For those who have missed me this past week, I'm Back !! So, Half Price San Diego fulfilled the promise of a gift certificate for Wolffys restaurant. This will be a good spot to grab a sandwich to take to Padres games.

I had dinner over a week ago, at Trattoria La Strada. This has always been a favorite of mine for good Italian food. They were still offering the 3 course menu from Restaurant Week, which I chose. We ordered a bottle of wine, with an assist from our waiter, George. He chose a nice Italian red, which was quite good. I do not remember the name! A basket of bread and some very fine olive oil for dipping was next. The bread was actually nice dinner rolls, served cold. They were very good, especially with the olive oil. Next up was Calamari fritti. My friend doesn't like the tentacles, so I got all of those. Lightly breaded and flavorful, though the red dipping sauce was ordinary. My main course was Saltimbocca; veal topped with prosciutto, covered with melted fontina cheese. Rich and yummy. My friend had ravioli, stuffed with spinach & ricotta, covered with a fantastic gorgonzola sauce. George was attentive, filling our wine glasses, making sure we were "happy"! The desserts were amazing. My friend had the cheesecake which was mouth watering rich. I had the Tiramisu which was served in a stemmed glass. It was a good size serving. The custard was rich but not overly sweet. The lady fingers were in the middle. I found this to be a very nice way to serve Tiramisu. Easy to eat from the glass with no mess from the usually layered dessert. We did not drink much of the wine and asked George if we could recork it & take it home. He laughingly said we could & he told me he would find a brown bag so I would fit in with the "street people". Alas, no brown bag. I had to carry it in a white bag! This was a very pleasant dinner, at a reasonable price. Oh, I forgot to mention that we had a nice table by a window, which has the advantage of allowing people watching. If you are looking for fancy, pricey Italian, this is not the place. La Strada is good food, good service and a nice atmosphere (no blaring music!).

I just read a U-T article about the permanent homeless shelter, which our "leaders" continue to push aside. In the ten year plan schedule, a site should have been chosen, plans submitted & approved, construction scheduled or even underway. City Council is much more interested in their own building. I recently sent an e-mail to our "feckless" leaders, including photos of the homeless along the C St. corridor. Since there is a large group right across from City Hall, in front of the California Theatre, our City Council sees the problem daily. So, do something already.

This leads to another problem which is looming in that area, the infamous California Theatre. Since it continues to just sit there, rotting away, I don't understand the apparent reluctance to order the owners to take care of it. I know the Historical Society has stepped in on attempts to sell, but the building is now crumbling and it certainly does not need to be preserved. Yes, it was a landmark in the long ago days, but now it is nothing but a rundown building. If the City can force a small business (cigars) owner in a well kept building to vacate, using the issue of blight, then it absolutely can do the same here. Instead of approving more condo construction, get this issue on the docket for demolition. Hey, how about building it into a homeless shelter??? Side by side with City Hall. What a great idea.

So long