I remember Jon and the great food he made at that little hole in the wall, yeah I can still remember my first 'Strawburrito' I had there one day, his son worked at the Tam Valley Bell Market about 15 years ago, I think it was still Cala Foods then, I miss Jon and remember well his collection of rolling stock by 101 near Horse Hill.
My friends, with whom I had hung out at Jon's Food To Go for years, decided to open a burrito shop in another part of the state in the mid-80s. Considering that Jon made the best burritos (quite unlike the typical burrito of the following decades), they decided to approach Jon, retired and still living across the freeway in Alto (his was the house you could see from the freeway with the old RV and boats and miscellaneous stuff that today's yuppies would have complained about and have him run out of town) to get his secret recipe. He charged them a lot, took them to LA where he had got his start at El Tepeyac, and revealed that it was mainly cheap pizza sauce and deep fried pork! (Remember, his menu always said "meat" with no further detail). We all thought that was pretty funny.
Jon... and Jon's Food to Go (where Lucinda's is now) were wonderful but Jon was quick to (kiddingly) point out when someone asked for a Mexican fast food item not on the menu....."This is NOT a Mexican food place. Do you see a sign that says Mexican ? No, You don't" He was a great guy.
Best value; His giant plate of french fries for a quarter.
The best fast food (circa 1969) was Jon's Food to Go near Stawberry Shopping Center. Jon was a short Japanese man from Los Angeles who made Mexican food, mostly flat burritos on a plate. Favorites included the "Sausarito" and the "Strawburrito." I can still taste 'em, and this was before the burrito craze hit Marin. He'd put your own stuff in a burrito if you brought the special ingredients, but he finally became annoyed with us bringing all sorts of super-hot jalapenos and avocadoes, so one day he made me a burrito that had nothing in it but what I had brought in!
I have pictures of Jon and the place that I'll track down.
