District Attorney yet to file charges against former Poway Schools chief
John Collins accused of stealing $345K in school funds
Dorian Hargrove 3:11 p.m., July 24
University Heights Stories
Trends come and go, but Parkhouse Eatery remains
Don’t ever change
If there’s one thing in this ever-changing world I can rely on, it’s the menu at Parkhouse Eatery. The place that was serving up avocado toast long before it was a thing is also home ...
Great cheesy gunk
Lunge into a feed at Cafe 21
"Messy Hair, Don’t Care.” That’s what the back of this girl’s T-shirt reads. I can just see her and her boyfriend through the leaves of the grape bower. They’re chowing, chatting, cooing, billing. But actually ...
Succulent thief in North Park and University Heights
“Who steals plants?”
Yesterday, a woman parked her white Prius right there [in front of my house],” said Steve from University Heights, “then started to cut my succulents (with a pruner), and left. That’s stealing!” Steve, 67, is ...
Pot shop or landlord the bigger problem for 12-steppers?
Alano Club may go up in smoke over coffee
“You know when somebody just wants you gone.”
Madison’s Mediterranean brunch
A good call
Madison in University Heights has been open for about a year. My wife and I dined there in February and liked the cocktails, but we felt the food needed more seasoning. Then my wife said ...
Fourth-wave surf rock
Jason Lee isn't a kid anymore, so who's taking the next surf-rock set?
Local surf rocker Jason Lee and his bandmates are putting the finishing touches on their sophomore release, Monsters and Mai Tais, due out in Spring, 2017. Featuring members from both of his bands — the ...
Buzzy eatery embraces flaky concept
The proof is in the pie crust
Here in San Diego, we love us some high-concept casual dining. I don't know of a local restaurant this year that's captured more social media attention as the Pop Pie Co. And no, a pie ...
Bad behavior leads you to become a hungry ghost
Bill Helm, director of Taosist Sanctuary, takes questions
Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego Membership: 75-100 Director: Bill Helm Age: 66 Born: Tucson, AZ Formation: Taoist formal training with John Davidson, Share K Lew and Khiegh Alex Dhegh Years ordained (Lawshr): 40 San Diego ...
Hipster zone planned for North Park
Community plans for Golden Hill and South Park also laid out
Mid-city residents packed city-council chambers on Tuesday afternoon (October 25) as councilmembers convened to consider long-awaited updates to community plans for North Park and Golden Hill. The most contentious discussion centered around the North Park ...
El Cajon Blvd. revamp ramps up
Business relocations and apartment projects
A couple of years ago the rundown section of El Cajon Boulevard in University Heights began a slow journey to rejuvenation. Construction crews have recently picked up the pace. The largest residential project in the ...
Historic houses still for sale — assembly required
Our Lady of Peace Academy structures stored in city storage yard
Though they have been deconstructed into enormous puzzle pieces and are partly wrapped in tarps with the windows boarded up, the two stucco houses on the back lot at the city's Chollas Operations Center remain ...
I.B. Strong
Rock trio Abner represents for the South Bay
“We recorded our first EP in May at King’s Ransom Studios in Lakeside with Jeff Sers, who’s been fighting cancer for the past couple years,” says Adam Baez, one-third of the grungy goth rock trio ...
The aesthetic of popular restaurants is in flux
Et Voilà does it anti-hipster
For those who didn’t catch Barbarella’s take on Et Voilà in June, here’s the TL;DR version: she found the restaurant charming, (i.e. “a ‘nice’ establishment, yet you don’t feel out of place if you happen ...
A lot of people probably see religion as an opiate
Pastor Dale Huntington takes some questions
4325 Park Blvd, University Heights Membership: 25–30 Pastor: Dale Huntington Age: 33 Born: Visalia Formation: Grossmont College, El Cajon; Southern California Seminary-San Diego Christian College, San Diego Years Ordained: 5 San Diego Reader: What’s your ...
Et Voilà arrives in University Heights
And be sure to pronounce it correctly
Ever since we first saw the sign announcing a new French bistro named Et Voilà would soon be opening, David and I found ourselves forgoing the freeway to take the longer route down Adams Avenue ...
Parks booze bans a no-brainer
Enough! say San Ysidro, Ocean View Hills, and University Heights residents
Residents of San Ysidro and Ocean View Hills want to see alcohol banned, and, in University Heights, the residents want an alcohol ban and a curfew. Ocean View Hills, Vista Pacifica, and Cesar Solis parks ...
Umbrellas and a Vieux from Above
Another take on Madison
I’m always on the hunt for a spot to enjoy cocktails and shareables with friends. A handful of restaurants have opened within the past year that hit the bull’s-eye, and one of them is Madison. ...
Perfect “sapid” pizza
A new go-to at Pizzeria Bruno
Pizzeria Bruno is among my top three go-to places for pizza in San Diego (the others being Isola Pizza Bar in Little Italy and Buona Forchetta in South Park). I think I’m just a sucker ...
Palomar Card Club license revoked
Chips redeemable — send to Colorado address
Last December 9, federal agents led by the FBI raided the Palomar Card Club (also known as Palomar Casino) at 2724 El Cajon Boulevard, alleging illegal operations, bookmaking, and money laundering. The Reader previously reported ...
A salute to Swedenborgian Hall
Final curtain
On Sunday, February 7, parishioners lost their church, and local theater lost a space. After a farewell service in the sanctuary, where each member signed the paper of dissolution, the Swedenborgian Church of San Diego ...
Madison needs more seasoning
University Heights restaurant still finding its way
In recent years, Little Italy and North Park have become a dining destination. East Village is trying. University Heights seems to be the next big area with the addition last year of Park & Rec ...
In between the burgeoning hipness
Raw fish and more at Ceviche House
This small counter shop specializes in Peruvian seafood dishes tiradito (raw fish) and ceviche (raw fish cured in citrus juices). Organic and fresh caught local ingredients are the norm, and all dishes are made to ...
"Stunning" fast-food experience promised
El Cajon Boulevard developments include Starbucks and Wendy's facelift
The long-closed Coco's restaurant at 2644 El Cajon Boulevard in University Heights is finally scheduled for demolition. The site will become a Starbucks coffee shop. Realtor Mike Clark with Cushman & Wakefield said they “had ...
The bars of El Cajon Boulevard: Park Boulevard to 805
The wild west end
You could have a worse judge than a dog.
Vegan for lunch, whoops
Plumeria has been there this whole time
I never had anything against going to Plumeria. I always knew I’d get around to going. I knew it was a vegetarian and vegan restaurant, and as an omnivore of convenience I suppose I was ...
You cannot help but root for these actors and characters
Select elements shine but flawed execution dims Bright Half Life at Diversionary Theatre
Tanya Barfield’s Bright Half Life revolves around the lives of Erica and Vicky, two women who meet at work and eventually begin dating. Over the course of the play they fall in love, get married, ...
Precious Little inaugurates fitting space
Small, intimate production from InnerMission speaks to language as life
Diversionary Theatre has converted its old rehearsal space into an intimate blackbox theater. There are still some bugs to work out, sightlines in particular. But hey: any new performing space in San Diego’s a cause ...
Shrill, grotesque love
Amazons and Their Men at Diversionary Theatre is good and could be great
Hitler called Leni Riefenstahl “my perfect German woman.” The first time she saw him, in 1932, she said “I feel very happy that such a man has come.” Riefenstahl opened the movie camera’s eye. In ...
Feast! Uptown
Best restaurants from the Heights to the Parks
From Mission Hills to Kensington, in Heights both Normal and University, and in Parks North and South, UPTOWN residents don't rest on good looks or thick pocketbooks. They thrive on personality and artful presentation. So, ...
Brunch at Café 21
When the pancake did arrive, it looked impossibly huge
It was a happy coincidence that within a week of enjoying a dinnertime meal at the Georgian restaurant Pomegranate I happened by the similarly exotic menu at Café 21, just to learn that the owners ...
A Georgian-cuisine gem called Pomegranate
“Tasty Eastern European Food”
Tucked into a row of nondescript storefronts along the industrial main drag of El Cajon Boulevard is a Georgian-cuisine gem called Pomegranate, but you wouldn’t know that from standing outside. The sign outside simply reads, ...
Gratitude and resurrection in harmony
Diversionary Theatre presents a sharp take on A New Brain
What do we mean when we say A New Brain at Diversionary Theatre? We mean a show that’s mostly sung, a show about gay men and the woes connected to one man’s brain surgery, and ...
Right kind of mindless
The Silence of the Clams at Diversionary Theatre takes the low road, yet moments impress
Clarice Starling: “Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims.” Hannibal Lecter: “I didn’t.” Clarice: “No. You ate yours.” Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs can be funny, in a ghoulish sort ...
Last call: Oedipus El Rey, You Can't Take It with You, Baby with the Bathwater
Three very different, beautifully performed shows must end their runs this Sunday.
Oedipus El Rey, San Diego Rep. This isn’t Sophocles’ Oedipus, its playwright Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus Gomez. He rises from prison to become a Scarface-like, L.A. drug lord who has faith only in himself (“God’s ego’s ...
The nice side of naughty
Cocktails and treats at S&M Sausage and Meat
I lost count of how many friends, aware of my proclivity for kink, told me I just had to go to S&M Sausage & Meat. I don’t think being a dominatrix gives anyone authority to ...
Genuine horror
Inferior superiors are a scream in Diversionary's Baby with the Bathwater
White bassinet, spot-lit center stage. Surrounding darkness makes it seem whiter, even more innocent. John and Helen, the parents howling over the child, couldn’t be more menacing if they sucked on crack-pipes and wielded chainsaws. ...
Linner at Cantina Mayahuel
Tacos, tequila, and guacamole fill an awkward spot in the day
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 ...
Worldly flair
Hanna's Gourmet a jewel on Adams Avenue
Hanna Tesfamichael has been cooking for San Diegans for over ten years via her catering company. It was three years ago that she opened a small storefront, and six months ago that she expanded the ...
¡Ay chapulines!
University Heights tapas bar joins the thin ranks serving up bugs
Would you look at that. Insects are popping up just everywhere! The Reader’s other Ian gagged on some crickets at Tacos Perla over the summer. Recently, little fried bugs crawled onto the specials board at ...
Cursed with the whip
Diversionary stages the toughest act of Capote’s life, Tru
“I’m a writer, and I use everything. Did all those people think I was just there to entertain them?”
Circa tries to fill some big shoes
Neighborhood bistro faces memories of Farm House Cafe, and holds its own in the process.
Tempting as it is to mourn the Farm House Cafe’s departure from Adams Avenue until the prophesied reappearance of Olivier and Rochelle Bioteau’s restaurant in larger quarters somewhere far from University Heights, uptown diners ought ...
North Park vibe spreads north
Is the University Heights “dead zone” along El Cajon Boulevard resurrecting?
While the renovated Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon Boulevard in University Heights has raised the bar, commercial properties nearby haven’t been so successful. Going west on El Cajon Boulevard from Louisiana Street to Florida Street, ...
The parking problem again
Audit Committee to look into better management of program
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 ...
Partial Monty
Uneven but heartfelt Calendar Girls debut at the Sullivan Players
Somehow D.J. Sullivan wrangled Tim Firth’s script for Calendar Girls from Samuel French — dispensers (and often hoarders) of the rights — and has staged the local premiere. For a “small” theater to land the ...
First Look: S&M Sausage and Meat
Sausage, bacon, and lots of wild ideas.
Carnivores don't exactly have a tough time finding good places to eat in this town. Still, you name a place Sausage & Meat, and you'd better be prepared to nourish those craving the flesh of ...
Last Call: Black Sunday
Some fine productions, including one of the city's all-time best, must close November 2.
These shows must close this Sunday, November 2 — aka “Black Sunday,” given their high quality. The Royale, Old Globe Theatre One of the year’s best directed shows is so well done you’d think Marco ...
Theatrical until the pain hits
Bold choices aim to strike a balance in Regrets Only at Diversionary
You’d think Tibby has it all. Husband Jack’s a mover/shaker attorney. They have a posh-plus, Upper East Side apartment (which, in Matt Scott’s fine set for Diversionary, looks down on Manhattan). Daughter Spencer’s an up ...
Wasabi burritos get my attention
La Mesa is not known for its food, but it’s a great place to raise a family and there are plenty of good places for tasty, reasonably priced food for my perfect food day. For ...
Europe would be impressed
The Whisknladle charcuterie plate might not transport easily, but it’s too good not to take on a picnic. House-cured chorizo, house-made pâté, several types of house-pickled olives.
Because cyborgs
Chad's account of his time as a soldier in the battle against chair loss.
Cyborg party at the Xoo brings in a few lawn chairs.
Hanna's Gourmet: Neat meat loaf
BeHe brunch spot excels at dinner too
As if Adams Avenue didn’t already have enough good dinner spots. Now Hanna’s Gourmet, long a popular weekend brunch spot, is serving dinner — and it's good. Hanna’s has been expanded from its original use ...
Trying to live up to the fish tacos of lore
Local family-owned restaurant brings just enough Baja to work
I'm not sure what's more disturbing, that I hold every fish taco I eat up to the standards set by a greasy street cart selling them for 85 centavos apiece on some desolate stretch of ...
