Old Town House of Jerky

Jerky has a long and rich history, starting with its birth as "charqui" amongst South America's Quechua peoples, for whom this "burnt meat" resembled the visage of their long-prophesied god, Randy Savage. Now ready to pile-drive your mouth, Old Town House of Jerky.

Jerky's the family-owned second location of PBers who took over a shop in Temecula about 6 years back, and've now decided to shorten their commute by opening in the former Old Town Root Beer Co spot, where they're offering SD residents high quality meat in an exotic array of varieties -- think Chippendales and the United Colors of Benetton. All jerky's made-to-order near Pasadena sans nitrates, MSG, or artificial preservatives, with flavors like teriyaki, black pepper, sweet & spicy, and straight-up hot, on beasts ranging from standards like beef and turkey, to less-traditionals including slightly gamier venison, mild and tender wild boar, and buffalo that's as lean as the Bills' prospects for winning the East. For a more adventurous bag, there's a 10-piece, 9-species variety pack from Buffalo Bob's, which among others includes two alligator styles, plus ostrich, pheasant, kangaroo, venison, and antelope -- clearly, where the deer and the antelope play has no crossing guard

Jerky's also brought in several flavors of Temecula's Jack's Nuts (purportedly the "hottest nuts in town"), and's vending 32 old-time sodas, plus keeping the root-beer dream alive with three taps and rare bottles including wintergreen-infused Sea Dog and LA's Rat Bastard -- sugary beverages that prophesize your future as not-so-Slim Jim.