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TOP GUN San Diego BBQ restaurant burns to the ground

June 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Photo Credit: Montykins.com

In a health conscious city known for sushi and sprouts, it is next to impossible to find good barbecue in San Diego. Last week’s blaze that gutted the Kansas City Barbeque cut locals’ chances for good ribs in half. (I don’t count Tony Roma’s.)

The fire started Thursday in an open cooking pit. In spite of a cook’s attempts to reign in the flare-up, the fire spread quickly to the rest of the restaurant’s interior. The inferno started around 2:15 pm and lasted for 20 minutes. San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque said the landmark restaurant is “destroyed.”

No one was hurt in the restaurant which is located near Seaport Village and Petco Park. Padres fans attending an afternoon game sepnt more time looking at the billowing clouds of smoke than they did their favorite baseball players.

While not as good as rival Phil’s Barbecue, the ribs were passable and the crowds lively. The local eatery gained fame as a top tourist attraction after it had a starring role as the location for the self-proclaimed “sleazy bar scene” in the inexorable Tom Cruise no-brainer Top Gun.

The structural damages, estimated at $400,000, do not include the value of the film’s original memorabilia that adorned the walls. That would probably bring the costs up to $400,010.

There is talk of rebuilding, but what am I going to do in the meantime without the delectable L. Ron Hubbard Pulled Pork Plate?

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