Bare brick walls, faux fur bear skin rugs, green velvet booths, copper-painted bar top... I’m stealing glances at the scenery of soon-to-be-opened Madam Bonnie’s while I chat with all-smiles bar manager Dakota Godden. “Madam Bonnie …
May 26, 2022
A drink named for Valentina Ramírez, a soldier in the Mexican revolution
2022 Comic-Con goings-on: visit Toro, House of Blues, American Junkie, and other nightclubs for theme parties
Four-day Comic-Con passes run over $200 and are harder to find than a Vulcan jokebook, but several more accessible Con-themed events are happening off-site. Wednesday, July 20 will feature the Superheroes and Villains theme party …
July 14, 2022
Gonzo Report: Westgate bar is sonically sweet, inspired by Versailles
It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the Westgate Hotel, which takes up the bulk of a downtown city block at the corner of Broadway and Second Avenue. Opened in 1970, …
July 14, 2022
Chiefy Café now serves yogurt waffles all over town
A favorite, dog-friendly coffeeshop that emerged during the pandemic has quickly grown into a three-location dog-friendly family of coffeeshops. Chiefy Café — named after its owners’ dog — opened just shy of two years ago …
October 27, 2022
Gaslamp ugly sweater pub crawl, Coronado ice skating, Nutcracker tea party, Del Mar Red Nose Run
December Nights Balboa Park Join your fellow citizens on December 2 and 3 for the City of San Diego’s largest free holiday festival in beautiful Balboa Park. The family friendly event brings San Diegans together …
No DUI deaths in San Diego Thanksgiving weekend
On the recent Thanksgiving weekend, 44 driving under the influence (DUI) arrests were made and reported within San Diego County, per CrimeMapping.com. However, as this article went to print, no DUI fatality reports were made …
December 12, 2022
Zama’s Zama-Tini: a pomegranate martini mixed with tamarind memories
“Bienvenida a la selva,” reads a neon green sign inside one of Gaslamp’s newest restaurants, Zama. Greeting me with an exuberant smile, Bar Manager Gerry Bedolla explains, “That’s our theme here, our vibe. Our concept …
January 12, 2023
Confessions of a 70s/80s San Diego grindhouse theater projectionist
The pre-Gaslamp, premultiplex downtown of 1979 exists today only in the fond memories of cinemaniacs old enough to recall a time when Jaws made you afraid of the water, Friday the 13th made you afraid …
How will the Padres fix Gallagher Square?
Daniel Hendy, in his book Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening, writes of the aural confusion in an airport terminal, “its burbled announcements, the steady tread of feet on linoleum floors, the squeak …
August 23, 2023
Cerveza Jack’s Chai Spiced & Everything Nice: a rich-yet-refreshing drink that tastes like vanilla Coke
Taylor Giangola“I haven’t got an official name yet,” says Cerveza Jack’s Bar Lead & Manager Taylor Giangola, giving me an advance tasting of this month’s newest cocktail creation. “It’ll probably be ‘Chai Spiced and Everything …
November 2, 2023