North Park Stories
Sure enough, there were two parties going on. I walked into 214, and it was a room that looked to be only 12' by 12' with about 50 people in it. And they were playing volleyball.
Jim's wife brought a bunch of deviled eggs, and I asked Jim how many of those Paul Newman would be able to eat. "I think 84. Wasn't it 42 eggs he ate [in Cool Hand Luke]?"
One girl who looked like k.d. lang kept apologizing to a guy. She said, "Maybe next time I'll drink water instead of alcohol." Later I saw her run and tackle somebody in the grass.
One of the guests told me he was surprised that a few of the Jazzercise students were overweight. Maybe it's not as physically demanding as other aerobic workouts. They all seemed to be great dancers.
I was stoked because I like the Dragons. And when I started writing this "Crasher" column, the first party I went to made me miss Lucy's Fur Coat and Marshall Crenshaw playing at the Casbah.
Birdland San Diego 3069 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park www.birdlandsandiego.com 619-284-9601 Pet stores are great places to visit with kids, as long as you aren't prone to impulse purchases. But it's unlikely you'll suddenly decide …
The Cabernet Cellar 3820-1/2 Ray Street, North Park www.thecabernet.com 619-683-2221 Want to meet other connoisseurs? On weekends, the Cellar hosts a gathering with bread, cheese, and appetizers -- you bring the wine. Private lockers are …
The Silver Dragon 3519 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park 619-284-3323 The former Zombie Lounge has a new look and image. But from the outside, you'd never guess that inside is a brilliantly decorated, Feng Shuiinspired …
Club Xanth 4225 30th Street, North Park 616-584-2720 Club Xanth's "Cathedral" is the place to go on Saturday nights for minor-chord melancholy. Recent DJ playlists have included "Hellraiser" (Suicide Commando), "Rock Is Dead" (Marilyn Manson), …
Dietsch's Hearing Aid Center, North Park 3952 30th Street 619-297-4145 (Also El Cajon, Pacific Beach, and Mobile Service) Savvy rock stars order hollow plugs with special filters to protect their ears. They're not going deaf...why …
Ray at Night One block east of 30th and University, North Park Second Saturday of the month 6 p.m. to midnight 619-683-2221 On an unassuming block in North Park, artists and friends have transformed worn-down …
Benbough Mortuary 3051 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park 619-283-7211 Located in what was originally the Lewis Colonial Mortuary, Benbough Chapel specializes in customizing services to what the family wants. The biggest variable expense in funerals …
Awash Ethiopian Restaurant 4979 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park 619-583-9225 Don't expect cutlery here; you eat with your hands. Awash (named after an Ethiopian river) serves pretty much everything on injera, the giant soggy crumpet …
Since July 18, 2002, every other Thursday night at 6:00, a motor home has pulled up to the curb on the east side of 15th Street just south of F Street, across the street from …
Wildflower Catering 3645 Park Boulevard (Embassy Hotel), North Park [email protected] Margot Leidy did all the right things: she went to hotel and restaurant school in San Francisco when she was 18, she learned the sauces, …
Heidi and Bernie's German Bratwurst Tent Thursday-Night Market, North Park Way (between 29th and 30th Streets) 619-588-1288 This is not just your average hot dog stand. "These are traditional Bavarian bratwurst," says Bernie. "I am …
Strip mall on the corner of Park Boulevard and El Cajon Boulevard, North Park/University Heights A two-show performance by pop singer Jewel months before the release of her first album was not enough to save …
Trinity United Methodist Church 3030 Thorn Street, North Park 619-281-2592 or 619-281-2768 Every evening from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. an illuminated eight-foot cross slowly rotates on the tower of Trinity United Methodist Church, casting its …
Claire de Lune Coffee Lounge 2906 University Avenue, North Park 619-688-9845 Is this place on fire? Seems like smoke is coming out from under the sidewalk overhang. Then you see people dancing in it! Holding …
Tyler Jordan at Caffe Calabria 3933 30th Street, North Park 619-683-7787 Tyler Jordan, who works behind the bar, does it all, from the menu to Italian Riviera and Romanesque scenes on the wall. He did …
Ebey's North Park Vacuum 2346 University Avenue, North Park 619-291-1194 Cal Ebey stocks a full line of replacement bags as well as other parts and can repair any vacuum. With 20 years' experience, he is …
L & A Tailoring 2911 University Avenue, North Park 619-299-7326 Brothers Liam and Minh Tran are throwbacks to an age when men's suits were not found at shopping malls but were made to fit. Trained …
Stern's Gym 3831 Granada Avenue, North Park 619-299-9853 Back in 1946 Leo Stern opened the first (and now oldest) body building gym in California. The gym's second floor location had been a bowling alley, and …
Paras News 3911 30th Street, North Park 619-296-2859 Opened in 1950 as a cigar shop and transformed to a newsstand in 1952, Paras is the most comprehensive newsstand in San Diego. If there's a newspaper …
Ranchos Cocina 3910 30th Street (at University), North Park 619-574-1288 1830 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Ocean Beach 619-226-7619 4705 Point Loma Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-224-9815 The restaurant's underlying ethos involves cooking with olive or vegetable oil …
Saigon Restaurant 4455 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park 619-284-4215 or 619-284-4288 There are restaurants more specialized in pho, the traditional meal-in-a-soup dish, but the Saigon gets the balance right: atmosphere, families, airiness, and delicious pho. …
The Santa Clarita Woodlands Park, north of the arid San Fernando Valley and just west of Santa Clarita's dry hills and valleys, encompasses a surprising assortment of strange geologic features and several surprisingly lush canyons. …
“There is no more Aztec Bowl. It’s over,” said lead singer Adam Hay of Watch It Burn. “I heard people just today say they should do this once a month...but you know what? It’s done.” …
Mama's Bakery and Lebanese Deli 4237 Alabama Street, North Park (619) 688-0717 Mama's deli, just south of El Cajon Boulevard, is an old Craftsman shack hanging over the sidewalk, with just enough room inside for …
Aztec Bowl Coffee Shop 4356 30th Street, North Park (619) 283-3135 We've heard how the Aztec Bowl has come back from the brink of extinction, making bowling cool for the alternate club crowd. We've heard …
The Live Wire 2103 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park (619) 291-7450 He's played in a band called Carnivorous Lunar Activity and tended bar in a red jumpsuit, so it's no surprise that Sam Chammas knows …
Denim Exchange 3095 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park (619) 521-1015 They buy and sell Levi's. Bring in the old pair -- the ones that've been cinching your waist and barely restraining your rump -- and …
Unique Pawnbrokers 3039 University Avenue, North Park (619) 294-3305 Owner Steve Hirschhorn boasts he has more floor space than competitors, and he fills it with a wider range of stuff, including lawn mowers, large-screen TVs, …
Chimneys-R-Us 4021 Swift Avenue, North Park (619) 280-4700 "When we sweep your chimney," says Michael Mullen, vice president of Chimneys-R-Us, "your white carpet stays white, there's no mess, and we're not smudged like Dick Van …
Dennis Stern North Park (619) 283-5150 Dennis Stern should have been into body-building, like his dad, who ran Stern's Gym in North Park for 42 years. Instead he became fascinated by the Old Masters around …
Pekin Restaurant 2877 University Avenue, North Park (619) 295-2610 You know it's old from the way they spell the name. "Pekin," not "Beijing." Not even "Peking." North Parkians probably don't even notice it, it's been …
The Barbecue Pit 2888 University Avenue, North Park (619) 298-2400 2388 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon (619) 462-5434 920 East Plaza Boulevard, National City (619)262-0331 727 Center Drive, San Marcos (760) 432-0177 Say "barbecue" and people …
Rudford's 2900 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park (619) 282-8423 It was a sad day for greasy-spoon lovers when Topsy's diner near Hillcrest closed last summer and its campy '60s Vegas-style marquee fell to the wrecking …
Between 1903 and 1909, the trolley expanded into the area east of Balboa Park. Thirtieth Street became the route, and a bridge was built to extend the street across Switzer Canyon, from Laurel to Olive.
In 1957 an earth-fill bridge replaced the old wood-and-iron one, which had been the center of controversy for many years. San Diego youths had seen the bridge timbers as a challenge and had often made the climb.
It’s punk rock Thursday. “I’m hating life,” sniffed Brian, 28, a North Park local and regular at the Turquoise room at the Aztec Bowl. “Punk is adolescent, abusive, aberrant behavior.” Nevertheless, there are a hundred …
“In my neighborhood, people are removing aluminum siding and stucco from the 1950s and 1960s. They’re stripping the paint from their homes’ redwood shingles. And they’re pulling up wall-to-wall carpeting to expose the hardwood floors.”
Fortuna Mountain, in East County's Mission Trails Regional Park, presides over a great deal of as yet undeveloped territory. Peering north and northeast from Fortuna's 1291-foot summit, you can see thousands of acres of empty, …
When the preliminary bankruptcy hearing for the Ray L. Huffman Construction Company was held last month, extra chairs had to be carried into the courtroom to accommodate the crowd of creditors, attorneys, former associates, and …
From the window by my desk I can see a sign advertising an auto dealership. I can also see it from the bedroom window, the kitchen window, and the rear balcony. Actually, to merely say …