Duke Cunningham Can't Have Gun
Don Bauder 9:47 p.m., May 25
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Stories by Ed Bedford
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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 ...
Wild Pork Wings!
“Actually,” says Joe, “we were arguing over this, me and Doug, the kitchen manager.”
When they make wings out of pork parts and call it bar food, our cheap-eats guy is there to scarf it.
Afghan Ambassadors
His one piece of advice to his son: “Don’t start a restaurant. You’ll never be able to relax.”
Afghan-inspired pizza at Zia — there will be eggplant and yogurt.
Big Heart and Kitchen
“My son Rudy started working here when he was 10. Now he’s 34 and the chef.”
Judy the Beauty on Duty’s Big Kitchen serves a big breakfast in South Park.
Made in Central Luzon
“It’s the end of the night, we can give you a half order for half price,” Nancy says.
Ed Bedford digs into some Filipino soul food at Villa Manila in National City.
Under Ghostly Bells in Old Town
“It is the true American food — a mix of African, Native American, French, Spanish, German...”
"Come sit here!" Southern hospitality hits San Diego. Darlene and Steven have just about finished their food, but as soon as they see me come into the courtyard, they toss out the invite. “We always ...
A World Away from Old Town
“We’re breaking even, which is a miracle in winter.”
"The usual,” she says. Kellie’s ahead of me in line. We’re standing between a bank of Canadian coffee dispensers and a Parisian street. Okay, a pretty darned convincing Parisian scene — on the wall. “I ...
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 ...
Serious Food Here
“It’s been a rough one. I work 12 hours, seven days. My parents — and they’re in the restaurant business — said I was crazy doing this."
It’s about 9:00 at night. Wednesday. I hear a ripple of people clapping. I look in through the door of this café I’ve never noticed before. Place is filled. Can hear the thudded Ps of ...
Slave to Chocolate
“They were good, but too serious. We wanted the old-fashioned stuff.”
When I was eight years old, I gave up candy. My mom was scared of the whole sugar thing. Had us on All Bran, for roughage, to rush the dangerous stuff through. Guess she scared ...
Sexy Dogs
“This is one of the original places we all fell in love with 20 years ago.”
‘Where have you been?” asks Carla when I get back. Okay, it’s a little late, and, uh, I failed to mention I was going down to TJ. Last-minute decision. I’d kinda given up on trying ...
Three-Alarm Umami
“I started out leasing my own food truck. I was 20.”
Sunny, breezy day. Walking through the barrio, heading down César Chávez toward the trolley. Pass ye olde brick building that used to be Chuey’s bar-eatery. ’Course, for years it’s been Ryan Bros. coffee-roasting and sipping ...
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 ...
Fries Included
At the eatin’-contest table, a gang of guys and gals chants, “Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!”
"What’s that guy eating?” yells Carla. “It looks ginormous!” “Say what?” “I said…” We’re shouting at each other at the new Nicky Rottens place in Coronado. Carla wanted to meet here at the bay end ...
Wild Pile at Lion Coffee
“We’re not into coffeehouses like you. But you’d probably ask for a soup.”
Anastasia from Vladivostok brings my waffle. Melissa — her family is from Guam — hands me my coffee. The coffee’s Kona, from Hawaii. The waffle is from…heaven. Sigh. Love a surprise. Here I was, ambling ...
Who's Dick?
“Maybe it was a small gator,” I say. Maybe she’ll bang my face on the counter...
"Don’t rush me!” Dion’s voice cuts through the noise. She’s barking at a customer who wants to pay up and go. “Besides, you haven’t drunk enough yet. We have rules!” Dion walks away muttering, under ...
Serious Coffee
“Isn’t that crazy, hanging art like this in the bathroom?”
It hangs below four others like it, an ancient rifle from ancient wars. Did it kill people? Did it save someone’s life? As I stand in line waiting for coffee and something to eat, I ...
Walk and Glug
“We were riding the bayside bike track and came across it.”
If I’d known then what I know now, I might have stuck to life east of the I-5. I swear, what a hike. I get off the Blue Line trolley at 24th Street, National City. ...
Champion Chew
“When you look in a gecko’s ear, you can see clear out the other side. True or [not]?”
"More people worldwide are killed by donkeys than die in plane crashes every year. True, or shit?” Tom’s standing on the stage where the band Napoleon Complex will be playing later tonight. This is Wednesday ...
O’Hungry Boy
“Cupboard’s bare, buddy. We have to stretch it till Friday.”
"Malagueña salerosa…” Krizanto sings his heart out. I chomp into my $5 dinner: ribs, carrots, broccoli, blob of mash, white-bread bun, and butter. Take a slurp of my $1 beer. Yeah, one Washington. In Old ...
Totally Wicked
“I used to have a ranch down Toluca way,” Guillermo says. “Lamb is very popular.”
Who says there’s no more new food to create? Last big food invention I can remember around here happened a century ago, when Caesar Cardini accidentally invented the Caesar Salad. But, hey, how about Michael ...
That Meat Melts!
“My grandmother’s Armenian. She puts lots of fruit and nuts into dishes.”
Whew. Walking, walking... North up Mission Boulevard. I’m in P.B. Looking for breakfast, dammit. Okay, so it’s lunchtime. Need a place that doesn’t cut off at 11:00 a.m. I come up on this guy in ...
Belly-Fillers at Landini's
“Have you decided?” Angelo asks. Can see he’s getting stressed by the growing line.
My buddy John turned me on to Landini’s. He works at Caffe Italia, farther down India Street, here in Little Italy. It was a couple of months back. Friday evening. Spotted John and his buddy ...
When in El Salvador...
It was a dark and rainstormy night. Marvel as our hero tramps undaunted through the dripping streets of Grant Hill. Crosses 26th, 27th, 28th, ever searching for his Shangri-La. Aha! Suddenly, lights! Camera! ¡Acción! A ...
Beautiful Mess of Cheesesteak
“You want to watch out for a heart attack, eating all this Philly food.”
If I were more of a man, I’d actually do this. I’m looking at a sign on an artist’s easel: “McGonagle’s Cheesesteak Challenge: Eat 3 and Win $50!...Three double-meat cheesesteaks in 30 minutes.” Hmm…double-meat. Meaning ...
Birria in the Barrio
Call it the next best thing to Mexico. I’m in Barrio Logan, walking down Beardsley, past the Logan Heights Family Health Center Clinic. What I like — apart from the clinic and the half-dozen apartment ...
Reverse Explorers
“But our bread is different. Piadina. From Romagna, Italy. It goes back to the 1300s.”
‘"She gives me everything…and tenderly…” Her voice rings out loud, clear, and beautiful. She’s singing along with the Beatles tune on the sound system, “And I Love Her,” looking at the tiny baby in her ...
Nibbles and Drinks
What first drew me in here was Starlite’s informal, relaxed atmosphere, illuminated by a sparkly, starry sky-like chandelier hovering over the sunken bar. Though atmosphere played a significant role, it was the consistent deliciousness of ...
Burrito Especial
At this Five Points hot spot, hefty helpings of flavorful carne asada and shrimp are packed into flour tortillas like a past-his-prime wrestler into fluorescent pink Spandex. It’s a fitting analogy for a venue that ...
Ed's Eats
You might call this place Hillcrest’s secret. It’s an old house beside an open field in Hospital Land. All the UCSD nurses and doctors come here to avoid their own cafeterias. Plus, prices are low, ...
Pizza Places
The younger sibling of the larger Arrivederci Ristorante a few doors down specializes in Neapolitan-style pizza. Sidewalk seating gives diners a front-row view of Hillcrest happenings. Servers are likely to speak Italian, and the low ...
Jamaican Promise at La Crêperie
“Bacon, avocado, cheese... Back in Tunis, Brittany, they’d freak out at that.”
The sun slants in through the venetian blinds, casting angled stripes across Christine’s arms and face. She’s wearing a striped dress, too, so it’s kinda cute. She’s chatting away with her old school buddy, Cathy, ...
All Aboard in Logan Heights!
Everyone nods or says hello. In this narrow room, it would be hard not to.
Woof! Woof! Big black dog’s barking at me. He’s standing in a strut pose on the porch of one of those great old Victorians they have here on Logan Avenue, in the barrio. But I ...
Stardust's Famous Rings
“Our grandmother, Pretty Kitty Keen, had donut places all through the Depression.”
No Vacation at "the Restaurant"
Mama Teresa... After 12 years, here she is, beautiful, smiling, slim, fair-haired, 87. I first met her 15 years back. Her place at Park (12th) and Broadway hasn’t changed much. On the outside, it’s still ...
When in Aroma
Whew. Sniffing the rarified air of La Jolla. Wandering along Prospect at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Muggy hot. Looking for burgers. Promised the lovely Carla I’d take her back a nice big fat one. ...
The Best Main Dishes from the "Feast" Blog
What follows is a selection of posts from our Feast! blog. Every day our team of foodies posts news and reviews from San Diego eateries. New Menu Trend Leaves Too Much to the Imagination<br>By Brandon ...
Meijo Sushi's Tiger Eyes
"We should be so lucky,” says Michael. The two of us are looking at a wooden box, maybe four-by-four inches and three inches deep. Joe, the owner here, has brought it over to our table. ...
Bull's Eye, Caffé Calabria
‘Fresh mozzarella?” says Giancarlo. “You eat it like a soft apple, while it’s still warm, and the warm milk oozes out and runs down your face. That’s the fresh mozzarella you can get in Italian ...
Stout Public House Is Hockey Central
Stout people? My first encounter with these guys was a heady night in June, at Stout Public House at Sixth and C. It seemed like all of Canada had turned up to drink the Vancouver ...
Beat the Clock at Du-par's Restaurant & Bakery
Oh, man. That smell. That barbecue smell, reaching out and pulling you in by the nose. It’s coming from Phil’s BBQ, right past the sports arena. Even now — it’s early evening — streams of ...
Brooklyn Bagel and Biali
Mike Altman says, “People tell me, ‘I’m from Brooklyn. These bagels better be good.’ I get that all the time.” When you call your business Brooklyn Bagel and Bialy, I guess you’ve gotta expect it. ...
O'Bistro Café on Voltaire
Who can resist eavesdropping? Not me. Debbie, the owner of an O.B. eatery named Tower Two; Elsa, the interior designer; Melalee, the kindergarten teacher; and Brenda, who, along with her husband Jong, owns this joint ...
Avenue Subs in Coronado
“Okay, Goldilocks. Have a nice hair day.” That’s me to Carla. It’s my day off. We’re in the Crown City — Coronado — for her date with Diane, “the greatest stylist in the universe.” “Hair ...
Slow Down at Caffe Vergnano 1882
"Everything here is imported,” Kaitlyn says. “Everything?” I ask. “Everything, except for Ferrila and me.” Ferrila, the other barista, gives a little wave from the strangest espresso machine you ever did see. It’s like a ...
Beer Heaven: Hoppy Daze in San Diego
"I like my beers like I like my women," says the guy on the stool next to me. "Bitter and strong." Chris Dunn’s in the military. He’s here with Betsy and Clementine. Uh, they’re not ...
Ryan's Good at Gyros
It’s the kid. Kole. Three years old with a giant cheeseburger in his mitts. Tries to take a giant bite. Gets ketchup and mayo all over his nose and cheeks. Then looks up to his ...
El Museo Restaurant
Two wooden, life-size vaqueros glare out at you from behind their giant cigars. They may be the last evidence that this used to be a curio store, here at the bottom of Avenida Revolución in ...
Sweet Belt of Alpine
They sit in a row: Bad Boy, Duet, Odin’s Raven. We’re talking bottles. Beer. Alpine beer. Yum. “You first,” says Bro Bill. He’s Carla’s brother. “Ladies first,” I say, looking at Marjorie. She’s Bill’s glamorous ...
Pizza Ain't a Pizza
“Got three minutes?” Mickey Gonzalez is lookin’ at me, and you just know he’s from back East ’cause he speaks in that big “You talkin’ to me?” voice. “I’ve got a fresh one in the ...
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