Gourmet On 5th: Not French enough?
Ed wants accordions and romance. Is he asking too much?
Standing at Fifth and Laurel. The choice: Cucina Urbana, Hexagone, Pizzicato Pizza, or the kind of anonymous-looking Gourmet on 5th. So okay, costwise, the choice is just between the last two. The others would wreck the en-tire week's budget. I …
Chinese fast food: What's taking so long?
The brand-new Park Blvd Express is all dressed up and ready. So when can we break chopsticks?
It's not open yet, but it's yea close. You swear you can smell the pork fried rice already. And you can see: everyone at the Park and Market trolley stop is kinda on tenterhooks. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/oct/07/54475/ This is Park Blvd Express …
South Park Walkabout: Here's where to rest your bones
The Good Fork, aka Buona Forchetta, has the best patio for chowing and watching the crowds
I'm hauling through South Park. Lotta people. Oh yeah. Their Walkabout's happening. Jump off the #2 at Fern and Beech. Have to see what my latest favorite patio's doing. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/oct/05/54332/ This is Buona Forchetta (3001 Beech Street, 619-381-4844), the Italian …
New library: Where's the beef?!
Ed expects great things from the library café...
New library, open! Been waiting for this. Not because of the thousands of books and snooze-spots that have opened up. But because they were going to have a café in the forecourt. Place to have Deep Thoughts and eat at …
Cheap tacos in the Courtroom
Yes, Virginia, there are affordable deals in La Jolla
Psst. Wanna eat cheap in La Jolla? And drink? Point one, hit happy hour, point two, make sure you’re at Jose’s Courtroom (1037 Prospect Street, La Jolla, 858-454-7655). Specially on a Tuesday. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/oct/01/54070/ Taco Tuesday's taco deals extend beyond the …
Col. Cuauhtémoc: Perfect perch to watch the madness
Tiki Bar's an oasis hidden in plain sight near, well, the busiest crossing in the world.
Come here at sunset. Even though you can turn up any time of day or night. Because the Tiki Bar is open 24/7. And actually it's not a bar. It's a glorified coffee cart. Whatever, sunset is the time. This …
Holy mole! Is this the center of the mole universe?
Ed gets drunk on Mole Poblano, yards from the border fence
You can call this every cliché in the book...the hidden jewel, the Shangri-Là, whatever. Fact is right here, yards south of the border... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/27/53838/ ...in the Casa del Mole (543 Aquiles Serdan, Colonia Libertad, 011.52.664.682-9074) delivers mole poblano like I've …
Mermaids? New Taco Kid on the Block.
Ed gets a lucky beer-taco break on the way to the bus
So I'm coming down 13th, heading for the 12th and Imperial bus and trolley stop. Smell of, well, corn twitches my nose. Look left, and there outside Mission Brewery (¡100 years old this year!) is this food truck I've never …
At Uncle's in TJ: Smoke signals!
When the coals are glowing at Pollos El Tio, the whole neighborhood knows Oscar's Sinaloa chicken is on its way
The smoke wafts past your nose. The sabroso smell. Then you spot the chimney, shooting white puffs like the Vatican announcing a new Pope. I'm up in Tijuana's Colonia Libertad. This community is like a small town in its own …
Golden Hill: Healthy brekky in the tree house
Fruit, granola, and yes, vegan donuts at Krakatoa
Bonk! The fig hits my head and bounces onto the table. Nobody even turns and looks. Anak the raccoon-striped café cat, runs around the tree-crowded balcony to smell the fruit. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/23/53582/ And to beg for scrapings of butter from customers. …
Spanish red and the blow-out burger
Ed tries to get through a super burger and a full bottle of wine. Something's got to give
Heh heh. Been meaning to do this for a lawng time. Test of manhood. Come here to the IB Forum... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/20/53486/ ...the last restaurant in America, right? - on a Thursday night and order their Ultimate Gut-Buster Burger and a …
Breakfast: Eat with Matisse!
Ed eats brekky surrounded by art, French signs and red trolleys. Result: zero I.G.I!
Came off the trolley at the Santa Fe around nine in the morning. Looking for a quick breakfast. But not much time. Have to catch the Coaster, 9:48. Ooh, yes this'll give me a chance to check out the St. …
Night Caldo in Chula Vista
Ed discovers a primo birrieria, and he hasn't even crossed the border
We're in the Deep South of Chula Vista, near Palomar. Just walked the dusty sidewalk-free sidewalk of Industrial Boulevard, looking for La Taquiza, cute little place I'd spotted from the trolley, but whack! Closed. Guy in Lucy's Liquor Store next …
Crazy over bread sticks again
Bread sticks are like lovers: you think you're through, then you taste them again, for the first time
I have always been disappointed by bread sticks. I mean they look so tempting, but when you bite in they're usually doughy, maybe a little cheesy, but just not very tasty. And carbs? That's what you're eating: pure carbs. Only …
Bonita: Tuna tostada trial!
Ed goes for a simple happy hour, and finds happiness itself
Oh man. Always dangerous to say "best." But his ahi tuna tostada has to be the best in 'Diego. No. Best in the universe. OK. Let's just limit that to best in our particular galaxy. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/12/53026/ Sitting here in the …
Tokyo Playground heading for the Gaslamp
Should we have a problem with “schoolgirl-clad” servers?
George’s on Fifth, the well-settled steak place you’d see downtown powerbrokers eating at as you hurried by, is history. Even their closing down is history. They served their last meal at the end of March. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/10/52960/ But in their place, …
Burger for Breakfast
At Vigilucci's in Coronado, breakfast is all about style
Thank goodness for Jan. Carla's old flatmate is across from Florida for a couple of weeks. I'm mostly sitting watching a tennis match as these two have at it. Gabfest! Who had whose boyfriend. Who stole whose blouse. Who did …
Feast! Pier-end party people chow down
Sunset's the magic moment for the annual moment to chew the fat, and just, well, chew
Whew. Just come from the Feast! party at the cruise terminal... Stuffed with burgers, truffle fries, wines, beers, including hey hey! Arrogant Bastard from Stone. And all of it free - after gettin' in, of course. I mean yes, we're …
The other Mickey D’s
At McDini’s you eat history, one corned beef sandwich at a time
Oh Lord. It stands in front of me, sparkling, sending dewdrops down its side. “Come on, come on,” it says. “Just one sip.” It’s a stein of beer, 32 ounces, the kind you’d see in Oktoberfests. Bud inside. Costs $7. …
National City: Getting your ginger back
Can Niederfrank's, this town's original ice creamery, really help you fight the heat?
This stinkin' hot weather, there are only two places to hide: whatever bus you're riding in, because at least they have A/C, or get off at National City and head for Niederfrank's, 'cause not only are they the first ice …