Content for Wednesday, September 13, 2017
News & Stories
San Diego Reader 2017 Burgers issue
Urge is the root word
Burgers with a side of ambience Brewski's, Bruski, Legacy, Banzai, Sunrise Deli, San Marcos Brewery, Tivoli, Balboa Bar. By Chad Deal Burgers for those with exquisite taste Craft & Commerce, Barleymash, Mastiff, Fathom, Notorious, Burger ...
Nerd-Con controversy
No cred given to co-creator of annual gathering of freaks and geeks
Bridal-show planner Joel Jones wanted to host an event for local geeks who didn’t make it to Comic-Con. His first one-day Nerd-Con mixed fantasy nerd culture with live bands and drew 3000 to the California ...
Any John Wayne Gacy fans in the house?
Glen Meadmore is a different sort of guitar-toting chap
“I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of art would come out of the mind of a serial killer, so I decided to have him paint a picture of me,” ...says cowpunk ...
Certified in San Diego
There was something about the freedom of Ocean Beach
“We live in cities you’ll never see onscreen,” sang Lorde on “Team,” trying to make obscurity sound cool but fooling nobody. If it were really cool you wouldn’t have to make a cool song about ...
You know this place is Cambodian
"I have some news to tell you. I want to go with you.”
"I am Cambodian. I have some news to tell you. I want to go with you.” This was the message my new friend Sinjin wrote out in big letters on a board on the roof ...
Anne Frank in the attic
Local Matt Sivertson’s first feature, Love All You Have Left
A private message arrived from local actress (and new Facebook friend) Caroline Amiguet asking that I attend this Friday’s screening of her husband Matt Sivertson’s first feature, Love All You Have Left, in which she ...
Un-burgers, breakfast burgers, Ur-burgers, taco burgers
Ponce's, Circa, Wa Dining Okan, Rabbit Hole, Daybreak Island Grill
What makes a burger? Obviously, ground meat enters the equation, and there must be some sort of presentation beyond slapping a griddled patty down on a plate, but it’s hard to qualify exactly what a ...
And now a message against SoccerCity
From U-T panelist Gary London, whose consulting firm got money from opponents
On February 3, the Union-Tribune’s business page asked, “Would a soccer stadium give the economy a boost?” Real estate consultant Gary London of the Union-Tribune’s EconoMeter panel of business experts replied: “It would be an ...
Methane Snow, Drinking at Mabel Murphy's, There Wasn't a Wing in the Sky
Is that a switchblade on the bar?
Methane Snow The scent of my father, the smoke from his cigarettes embedded in the leather band of his Timex watch, the smell of morphine and cancer as he died at the Soldiers and Sailors ...
Never opened a Bible till my 40s
Drunk driver changes Lutheran minister's life
Membership: 25 Pastor: Rigoberto Gonzalez Age: 55 Born: Sonora, Mexico Formation: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO Years Ordained: 6 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon? Pastor Rigoberto Gonzalez: I’d say ...
Upcoming concerts you may not be aware of
Will Hoge, Pere Ubu, Dreamcar, Moving Units, Wolf Parade
If John Mellencamp is entry-level Springsteen, then what to make of a storytelling songwriter who so slavishly emulates the former that you might think he’s a tribute performer with access to unreleased tracks? Nashville’s Will ...
Special occasion burgers
SD Poke, Cafe Gratitude, Blind Burro, Caroline's, Royal Stone, Funky Fries, Westgate
I used to eat burgers all the time, but as I got older and developed a taste for all types of food, I became more discerning. Hence, when I have a burger these days, I ...
Little worry of getting lost
Beauty between the 94, Sweetwater River, Steele Canyon, and Cottonwood Golf Course
The relatively unknown Par 4 trails wind through the east end of San Diego National Wildlife Refuge’s Sweetwater River Unit. The area is boxed in by Highway 94 to the south and west; Steele Canyon ...
I’ve eaten many fancy pants burgers
Red Door, Bankers Hill Bar, Waypoint, Juniper & Ivy, Carnitas Snack Shack, Werewolf, Raglan
My favorite scene in Pulp Fiction is when Vincent Vega, aghast that Mia Wallace orders a five-dollar milkshake, asks for a taste because he’s “gotta know what a five-dollar milkshake tastes like.” After a brief ...
Best SoCal day trips to make up for summer
Smaller crowds, better weather in fall anyway
Summer 2017, did you even happen? One day the kids were out of school, the next they were back in. None of us is happy about it. “Absolutely no Kelly family vacations happened this summer,” ...
Original takes on the hamburger
Vessel, Dog Haus, Plant Power, UCSD's Cove Cafe, Al's Cafe, Bub's at the Ballpark, Calif. Braise, Cafe 67, 10 Barrel
Burger-hunting is like looking at stars. First glance, they’re all the same. But as you get closer, catch a visual of green herbs or red peppers being sprinkled onto a flat patty, or just get ...
They're Dirty, they're Sweet, they're back
"There were so many nails in so many coffins..."
During their initial run, local rock revivalists Dirty Sweet took to the road in epic fashion. Early on, they got lucky and scored the opening slot on Jimmy Eat World’s 2004 tour. But it was ...
Burgers for those with exquisite taste
Craft & Commerce, Barleymash, Mastiff, Fathom, Notorious, Burger Bench, Original Tommy's
I like my burgers like I like my beer — made with purpose using quality ingredients so it’s obvious to everyone I possess exquisite taste. So don’t be surprised that all of my picks are ...
Ethel Tulloch Banks: union leader and healer
Strong woman in the "jungle days" of the San Diego post office
Ethel Tulloch Banks believed in miracles. For years she fought for miraculous changes at her workplace — and may have lived one herself. Tulloch was a clerk at the San Diego Post Office. In January ...
Short-lived TV shows made here
If Netflix's Ted Sarandos reads this...
Simon & Simon was a buddy detective series set in San Diego that ran for eight seasons on CBS during the ’80s. Veronica Mars put a teenage girl in a noirish milieu and managed three ...
Hamburger notes from Tijuana
Cine Tonala, Tras/Horizonte, Yo Mammaz Burgers, La Justina, Butchers & Buns
A hungry San Diegan can chose from hundreds, maybe thousands of places to eat Mexico’s fast food of choice, the taco. It only seems fitting that tijuaneneses should be able to eat the American fast-food ...
Abandoning the screen for cardboard
The combination of craft beer and Connect Four
Dear Hipster: At first, the news that Game of Thrones would not return till 2019 came as a devastating shock to me and the group of friends with whom I gather every week to watch ...
Unobstructed ocean views from the moment you walk in
Sandy Lane, Del Mar home drops from $23 million to $20 million
“Situated in a private gated community on the sand & intimately adjacent to the Del Mar Racetrack,” listing materials promise, lies a “spectacular oceanfront estate” at 3002 Sandy Lane. The four-bedroom, five-bath home, constructed in ...
Betty the Loon never had a dream with a happy ending
Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds — always popular with teenagers
Mr. Goodman and his colleagues at the local high school are convinced Beatrice Hunsdorfer is insane. Every time she calls the school, she’s either too syrupy-calm or tongue-ablaze raving. Does she love her daughters — ...
Fancy beef joints serve fancy burgers
Cowboy Star, Morton's, Fleming's, MCormick & Schmick's, Lou & Mickey's
Last year’s visit to the bar at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for a burger confirmed my suspicion that fancy beef joints serve fancy beef, even when it’s ground. So this year I stuck with steakhouses. (I ...
Rip down Qualcomm and build new stadium?
Stupidity squared
San Diegans vote next year on the plans of FS Investors to tear down Qualcomm Stadium, erect a soccer stadium, and build residential and commercial structures on the site. Before the vote, propaganda will fill ...
Burgers with a side of ambience
Brewski's, Bruski. Legacy, Banzai, Sunrise Deli, San Marcos Brewery, Tivoli, Balboa Bar
We all know what makes a burger. It’s gotta have ground beef, or at least ground something. Mash it into a patty, fry it, grill it, broil it, or nuke it (you know who you ...
Southern Avenue, streetwise beyond their years
"Truth, honesty, pain, love, growth, and peace through our music.”
Southern Avenue is the name of a street in Memphis. On it, at 1932, is Soulsville, the original home of the legendary Stax Records. It is also the name of a band, a brand new ...
Humane Society hires big dog lobbyist
Wants to take over county's animal business
Critics say San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer — beset by legions of the downtown homeless and a bitter controversy over the future of Mission Valley’s Qualcomm Stadium — couldn’t get elected dog catcher these days. ...
O.B. depiction unfair, South Bay craft beer coming, Sufi and Greek priest dissed
The public writes letters
Horrid statements regarding O.B. To Joseph Miravalle. Hello, Joseph. I read your article regarding Ocean Beach, and I have a lot of problems with your assertions. First, don’t say “seven blocks” when you only talk ...
East San Diego County loves burgers, too
Eastbound, Cali Comfort, Charcoal House, Fred's, Bubba's Smokehouse, Brody's
East County tops nobody’s list of areas rich in exceptional dining experiences. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few quality places to grab a burger east of Highway 125. Some appeal to a sense of ...
Best mid-September events
Taste of Downtown, pirates at Seaport, Steve Winwood, Kaaboo
Thursday | 14 Taste of Downtown Discover new eateries as you nom nom nom your way through downtown with bites from more than 40 restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter, the financial district, and East Village. ...
