Downtown San Diego Stories
Living History Program Aboard the Star of India 1492 North Harbor Drive, Downtown www.sdmaritime.com 619-234-STAR Pioneered by the National Park Service, this overnight program takes kids back in time on an imaginary voyage. According to …
Matthew Peterson 530 B Street, Suite 1700, Downtown 619-234-0361 Say you need politicians to create legislation so your hovercraft taxi can get licensed. Or you're pulling your pro tiddlywinks team out of San Diego because …
Journey to Aztlan Harbor Drive between First and Fifth, Downtown Visible from the San Diego Convention Center, the images within this colorful mural re-create the laughing masks of South America's pre-Columbian Veracruz period. The public …
Tom Turman, The Westgate Hotel 1055 Second Avenue, Downtown 619-557-3645 Just ask Mrs. B., 90-something and a 12-year resident at the Westgate: Tom is the best concierge she knows. And she's a regular at swank …
The Grape 823 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp 619-238-8010 You could walk right past this uniquely shaped bar on a busy Saturday night if you weren't looking for it. The Grape, with its long narrow bar, sits …
The Jewel Box 805 16th Street, Downtown 619-236-8685 The Jewel Box is a little bar with a big future once the ballpark opens. So visit while it's still a neighborhood bar with great eats. And …
Outdoor deck at the Fish Market 750 North Harbor Drive, Downtown www.thefishmarket.com/san_diego.htm 619-232-FISH (3474) You're not in the mood for company, but you still want a drink. And a little bite. And a view, if …
Sushi Performance and Visual Art 320 Eleventh Avenue, Downtown www.sushiart.org 619-235-8466 This 6000-square-foot facility houses a 3000-square-foot performance space that seats up to 200 patrons. "Sushi audience members and performers are within hands' reach of …
Monday nights at the Westgate Hotel Bar 1055 Second Avenue, Downtown 619-238-1818 Guitarist Julio de la Huerta was approached by the general manager of the Westgate Hotel. "He said, 'We'd like to have you come …
San Diego Public Library, Central 820 E Street, Downtown www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/screenings.shtml 619-236-5800 Every Monday at 6:30 p.m. and every other Sunday at 2 p.m., the downtown public library offers free film screenings in its third-floor auditorium. …
Volunteers Of America Detox Center 1111 Island Avenue, Downtown 619-232-9343 If the San Diego Police Department finds you drunk in public (or in private, if someone files a complaint), this is where you'll likely end …
Buffalo Joe's 600 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp 619-236-1616 This is a fantastic place for showing off your dance moves. If you don't want the entire intersection of Fifth and Market watching you shake your groove thing, …
Café 222 222 Island Avenue, Downtown 619-236-9902 Weekday mornings, businessmen crowd in. Later, you see politicians and conventioneers. But weekends, 222 belongs to downtown's young urban professionals. They come here to see -- and be …
Broadway Pizza 1008 Broadway, Downtown 619-232-6264 The pizza is decent -- way above average, miles better than the national chains. Portions are generous and the grub's pretty good -- try the sausage link sub or …
Alfiere Sheraton Harbor Island, West Tower 1590 Harbor Island Drive, Downtown 619-692-2778 There's nothing like Chef Antonio Friscia's braised short-rib ravioli. The squares of pasta are about three inches across and so thinly rolled that …
Sicilian Village Deli 895 Fourth Avenue, Downtown 619-234-4002 This place was once part of the late lamented Farmer's Bazaar in East Village. Happily their prices haven't gone Gaslamp. One of downtown's best values, and a …
Nutter's 428 C Street, Downtown www.nutterspeanutbutter.com 619-239-7075 Still have pangs for that mouthwatering "PB&J" from your childhood? Nutter's offers new twists on the old standard. But first you have to choose your peanut butter: white …
Vida Cart Corner of Fifth Avenue and Island, Downtown (No phone) When the vibes are right, usually around one or two in the morning, this hot dog stand becomes a café des artistes, the kind …
Sevilla Restaurant & Tapas Bar 555 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp www.cafesevilla.com 619-233-5979 Energized but not manic, crowded but courteous, with almost as many European as American patrons, this is a sophisticated scene for nibbling in the …
Rei Do Gado Churrasceria 939 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp 619-702-8464 The meats just keep coming at a Brazilian rodizio, skewer after skewer of churrasco (Brazilian barbecue). Sirloin shish kebab, skirt steak, top sirloin, tri-tip, linguiça, shrimp, …
E Street Alley 919 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp www.estreetalley.com 619-231-9200 Located down a flight of stairs at the end of a downtown alley, this restaurant and nightclub opened in July 1994. Filling its 18,000-square-foot space are …
Mini Cab Company, Inc. 526 J Street, Downtown 619-234-1818 Nepal is the only other place on the planet that Greg Paquette and Paul Basile think this is happening: electric, nonpolluting, short-distance cabs beetling about downtown …
Laura Smith-Moritz, Adventure Travel Company 7 Horton Plaza, Downtown 619-544-0800 Get in line if you want to consult with this ebullient and meticulous veteran (and be prepared to pay the up-front fees that have become …
Superior Mattress Factory 3376 Main Street, San Diego 619-233-6643 These guys have been in business just east of Barrio Logan since 1932. And they're factory-direct. And because they make their mattresses and box springs there …
Lilo's New American Cuisine 1125 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-231-1969 Close to all the downtown office towers, the food at Lilo's is reasonable, quick, generous, and sophisticated. Dishes like pear and walnut salad with bleu cheese …
Cabo Café & Grill 808 West Cedar Street, Downtown 619-595-1618 Ralph Rubio of fish taco fame helped raise a million dollars to get this restaurant up and running, for good reason: Homeless kids from the …
Shelton Free-Range, Antibiotic-Free Chicken At: Chive 558 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp, www.chiverestaurant.com, 619-232-4483 Fio's, 801 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp, www.fiositalian.com, 619-234-3467 and others The chefs at Chive and Fio's are among those who've discovered the virtues of …
San Diego Women's Bean Project 1954 Fifth Avenue, Downtown www.sdwbp.org 619-230-1151 You can cook like a local chef with a soup mix from the San Diego Women's Bean Project, a program that has helped San …
Westgate Hotel 1055 Second Avenue, Downtown 619-239-8566 There's over 100 years of barbering experience in the three-chair shop in the lower level of the Westgate Hotel. The shop maintains the Parisian theme of the rest …
A tarnished little plaque is embedded in the sidewalk at the corner of Fifth Avenue and J Street. It bears a small legend: “Shirley Bernard, Gaslamp Pioneer.” Thousands of extravagantly attired feet heading for bars, …
If you're looking for a quiet spot to contemplate the great mysteries of the day -- such as why the current stock market is so speculative -- you might take a seat at San Diego's …
One councilman huffed about 13th and the rest being left out. First through Twelfth are the only downtown streets that extend, uninterrupted, north of Balboa Park, so they were taken care of first.
Loaded La Jollans boost a downtown museum.
Cost Plus World Market 372 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter 619-236-1737 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive, La Jolla 858-455-8210 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa 619-466-2991 What are you gonna do when your grocery store turns …
Juke Joint Café 327 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp www.jukejointcafe.com Louisiana gumbo is not a Campbell's soup. Thick and spicy, somewhere between a soup and a stew, and between the devil's lure and heaven's reward to good …
El Poblanito/El Imperio del Supertaco 549 25th Street (at Market), Downtown 619-239-9379 You may as well reconcile yourself: everyone you tell will come out with "Urgh! You kissed a cow??" Just invite them to try …
Bayou Bar and Grill 329 Market (at Third Avenue), Gaslamp Quarter 619-696-8747 Bayou specializes in Louisiana cooking -- except for desserts, which only use the sweet, heavy pastries of the South as points of inspiration. …
Safe Deposit Box Vault, Courtyard By Marriott 530 Broadway, Downtown 619-446-3000 This is the place to hold the meeting where the family lawyer tells you you've inherited Grandma's entire La Jolla waterfront estate. Yippee! And …
St. Joseph's Cathedral 1535 Third Avenue, Downtown 619-239-0229 Catholics who want to go to confession often can't wait for the one-hour available at their parish on Saturday afternoon, and many are afraid that the priest …
Buca Di Beppo 705 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-233-7272 If you go to Buca Di Beppo for your birthday the servers won't bring you cake and ice cream. However, if you catch the right group of …
Hornblower Cruises 1066 North Harbor Drive, Downtown 619-686-8700 Hornblower offers the only three-hour dinner cruise in San Diego aboard its 150-foot yachts with a chance to meet an authority on the local sights -- the …
Hajji Baba's 1065 Fourth Avenue, Downtown 619-595-7887 During the daytime, Hajji Baba's is a normal Mediterranean restaurant. Shish kebobs, Greek salads, gyros. But Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the place transforms. Musicians arrive. Tablas (bongo-like …
Body Beautiful Downtown 2045 Pacific Highway, Downtown 619-544-7070 All of the Body Beautiful Car Washes do excellent work, but the crew at Pacific Highway and Hawthorne Street are a little more outstanding. Like most other …
Drew Hubbell 930 Orchard Lane, Santa Ysabel 1970 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-231-0446 www.sandiegoart.com Hubbell is the architect son of the revered artist-designer-builder James Hubbell. Father and son work together on what they call "the architecture …
Dave's Display World 1306 Kettner Boulevard, Downtown 619-232-3097 Since 1959, Dave's Display World has been the most comprehensive, all-encompassing store for holiday and party decorations in San Diego. If they can't find it in the …
G.I. Joe's 544 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-531-1910 799 El Cajon Boulevard, El Cajon 619-401-7589 G.I. Joe's carries products honed from 200 years of military survival insights. Like Meals Ready to Eat -- military rations -- …
Orange Cab 3911 Pacific Highway, Downtown 619-291-3333 or 619-291-4444 The drivers at Orange Cab are independent operators who pay a fee for company services like radio dispatch. Being self-employed (Orange owns no taxis), the cabbies …
Gen Lai Sen Seafood Restaurant 1065 12th Avenue, Downtown 619-239-5478 Across from City College, right by the trolley stop, Gen Lai Sen looks like a forsaken dive and has the standard endless pan-regional San Diego …
Anthony's Star of the Sea 1360 North Harbor Drive, Downtown 619-232-7408 "Chilean seabass," as fishmongers like to call it (its real name is Patagonian toothfish), has been fished nearly to extinction, thanks to the unbridled …
Candelas 416 Third Avenue, Gaslamp 619-702-4455 "Langosta Baeza" is the signature dish of Candelas' chef Eduardo Baeza. Although the name sounds like it might be a local spiny lobster, but it's really a Maine lobster …
Royale Brasserie Bar 224 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter 619-237-4900 If you've a yearning for the life of a moneyed fin de siècle Paris bohemian, then surely in some past incarnation you must have frequented restaurants …
Café de Paris 819 C Street, Downtown 619-234-2559 For starters, Faiz (or Frank, as he's known) looks the epitome of the legendary French cook. Jutting jaw, well-wiped apron, hands on hips outside his little place …