North Park Stories
I spent several hours last week making excruciating decisions as I tried to work my way through a pretty special tap list Toronado assembled for its seventh anniversary. There were few wrong answers among the …
Indie rock act remembers past San Diego shows while looking forward to two nights at Observatory North Park.
The already saturated North Park coffee scene took an unexpected turn in early May when Holsem Coffee opened on University at 30th. While the small-batch roaster offers seven single-origin coffees plus both light and dark …
Friday, May 15 Stone Liberty Station two-year anniversary celebration: The Decatur Road wing of Stone's brewing empire celebrates two years all day Friday with a deep roster of brewed-on-site beers, including a special 2nd Anniversary …
I play the part of the American foodie when I go to Paris, visiting patisseries, boulangeries, fromageries, boucheries, and fine restaurants and eating everything remotely French that comes my way: fois gras, soufflé, macarons, and …
With a title like Man from Reno, one would half expect it to end on a dissolve of Glenn Ford riding off into a Columbia Pictures sunset. Instead, we get a departure in form from …
Activists pushing for a higher minimum wage through the labor-backed Fight for 15 campaign staged their biggest protest yet on Wednesday. Starting early on the morning of April 15, the protest — timed to coincide …
My best weekend getaway is when I leave my car parked on the street outside my apartment in Hillcrest from 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon til Monday morning at 7: Friday Friday afternoon I go …
On April 8, residents of Alabama Street between Polk and Howard avenues got approval for a shot at doubling the parking spaces on their street from 23 to 46, by turning the parallel parking on …
Here’s a phrase that’s probably never been uttered by man: “the banjo player with mystique.” That’s Noam Pikelny in a nutshell. Decked out in a white suit, Pikelny’s deep voice and deadpan banter served as …
"Those eggs are gorgeous." I was standing in the middle of a very crowded soft-opening day at Heart & Trotter, North Park's new "whole animal butcher shop." The place promises all local, hormone- and antibiotic-free …
North Park residents are appealing a decision from Superior Court judge Robert Prager to dismiss the lawsuit they filed over the massive overhaul of a Jack in the Box restaurant in North Park. The basis …
According to Folk Art Rare Records owner Brendan Boyle, on the morning of February 25, a framed piece of San Diego music history was stolen from the walls of Folk Arts Rare Records. The missing …
Underbelly, Smoking Goat, Alexander's. These are a few of the high traffic restaurants packing in around the intersection of 30th and Upas in North Park, where the new Amorcito Corazon opened this month, replacing what …
"Yes,” says Habtamu. “This bread is two days old.” Okay, sounds like a confession. But, no, it’s a statement of pride. “Our bread,” he says, “needs time.” We’re talking injera, the famous Ethiopian bread that …
“The goal of this year’s festival?” said the San Diego Latino Film Festival’s proud papa Ethan van Thillo, echoing my question. “To get people to see more movies!” Now who can argue with that? Something …
Dear Hipster: My wife and I are stoked to be first-time homeowners in North Park. We had a housewarming party the other day, and a few friends of ours were saying how our part of …
A long-vacant apartment building at 3926/3926 ½ Mississippi Street in North Park remains in violation of San Diego Ordinance O-20203 (“abatement of abandoned properties”), passed in October 2012. A building is deemed an abandoned property …
A songwriter looking for material could do worse than to work in a pawn shop. Moris Adato, the general manager of CashCo pawn shop in City Heights, hears the type of stories that make for …
Local coffee roasters have arrived downtown. The West Bean has been keeping regular hours at its new central Broadway location since soft opening in late January, serving a short roster of its own beans via …
When I find myself with a pocket of time on a warm San Diego afternoon, I crave a quiet spot to sip a refreshing margarita. Quiet is easy to find in the slow-restaurant hours between …
The first time I heard the name Kelsey McNair was in 2010 when Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits specialty brewer Colby Chandler finished up an email saying he was headed up to Stone Brewing Co. …
The sign out front said "healthy Chinese food." We'll see about that, I thought. I marched right in and searched for the least healthy item I could think of: barbecue pork fried rice. If someone …
On Friday, January 23, a superior-court judge will decide whether a lawsuit filed by a group of North Park residents over the renovation of a Jack in the Box restaurant should go to trial. Last …
Still open limited weekend hours after its first week in business, North Park's Good Life Eatery feels like a winner. There's been a lot of coffee-shop-type turnover at this location over the years, so I …
To some, it seems like Rip Current Brewing Company’s revamping of the North Park corner spot at 30th Street and Polk Avenue took virtually no time at all. Not so for the people anxiously awaiting …
Doughnuts seem to be having a bit of a moment, but despite my sweet tooth and love for anything deep fried, I've never been much of a doughnut person. I've never swooned over a flashing …
The story of the Observatory’s arrival as one of Orange County’s top music venues started when a computer systems installer named Jon Reiser decided he had grown out of the 300-capacity Detroit Bar, a club …
So many new restaurants have opened in North Park over the past six months that one nearly escaped me. Nearly two months ago, Berkeley Pizza expanded its business to open a small restaurant on 30th, …
With the soft opening of another donut (or in this case doughnut) shop, North Park seems to be the city's new breakfast pastry destination. StreetCar Merchants becomes the second such spot to open on 30th …
On December 18, I shared the top five most intriguing upcoming brewery projects in San Diego County. The following are the seven that fill out the dozen top brewery-owned works in progress. 6. Project X …
Christmas shopping can be such a hassle. I have the tendency to avoid malls during the entire month of December. Parking is a nightmare and sales people are overworked and grumpy. Luckily for San Diegans …
Gift giving for the dudes on my Christmas list is a challenge. My husband is a minimalist, so anytime I ask him what he wants for Christmas he shrugs and says, "Nothing." While he acts …
Donut shops inspire a crazy amount of love. I can remember the first Krispy Kreme opening in greater Los Angeles some 15 years ago. It caused a number of sweet tooth breakfast pastry devotees to …
East Village continues to attract specialty coffee shops. On November 12, North Park’s third-wave torchbearer Coffee & Tea Collective announced it would be opening a second location in early 2015, at 631 Ninth Ave. Technically, …
Remember when the most popular style of beer was amber ale, AKA red ale? Not Irish-style red or West Coast-style red... just a nondescript red ale that looked pretty much the same color as those …
With hundreds of events going on throughout the county over a ten-day span, San Diego Beer Week was a blast, but the following week was actually far more exciting from a beer news standpoint. There …
It was the best of times. No, really, it was the best of times! This year’s edition of San Diego Beer Week was one of the finest since the 2009 advent of this annual ten-day …
San Diego is known for its great weather, beaches, and craft beer. I think we need to add another item to that list — thrift stores. From the row of resale shops in Hillcrest on …
There's a shortage of parking in some San Diego communities and the city's community parking district program isn't much help addressing that shortage. In a recent audit, the city auditor's office found holes in the …
A longtime popular discount fashion, toiletries, toys, and gifts store at 3002 University Avenue is now in liquidation. Discount International Fashions is selling all its merchandise and must vacate the premises by the end of …
North County stalwart, Swami’s Cafe, must have been dreaming big when they moved into the cavernous space left behind by Casa de Luz following the macrobiotic restaurant’s swift shove-off from North Park. Swami’s Encinitas location …
More of an attitude than a proper genre, a close-knit collective of Tijuana musicians put a significant blip on the international music radar starting in 2009 under the umbrella tag ruidosón. The sound takes hints …
North Park got a new ramen and yakitori gastropub this fall — I mean, another one. The Safe House opened in mid-October, taking over the long-vacant site of what used to be a beauty supply …
Several established local roasters have been building out new storefronts this month, giving third-wave coffee drinkers plenty of new neighborhood options going into November. Dark Horse Coffee Roasters is just about set to open a …
Theaters run on such tight schedules, few can extend the run of a hit show. NVA has one — a hit that is, not the run. Their excellent The Clean House must close this Sunday. …
If there was an equation that equaled success for independent coffee houses, the owners of Influx must have solved it. They recently opened their third location in the new Northparker building on the corner of …
Once infamous for its streetwalkers and illegal street car races, El Cajon Boulevard is further reinventing itself by debuting San Diego’s first popup outdoor prepared foods market. The BLVD Market will be held every third …
It took awhile, but Underbelly, the ramen branch of Consortium Holdings' local restaurant empire, finally opened its long-anticipated second location at the North Parker. Its finishing of the corner space at 30th and Upas completes …
These shows must close this Sunday, October 12. The Pianist of Willesden Lane at the San Diego Rep. Mona Golabek’s “concert drama” is one of 2014’s best. She tells the story of Lisa Jura, a …
When potential backers first heard a proposal for Next to Normal, they probably replied: “A musical about bipolar disorder? Like, huh?” Either that or, with voice lowered, “riiight.” Yes, and a rock musical at that. …
For all the mixed emotions about the company’s branding, Belching Beaver Brewery makes some mighty fine beers. That sentiment is nearly unanimous across top-level local beer enthusiasts. Those who don’t spend their time hitting up …