Another day, another Pizza Hut-turned-Mexican joint. This one, Don Jose in Colonial Heights, VA, submitted by Nikki, got a pretty nice paint job with crazy shit painted in the windows. Or else there is just a volcano in there. Either way, fun!
Of course, all of you culturally aware readers of this blog are familiar with Don Jose, the namesake of this fine place. Don Jose was, obviously, the Corporal of Dragoons (played by Paul Lherie in the original 1875 cast) in the four-act opera by the French composer Georges Bizet. While the critical reception was mixed in the first New York performance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1884, the audience slowly came around and it was soon incorporated into the Met's regular repertory.
Bah I'm just kidding. It was probably named for one of the owner's uncles or something because "El Pollo Loco" was already taken.
