Hussong's

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Hussong's Cantina
Hussongs.PNG
Hussong's Cantina
Hussong's
Interactive map of Hussong's Cantina
Restaurant information
Established1892
LocationAvenida Ruiz 113, Ensenada, Baja California, 22800, Mexico
Coordinates 31°51′55″N116°37′42″W / 31.86528°N 116.62833°W / 31.86528; -116.62833
Other locationsLas Vegas, Nevada, US

Hussong's Cantina is the oldest and best known cantina in Baja California, Mexico. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The original Hussong's is located in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, and was established in 1892. [1] [2] [4] [5] The second Hussong's Cantina opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 2010.

Hussong's is reputedly the place where the Margarita was created in October 1941 by bartender Don Carlos Orozco. [4] [5] [6] He concocted a mixture of equal parts tequila, damiana (Cointreau is used now) and lime, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass for Margarita Henkel, daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico. [4]

History

Hussong's founder, John Hussong, was born as "Johann" in Landau, Germany in 1863. [7] Johann emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1888, and changed his name to John. [4] [5] In 1889, the discovery of gold south of the border lured John to Ensenada. [4] John made a living hunting and trading supplies up and down the Baja coast. In June 1891, while on a trading expedition to El Arco, John's carriage flipped over, and his companion, Newt House, fractured his leg. [4] John brought Newt to recuperate at Meiggs' Bar, which back then, was Ensenada's only watering hole. [4] Two days after John and Newt arrived at the bar, Meiggs attacked his wife with an axe. When Meiggs was sent to jail, his wife fled to California. [4] When he got out of jail, Meiggs went in search of his wife, and asked John to mind the bar until he returned. Neither Meiggs nor his wife ever returned. [4]

Inside the cantina (1999) Hussongs inside.PNG
Inside the cantina (1999)

After operating the bar for nearly a year, John purchased and remodeled the building across the street, which was a Southern Lane stage coach stop that bookended the route between Los Angeles and Ensenada. [4] In 1892 he obtained an alcohol license and started operating the John Hussong Bar. His license is still #002 and the building is still located on Ruiz Avenue. Today, Hussong's Cantina is in the same building in which it was founded and little has changed since it opened. [5]

Hussong's Cantina opened its second location in January 2010, on the Las Vegas strip, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. [8] [9]

References

  1. 1 2 Niemann, Greg (2002). Baja Legends. Sunbelt Publications. pp. 114–116.
  2. 1 2 Peterson, Walt (2006). The Baja Adventure Book (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. pp. 101–102.
  3. ↑ Lieber, Sara (2007). MTV Best of Mexico. Wiley Publishing, Inc. p. 349.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 De Mancillas, Gloria (1992). Seminario de Historia De Baja California (in Spanish).{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hazard, Ann (2002). Agave Sunsets, Treasured Tales of Baja. Renegade Enterprises. pp. 157–160.
  6. ↑ Lieber, Sara (2007). MTV Best of Mexico. Wiley Publishing, Inc. p. 349.
  7. ↑ "The Early Days". hussongslasvegas.com.
  8. ↑ Clarke, Norm (January 21, 2010). "Man Survives crash, opens new cantina". Las Vegas Review Journal.
  9. ↑ Leach, Robin (January 22, 2010). "Counter Intelligence: An inspirational moment at Hussong's Cantina". Las Vegas Sun.
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