years ago, and how that sauce NEVER went away in the intervening time. It got to be a thing, you know? Look for the sauce. Check, sauce is still there, getting a little more brown, but still going strong. I was always scared of that pizza burrito. Aside from Jamaica House, El Chico might have been voted 'Dirtiest Restaurant on Broadway'. I did like their iceberg lettuce salads and their pizza however. R.I.P. you ol' broaster!
ReplyDeleteElla
"Remember The Alhambra"
ReplyDeleteBecks, if the theater burns down now, it leaves open the possibility that you made it happen with your mind, a la "Firestarter"...I'm just saying.
ReplyDeleteI want to go on the record and say that I have never started any fires with my mind. My mental powers are more attuned to making hot girls clothes fall off a la the movie "Zapped".
ReplyDeletei just want to say that when i first started working at the tower theater (about three years ago) no one ever wanted to eat at joe marty's. i don't remember how i eventually convinced someone to order from there with me, but eventually i tried and was real into it. for awhile whenever we got pizza it would be undercooked. and i think joel got real sick from eating an undercooked pizza burritto. in the last few months the food kept getting better and better every time i went there. the last meal i had were some chicken strips. they were an appetizer and didn't come with broasted potatos, so i ordered some on the side, and bless the waitress' heart, she gave them to me for free. their burgers were the best in the downtown area too. yes better than nationwide.
ReplyDeleter.i.p. el broasted chico burritto marty's.
-cody.
Now I regret having NOT gone to Joe Martys after Jays birthday. One last time. I remember getting super excited about the Tues pizza/beer deal until we actually ate the pizza. It was a one time only situation. I did sample the broasted chicken once and it was good. RIP, El Chico.
ReplyDeleteTess
Becky, thanks for making me think about Zapped. I will rent it. Netflixxx!
ReplyDeletecody- thanks for the nice comment- from the waitress at Joe Martys
ReplyDeleteMy question is does the El Chico pizza recipe still exist?
ReplyDeletePerhaps Michael sampino could bring back the pizza.
I love pizza and I've got to say it was the hardiest most delicious pizza I have ever eaten in my life.
Does anybody know if the recipe for El Chico's Pizza still exists?