Hawkins Way uses San Diego's Procopio lawyers to lobby city hall for downtown evictions
Beverly Hill firm behind the closing of the Plaza Hotel
Matt Potter 8:22 p.m., March 19
Kearny Mesa Stories
Downtown San Diego's Plaza Hotel goes; homeless parking proposed on Mission Bay
"In a perfect world we'd all have a unicorn and Lamborghini too"
Another SRO is about to bite the dust. Short for single room occupancy hotels, these cheap hotels have been dropping like flies from 123 in 2012 to 37 in October 2018. It's hard not to ...
Better than okay at Okan Diner
Adventurous dishes, strange ingredients, and comfort food
The name of the restaurant may include the word diner, but don’t go expecting to order a Denver omelet, or anything with a side of hash browns. Okan Diner serves Japanese food, and a fair ...
Rock over cod at Adrian’s Surf n’ Turf Grill
Ribeye makes it a surf n’ turf lunch
When I ask the owner and chef why his fish and chips feature rockfish instead of cod, I appreciate the answer. It’s easy to get, locally. That would be Adrian, of Adrian’s Surf n’ Turf ...
Shan Xi Magic Kitchen's two kinds of noodles
Hand pulled vs. hand ripped
When the table next to us were told they couldn’t order rice, they decided to leave. “What kind of Chinese restaurant doesn’t serve rice?” they muttered on the way out. The short answer is: duh, ...
Even the DA buys into Alphabetic Evolution
Transition of script lettering to graffiti writing
On January 25, Jose Venegas finished painting a mural titled Alphabetic Evolution at the juvenile office of the district attorney, located at Meadow Lark Drive, northeast from 163 and Genesee. “This 15-foot painting represents the ...
Performance Bicycle Shops shutting down – what does it mean?
Edison Cycle, Bicycle Warehouse offer contrast
The retail apocalypse has caught up with local cyclists. All of the Performance Bicycle shops in the United States are in the midst of store-closing sales. The San Diego region had six stores between Chula ...
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Best driving shortcuts for 2019
Kearny Villa to Ruffin as alternative to I-15
On Oct. 9, 1975, the Reader published a story on driving shortcuts. It was written by then cabbie Ray Lilly and contained 14 San Diego shortcuts when gas went for about $.57 per gallon. In ...
Brick Bowl is a Korean restaurant
If you’re not down with sourdough or vinegar, you can order bibimbap or Korean ramen.
It reads like the sort of thing you have to try at least once. A new Kearny Mesa spot called Brick Bowl dishes up a new way of eating meat, cheese, and bread. Rather than ...
Jolar shutters nude dancer booths at College Grove
"Convoy is going to be flooded with girls"
"Jolar just let all the girls go and they are getting rid of the booths," reports a former employee of the longtime College Grove adult boutique where women have been performing private nude dance shows ...
No Smoking did some pool halls in
But Pockets, On Cue, College Billiards fight hipster trend
On September 8, I shot some pool with the recently crowned 2018 American Poolplayers Association Team Captains Champions — at Pockets Billiards & Brew in Kearny Mesa. The name of their San Diego-based team is ...
County pushes more density in rural San Diego
Persuasion meetings in Valley Center, Lakeside, El Cajon
The county board of supervisors has assigned their Planning & Development Services department to look to incorporated areas for housing development. County employees started the tour in August with a workshop at the county building ...
The squeezed turn from Aero to Murphy Canyon Dr.
Disenfranchised bus passenger
During our conversation about potholes (see “What It Takes to Fill a Pothole” on August 10), Misty Haskins expressed what struck me as an exaggerated worry about her safety on the buses she rides. She ...
That’s what I’m temaking about
Sushi hand roll bar prevails by keeping it simple
The next sushi trend to conquer America could be something way simpler than we’re used to: the dedicated hand roll bar. To many, the sushi means sushi rolls, a.k.a. maki, wherein fish, rice, and sheets ...
Bus rider pet peeves: walking and waiting
What will get more riders to saddle up?
Metropolitan Transit System or MTS has been hanging Choose Transit posters at bus stops around town. Plus they reached out to ask public opinion in April and May. Shorter commute times, more transit options, and ...
Those are really rice noodles?
Fried eggs with tomato
“What do you recommend?” I asked my server at Rice Noodle King, a small casual restaurant that opened a couple of months ago in Kearny Mesa. Given that every one of the seventeen entrées on ...
Rainbow dumplings
Silence at our table as we ate dessert
I love the name of this restaurant: "Steamy Piggy" is adorable and appalling. How dare they use an endearment such as “piggy” to describe the food I’m about to eat? On an instinctive, American level, ...
22 dope growers want permits in Mira Mesa
Kearny Mesa second place with 10 applicants
The city has 40 golden tickets, also known as permits, to hand out to those wanting to cultivate cannabis locally. There are currently 66 applicants vying for those permits. There are no limitations as to ...
Who’s about the kids and who’s about the money?
San Diego school district loses money if charters approved
On April 3 the San Diego Unified School Board granted the charter school petition of National University Academy 1001 STEAM, the first approval of a charter school new to the district in over four years. ...
Challenge accepted: steamed pork and salted fish
"I’ll make sure to bring you plenty of rice"
The pale wood panels lining the weatherbeaten two-story storefront of China Max may not inspire a lot of confidence to the casual passerby, but during its fifteen years operating on Convoy Street, the Cantonese restaurant ...
Giovanni's leaves cribbage fans homeless
But they get better deal at Filippi's
Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. Brenda Nason met with about eight others to play Cribbage at Giovanni’s Restaurant on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Ruffin Road behind the Carl’s Jr. On Tuesday, March 13, the group ...
In search of mom's death certificate
“I’m about to go postal.”
Longtime Carlsbad resident Jim Majeski thought he had it all worked out for when either he or his wife of 65 years passed on. Prepaid and preplanned cremation, he thought, would help ease the family’s ...
It's not about the bun
Thai inspired burgers put sticky rice in your hands
We'd gone to Clairemont Mesa looking for Vietnamese sandwiches, and wound up finding Thai burgers. We stopped first at K Sandwiches, which has reopened two years after being destroyed by fire. I'm not sure whether ...
Took AIDS patient for a cigarette
Hell sounds like a nasty word
Membership: 200 Pastor: Darrell M. Dunlap Age: 49 Born: Clifton, NJ Formation: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Chicago; Azusa Pacific University, Azusa Years Ordained: 18 San Diego Reader: What’s your favorite ...
Gas thieves drill truck's tank
What wasn't collected in bucket went into storm drain
On Wednesday (December 13th), after a long day at work, “John” returned to his truck — which he had parked on Frontage Road, by the W. Washington Street trolley station — to find his gas ...
Clairemont Mesa's Blvd. Hunan food tested me
Outside the boundaries at Village Kitchen
When David and I agreed to join our friends Katie and Jordan for dinner at Village Kitchen, I was mildly apprehensive. This Chinese restaurant in Clairemont is known for its Hunan-style cuisine, and I wasn’t ...
Cute dumplings, Piggy
Convoy Street is not the same
There have been changes brewing around Convoy Street. The Kearny Mesa strip is best known as a restaurant row specific to Asian eateries, and even as new businesses have started taking over some of the ...
Two words for rehearsal-space rockers: renter's insurance
"Everything was just covered in brown smoke.”
The storefront for Global Tile & Marble, a Kearny Mesa tile-and-marble contractor specializing in home renovations, had a major fire on February 13. The structure suffered extensive damage and, afterward, was basically “just a black ...
Pig ears, lamb testicles at Village North
Look for unusual on Convoy Street
I once read a piece written by an economist about how he looks at a restaurant menu. There was lots of good advice, but one thing that stuck out was his recommendation about weird-sounding items: ...
Savory and satisfying and gigantic at The Original Pancake House
Give in to the fantasy
We hadn’t intended to go to The Original Pancake House. One goes to Convoy for excellent Asian food, not old Americana, but alas, upon arrival at 10:30 a.m. David and I realized that all of ...
Limbo doesn't last long at Circle 9 Brewing
Lager up, sinners, or wait till the next batch
Back in June, the Reader reported a new nanobrewery, Circle 9 Brewing, had debuted its first beer at a fighting float festival in Japan. As of August 19th, the Kearny Mesa craft brewer is officially ...
No pulse at Magnetic Brewing
Attempt to sell stake in business results in $12K judgment and eviction
One of San Diego's smallest breweries appears to be closed following an eviction notice and a $12,000 judgment from a recent lawsuit related to the brewery's attempt last year to sell 1 percent stakes of ...
You’ll find Grace Bible Church at Balboa Park on Saturday afternoons
And at the Rescue Mission, abortion clinics, and nursing homes
Membership: 125 Pastor: Curt Arend Age: 54 Born: Cincinnati, OH Formation: Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies-Westminster Theological Seminary, San Diego; Institute of Biblical Counseling and Discipleship, San Diego Years Ordained: 17 San Diego Reader: What’s ...
Is Kaiser adding to Kearny Mesa traffic?
New hospital allows for end of double rooms on Zion Ave.
Kaiser Permanente's Tana Lorah checked in with the Tierrasanta community in June to get their feedback on the new Kaiser hospital that opened up in April at the bustling corner of Clairemont Mesa Blvd and ...
Adventurous sushi rolls
Korean street food out of the back of a supermarket
Most of the time I visit Korean grocery store Zion Market, it’s for a quick bite in its food court. That’s at the front of the store, all the way to the right as you ...
Jeff and the Showgram gone from KYXY
CBS and Entercom merger partly to blame
A longtime radio powerhouse was unceremoniously escorted out the door after nearly 30 years as a top-rated local morning show. According to insiders, the Jeff and the Showgram ensemble were told they needed to attend ...
Swayed by the curry
Koon Thai, sans Styrofoam
Sometimes sifting through delivery apps is the best way to find a new restaurant. You pick a food genre, browse, and then select something and it arrives, like Netflix for dinner. I discovered Koon Thai ...
Sour beer, sweet victory for Council
"You can go to any brewery and get an IPA."
The San Diego International Beer Competition announced its 2017 medal results back in April, but it kept one major award under wraps until its Del Mar beer festival the weekend of June 17th. This year's ...
What about people who sleep in their cars?
They can park at New Life Church and Jewish Family Services
“Hey guys why do you need like 12 squad cars,” asked Konrad Czerwinski to the police officers that blocked off his auto shop. At approximately 8:00 a.m., on May 5, Czerwinski, the owner of Adams ...
Dueling car washes on Aero Drive
Arco pulls plans in deference to Happy Car Wash traffic study.
“Well this sure seems like a backhanded way to stop the people across the street from competing with you. I’m at a loss for words, I really am,” said Councilmember Scott Sherman on April 25. ...
Murphy Canyon gas-station grapple
Arco expansion roadblocked by Chevron? Or traffic?
Armed with the signatures of 42 Stonecrest Village residents, neighbors of the Arco gas station at Murphy Canyon and Aero Drive are fighting the business' expansion to add four new pumps and a car wash. ...
About those bombs dropped on North Clairemont...
Residents told WWII ordnance investigation scheduled for 2085
Janet Lancaster came armed with questions for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program manager Jeff Armentrout on March 2. The town-council meeting had a modest turnout but all eyes and ears were at full attention ...
Council Brewing's kiss of tartness
Something spontaneous, something new at the Magic Factory
Council Brewing Company is set to launch a spin-off sour brand. The Magic Factory was initially the name given to Council's second production suite, which sits across the industrial park from its main Kearny Mesa ...
More pressure on Mickey Kasparian
Donna Frye protests against union chief accused of sexual misconduct
In a lawsuit filed in December, United Food and Commercial Workers Union president Mickey Kasparian was accused of sexual harassment and denigrating employees. Demands for him to step down are increasing, and the protests continue. ...
Vigilance expressed at Dakota pipeline rally
Corporation vows to push through plan despite government decision
A candlelight vigil in support of a group of self-described "water protectors" blocking the construction of the oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation in North Dakota had an atmosphere of cautious celebration ...
Dakota pipeline protesters flood Kearny Mesa courtyard
Water vs. oil war brought to Army Corps of Engineers' doorstep
Despite a call from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday (November 14) for a round of additional studies that would temporarily delay construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, supporters of residents at ...
Big on jork
The ancients called Chinese porridge the “first healthy food under heaven.”
The Eight Immortals are Crossing the Seas. They float by, riding paper mules, lotus flowers, flower baskets, aboard feather fans, storks, even a discarded crutch. People love the Eight Immortals. They represent prosperity and long ...
Gun-shop opening garners councilman's proclamation
“I’m not only a supporter. I’m a customer.”
On September 17, over 800 people turned out for the grand opening of the GS Glockstore in Kearny Mesa. The event raised over $6000 for fallen San Diego police officer John DeGuzman. Representing the Clairemont/Kearny ...
One percent of a San Diego brewery for sale
Magnetic offering small ownership stake as crowdfunding reward
When Magnetic Brewing opened to customers for the first time last August, it started about as small and low budget as a brewery gets. Morgan McCarty worked alone on the same 1.5-barrel system he'd assembled ...
Poke by any other name would not taste as sweet
Wherefore art thou, One N Half?
Right on trend, I noticed a new poke shop is about to open on University Avenue in North Park, and it’s got a terrible name. Poki One N Half does use an alternate spelling of ...
Corned beef in Kearny Mesa
Elijah’s serves classic deli food in a new neighborhood
I can’t count the number of times I’ve found myself driving to Kearny Mesa for lunch or dinner over the years, but I do know 100 percent of those trips involved eating Asian food. Until ...
Fluxing Quantum's recipes
Biochemist Martin Beaulieu leaves big-pharma biotech for small-batch beers
Quantum Brewing is going thorough a phase of uncertainty. The owners have changed, the beers are changing, and even the name is liable to change. Martin Beaulieu became officially entangled with the two-year-old brewery last ...
Ice cream, thanks to science
Once you smell waffle, it’s tough to want anything else
Dessert fans have a good reason to visit Kearny Mesa. The made-to-order liquid-nitrogen ice cream chain Creamistry opened last month, and it truly does feel like the ice cream shop of the future. You don’t ...
