With a long, snaking line bisecting the main restaurant at the Chula Vista Golf Course as guests waited their turn to taste the creamy concoctions from Paciugo Gelato and Cafe, many found it difficult to get around for Monday’s annual Taste of Bonita. But drawing a crowd — an estimated 450 attended — was a good thing for the event’s beneficiary: the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center.
“The Taste of Bonita is our largest single event fundraiser of the year,” said Mary Oswell, the museum’s acting director. “It’s very important to our continued success.”
Few might know that a railroad operated in the area during the early years of the 1900s, with the Sweetwater Dam a tourist attraction for citizens of San Diego. The railroad went as far south as Otay. But all was lost in the great flood of 1916.
The museum has operated independently of the Bonita Business and Professional Association since 1993 and houses invaluable historical exhibits. Oswell, in fact, has written a book, “Images of America — Bonita.”
Nearly 20 South Bay restaurants participated in Monday’s event, with seafood, pasta, pork ribs, short rib tacos, salads, desserts, appetizers and buttery breadsticks complementing the lemon Greek chicken and teriyaki beef and broccoli served by Chula Vista Golf Course’s own chef Eric Pineda.
For more information on the museum, call 267-5141.
Did you taste this year’s Taste of Bonita?
Participating restaurants:
Chula Vista Golf Course
Bonita Golf Course
Boston Market
Pat & Osca’s
Via Lago Trattoria
Trader Joe’s
Paciugo Gelato & Cafe
Global Coffee Sidewalk Cafe
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Romesco’s
Brigantine
Subway
Henry’s Market
Costco Warehouse-Rancho del Rey
Applebee’s
Starbucks
Villa Bonita
Miguel’s Eastlake Cocina
Ranchwood Catering
