Mary had a little lamb a la Tchaikovsky
Garrett Harris 10:11 p.m., May 23
Downtown San Diego Stories
Maizbaan cooks up one hot stew
Maizbaan’s Pakistani cuisine is so good, Ed returns days later for another meal.
We spend every dime on our costumes
Some don't do it for the money.
Interviews with women of the San Diego burlesque scene/business.
What 4th&B will be
John Lyons, one of the owners of the venue who will take over 4th&B, has an unusual challenge. He will be competing for business with the nearby House of Blues, a chain he cofounded with ...
Lords of the Drink
The art of the sip.
Alchemy's Ricardo Heredia, Noble Experiment's Anthony Schmidt, and the U.S. Grant's Jeff Josenhans share their glass art.
Seaport Village adventurer
A young boy did some exploring to pass the time while his parents sold jewelry and craft items on the sidewalk next to Seaport Village on April 23. The parents, who preferred not to give ...
Federal Jazz Project time travels at the Rep
The good news about the Rep’s Federal Jazz Project: music lovers unfamiliar with the name Gilbert Castellanos are in for a surprise, maybe even an epiphany. The San Diegan’s a world-class trumpet player who can ...
Redefining awesome
4th&B may reopen as an electronic dance music nightclub
The 4th&B concert hall was forced to close in December following the eviction of business owners Vince and Judy Puma. The Pumas were hit by lawsuits from building owner Crown Investments and former owner Ali ...
Courthouse sanitized for hard-to-treat bacteria
Possible colony on Broadway, downtown
Department 3 at the downtown San Diego Courthouse (220 Broadway) reopened April 3 after closing the previous day for a second-round of disinfecting. This followed a working sheriff’s deputy’s report she had a contagious “staph” ...
Jimbo’s to take Mervyns spot in Horton Plaza
A long way from People’s
Jimbo's, the natural food chain that got its start in North Park in 1984 and sold the North Park store in 1997, has signed the lease on a 28,000 sq. ft. property downtown at the ...
The Stout's Brasser
If Ireland truly is the Island of Saints and Scholars, then Brothers McCullough, Dan and Nate — the Stout Public House’s own scholars of the dram and ounce — have canonized St. Germain liqueur into ...
William Heath Davis House reimbursed by city council
$9000 scared up for “ghostly” Gaslamp museum
The Gaslamp Museum/William Heath Davis House downtown has been refurbished. The San Diego City Council on February 26 approved $9000 to reimburse the museum for some overdue improvements. The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation manages the ...
Rockefeller style at Spike Africa's
Ed kills by eating
Ed kills an oyster at Spike Africa’s, in the Gaslamp District. He also learns about Spike Africa, the man.
Katsuya's Pucker Up
When it comes to holidays, few lead to such controversy as Valentine’s Day. He thinks the day is only for her — she thinks it’s for both of them. Discussion ensues, shifts into a debate, ...
Convention center expansion would build into a glut
It stinks
Downtown overlords and labor want to rewrite federal, state, and local laws to build a Convention Center expansion into the teeth of a perfect storm.
Ue Kara Grill takes sushi beyond the California roll
Ed kicks himself for not visiting Chef Arturo sooner.
Costumed attendees share audience with San Diego Symphony
Steampunk warms to high society
San Diego started 2013 in style and grace with a fantastic "Salute to Vienna" concert at Copley Symphony Hall. The Strauss Symphony of America performed elegant pieces that included waltzes, polkas, and Die Fladermaus while ...
4th & beyond
With the court’s recent 4th&B verdict, will Public Enemy still take the stage at the downtown venue on December 12?
Horton Plaza Project Approved, but Planned Art Unfunded
The San Diego City Council on November 13 unanimously approved authorization to “advertise, bid, award, and construct” the multimillion-dollar Horton Plaza Improvement Project. The council acted in its role as the successor agency to the ...
Queen Cheese
The Cheese Shop doesn’t specialize in cheese, they were too embarrassed to tell Mr. Cleese.
New Agency Head Touts Centre City Development Corp.
The San Diego City Council on October 23 unanimously approved the mayor's appointment of Jeff Graham as Civic San Diego's new president. Graham had been vice president of redevelopment at the disbanded Centre City Development ...
Pharmacy Identifies Pill Thief
Shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, October 22, the San Diego Police Department received a report of a robbery from the Sixth Avenue Pharmacy, located at 2121 Fifth Avenue, downtown. By 3:15, half a dozen ...
More Than the Dish or the Deal
Restaurants you can take to heart.
There are some places that you kinda take to heart. They’re more than the dish or the deal. Something clicks about the people and the place, and you want to come back and be a part of it. These are just some.
Restaurants for Hardworking Foodie Freelancers
A roundup of eateries that are open when you, the hardworking foodie freelancer, need them to be.
First Lutheran Church of San Diego
Interview with Wilbert “Wilk” Miller of First Lutheran Church of San Diego, in its 125th year.
Fight Breaks Out at House of Blues Hives Show
The Hives, a Swedish rock band, performed at the House of Blues downtown on the evening of Monday, October 8. Toward the end of their raucous set, a fight broke out in front of the ...
No Glowing Review on Hotel Sandford’s Renovation
The renovation of the Hotel Sandford at 1301 Fifth Avenue is complete. (click here to see article from 2010). I dropped by unannounced on September 22 to take a look. While the hotel interior looks ...
Vigil for Ambassador Stevens in downtown San Diego
A group of Arab Americans held a candlelight vigil downtown at Fourth and Broadway on the evening of September 15. The event was billed as an "Emergency Vigil in Honor of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens,” ...
Sonoma County Supervisor Arrested at Downtown Nightclub
It wasn’t the first time this year that someone left a rap concert downtown on a stretcher. What made the Labor Day brawl unusual was the identity of one of the players. Not Rayan Jastaniyah, ...
Unconscious Woman at Bus Stop
Shortly after 2 p.m. on September 3, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department paramedics and a Rural/Metro ambulance responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious female at Fourth Avenue and Broadway. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found ...
Magic Tacos
Fond Comic-Con memories and a cod-taco plate at Tin Fish Gaslamp.
“First time I came here, the streets were for sailors and streetwalkers.”
No Witnesses as Car Hits Pedestrians Near Downtown Library
Two female pedestrians were struck by a car and injured in a crosswalk at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and E Street at approximately 5:30 p.m. on August 13. The victims, believed to have been ...
Smartphone Thief Busted at Horton Plaza
On July 26, three uniformed San Diego police officers, their supervisor, and a detective responded to a theft report near Horton Plaza to investigate another in a series of ten to fifteen mobile-phone thefts in ...
“Safe Access Now!” Shout Pro-Pot Protesters at Downtown Rally
An estimated 50 people showed up in front of the downtown Federal Courthouse on Wednesday, July 25, to protest the closing of medical marijuana dispensaries countywide. The rally, held at noon, was directed against federal ...
Onyx Room's French Martini
There’s a fine line that Onyx Room bartenders walk between time and taste. According to Onyx Room bartender Nathan Colonero, this nightclub’s bartenders pride themselves on being able to deliver smart concoctions and efficient service. ...
Our Generation
“Urban India, in places like Mumbai — Bombay — is going Vadoosh! You’d say ‘Kaboom!’”
What’s with this “Urban” thing? There’s “Urbn,” the bar-eatery in North Park, “Urban Eats” on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, and now “Urban India,” near the Gaslamp. I noticed it walking down Fourth toward Broadway the ...
Sheryl Oring to Stimulate Dialogue at Lindbergh Field
The newspaper business, not to mention the art world, has come to this: a former reporter and editor with the San Francisco Chronicle and copy editor with the New York Times turned performance artist has ...
Man Under Amtrak Train Sought Readmission to Mental Hospital
San Diego police arrived at the Santa Fe Depot on Kettner Boulevard at about 12:40 a.m. on April 11, after an Amtrak employee called 911 to report a man sitting on the rails underneath a ...
Hard Rock Gives It Away Now
Since October of last year, the Hard Rock Hotel has hosted a once-a-month concert featuring headliners that would normally play Casbah or Belly Up. And the shows are free. The Soundcheck concert series is held ...
Redeveloped Ethics
The Downtown San Diego Partnership, a pro-redevelopment lobbying group run by Kris Michell, ex–chief of staff to GOP mayors Susan Golding and Jerry Sanders, quietly settled up with the City’s Ethics Commission last month. Seems ...
A New Gaijin-neration
I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard about Gaijin Noodle + Sake House. Taken literally, the word “gaijin” means “foreigner.” In actual usage, it means “non-Japanese.” But growing up in Hawaii, “gaijin,” ...
Full-On Party at Athens Market
“We never ask for anything in particular. Rosie just brings us what she feels like.”
"Kurios arene,” says Dave Rawley. He’s a Bible scholar carrying three heavy, worn Bibles. At least one’s in classical Greek. He’s been sitting and studying them over his Greek chicken, in the corner of the ...
Stout Public House
Being a hockey fan in San Diego is like being a cow tipper in Delhi, which is to say, lonely. Sure, despite their Cool Runnings disadvantage (watch the movie), the Gulls were an impressive flock ...
Wyland’s Downtown Whaling Wall Threatened by High-Rise
Construction has begun on the Ariel Suite Apartments, a 22-story downtown development in the parking lot of the U.S. Bank (formerly San Diego National Bank) building at the corner of Kettner and Beech. An artist's ...
Downtown Affordable Housing Project Likely to Languish for Lack of Funds
“The Atmosphere” low-income apartment complex planned for the long-abandoned Cortez “hole” site may not be built. The nonprofit Wakeland Housing & Development Corporation is the developer. Wakeland previously purchased the dirt-filled site, then resold it ...
Gelati Rainbow
“We brought these Oscartielle machines from Italy. We wanted this to be real.”
It’s the word that stops me. A new word on the awning of this old place. “Cremalose.” Huh? This is the San Diego Hardware building. The 100-year-old curved-glass windows of what was once a Woolworth’s ...
Clean and Safe Hires a Consultant
In 2009, a few downtown residents discovered that they, along with over 2600 other downtown property owners, had been overcharged by the property and business improvement district in which they lived. The assessment district, also ...
