Kearny Mesa Stories

Kilowatt brews quirky tiki cocktails for Forbidden Cove

Undistilled spirits fuel a glowing Kearny Mesa speakeasy

To access Forbidden Cove, you’ll need a carved wooden idol that unlocks a secret doorway leading into a narrow hallway where your own mirror reflection echoes before and behind you into infinity. It’s a simple ...

The sixteen spices (and thirty toppings) of Zen Curry

A choice of curry toppings includes a few surprises

A lot of different cultural cuisines offer curry. Countries on the Indian subcontinent alone are responsible for dozens of different types of curry. Southeast Asia developed a whole other curry lineage, led by Thailand, with ...

The China effect on San Diego's recycling

After rePlanet closes, EDCO sees 100 percent increase

When the Chinese government announced last month that they no longer want to buy mega-tons of America’s recycling waste, it may have been the final blow to a collapsing recycling industry, forcing the closing of ...

Puffles and rose petals at Cauldron Ice Cream

Liquid nitrogen ice cream scoops bloom in bubble waffles

“Okay, so that will be a red velvet puffle Sun Moon and Stars with a sprinkle of rose sugar?” I look over my shoulder. Nope, no one standing behind me, she must be talking about ...

Walk, don’t drive, to Tasty Noodle House

Its regulars would like to keep this unassuming little eatery secret

“We’ll take you to our favorite Chinese spot,” a couple of friends told me, “but only if you won’t write about it.” “Let’s go!” I said, careful not to make any promises. I’ve only experienced ...

Societe Brewing’s seven year switch

A San Diego-only craft brewer is moving in new directions to grow in place

The last weekend of July, Societe Brewing Company will mark its 7th anniversary with a pair of parties at its Kearny Mesa brewery. While the ales and lagers served will meet the same exacting standards ...

Chung Chun Rice Dog makes corn dogs look old fashioned

Panko, potatoes, squid ink, and sugar set the trending Korean street food apart

We can argue all day whether the American carnival classic corn dog was worth riffing on, but a Korean reinterpretation of hot dog on a stick has already arrived in Kearny Mesa with a world ...

Oxtail bone broth at Woomiok

The seolleongtang specialist serves Korean comfort food in stone bowls

If you’ve grown complacent with tonkotsu ramen, but still want bone broth in your life, check out the latest place adding to the bounty of Korean restaurants in Kearny Mesa. Called Woomiok, its main thing ...

Everybody was Kung Fu drinking

You’re never too old to chase the bubble tea trend

It took family in town for me to catch on to how big boba has gotten. I’ve been walking around under the impression the bubble tea trend peaked 25 years ago. That’s when I recall ...

The scratch cooking of Simsim

Outstanding Shawarma Mediterranean food for the new generation of fast casual concepts

When you walk into Simsim Outstanding Shawarma, it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the fast casual Mediterranean spot. From detailed interior design elements to the placement of aspirational slogans like, “stand ...

A feast of Army Base Stew, kimchi, ramen and Spam at Friend’s House in Little Korea

“Korean food can be hot. But it’s drier, less oily than Chinese dishes.”

Aaargh! Second time I’ve tried. This time it’s even worse. I look at the screen beside the “sign in” sign. “Parties waiting: 68. Estimated wait time 03:27.” That’s 3 hours and 27 minutes? No way, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Kearny Mesa Stories

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