Pappalecco: True Cafeistas!
The coffee and the game's the thing, come rain or rain
Walking up Cedar tonight, with the rain splotting down. Come by Pappalecco (1602 State Street, on the corner with Cedar, Little Italy, 619-238-4590). And guess what? Two elderly men sitting outside hunched over their espressos ($2.00 each), a bottle of …
Vegan pit-stop: Soy contento!
Whole Foods lunch in Encinitas is quick and disgustingly healthy
Passing Whole Foods around one in the afternoon (Whole Foods, 687 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, 760-274-1580). See a bunch of people in a courtyard, eating out of boxes, looking healthy. Hey, who doesn't want to be healthy? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/30/36259/ So …
Café Sabina: The room upstairs
Little literary hideaway in Tijuana delivers world's best panini?
Tijuana: I come out of La Tasquita (see La Tasquita yesterday’s blog), the world’s smallest pub, and head left up Miguel Aleman street. Maybe 9:30 p.m. Come upon this pretty nice-looking eatery almost straight away. Called Caza Club. (It means …
Small beer big in TJ
"Artisanal" beers explode in our sister city. Best place to find them? A tiny triangle
On Agua Caliente Boulevard, 9:00 p.m. Rubbing my eyes. Whu? Because in front of me, here beside where the old bullring used to be, is a tiny red and black triangle with a big sign. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/29/36215/ “Cerveza Artesanal.” I’m standing …
Davanti Enoteca: Top 50!
The Mia Francesca spin-off in Little Italy gets national recognition
Schussing down India t’other night. Happy hour crowds starting to fill the heated sidewalk patios. Had a Christmassy feel about it. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/28/36122/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/27/36121/ But what caught my eye was this sign on a sidewalk sandwich board. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/28/36123/ Chef Christopher Verotudela …
Ma Eugenia’s: mole heaven!
Totally traditional stew house has the mole of moles
“This is mole Poblano, meaning, from the state of Puebla, where mole was born,” says Alfredo. He’s just handed me a plate of chicken mole. Maybe the best I’ve tasted in a lo-ong time. The brown stuff is oozing like …
Thanksgiving? You gotta be joking
Is this the final word on Turkey Day?
Last night, eating the usual toikey and pumpkin pie with Carla and a bunch of rellies. Jokes started flying… -What happened when the turkey got into a fight? He had the stuffing knocked out of him. -What music do Pilgrims …
Thanksgiving, streetside
Anonymous mealmakers turn up at a downtown parking lot
Dusk, last night, downtown. We're just above the rack of bank skyscrapers, between A and Ash at Fourth. The line’s forming in the middle of the parking lot. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/22/35838/ Saunter up to these guys, Magic One and Magic. Actually James …
Kealani’s Thanksgiving party, tonite!
You’re invited, as long as you’re homeless
Kealani Keliinoi is throwing a Thanksgiving party, tonight at five. Anybody who's homeless or feeling the pinch in Encinitas is invited. It's kind of surprising to find the number of people who are facing hard times in this town. Encinitas's …
25Forty: A la famiglia!
Meal with wine for $7.50?
How can you make a sausage look like a million bucks? Come to Old Town. I did, t’other night. Right across from the late lamented Wine Cabana, I spotted 25Forty Bistro and Bakehouse (2540 Congress Street, Old Town, 619-294-2540). Then …
The last happy hour
Coolest wine cabana in town folds its tent
Who knew? I was heading up Congress in Old Town last night, and suddenly remembered this über-cool place I had always meant to spend time at with my most sophisticated friends – haha – and tonight I see it here, …
Strong Beer: We Have A Winner…
Don’t blink. You’re passing the champion pub you never noticed
I just about did pass this by, even after I noticed the funny beer signs. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/14/35492/ It's right by the bus stop at 6th and Broadway Then, guess I got drawn in by the fact that you could see the …
Back to the beer old days
How old are these old beer signs?
Hauling up Broadway, caught these signs in the window of The Beer Co (602 Broadway, downtown, 619-398-0707). What I wonder is: Have these signs been resurrected from pre-Prohibition days? Because it seems San Diego was pretty famous for our suds …
Drinking with G-Men
Freebies for folks in the right place at the right time
You have to notice it. Walk through the inner plaza of Civic Center and it comes at you: Power, radiating from the surrounding buildings. The Servants of the People, making decisions on our behalf, from which pot-hole to fix next …
Rush lobster job at The Local
No time to finsh the lobster, a lifetime to regret it
You know how things you have to rush are the best? You kinda have memory flashes of the hot dog you couldn’t finish, or the beer you couldn’t chug before you had to go catch a stretch limo. Happened to …
Confusion at Infuzon
Ed crashes private party at the Park and Market trolley stop.
“This is usually Thomas Jefferson Lawsuit Night,” says Brandon. Say what? I’ve just popped across from the Park and Market trolley stop. Was waiting for the Orange Line. Heard sounds coming from this little place on the west side of …
Toni's Weincakes: Post-election comfort food?
Toni Weinfurtner is pushing the limits in the cupcake kingdom
This is a cupcake? “It’s my French Toast cupcake,” says Toni. “It has bacon bits and maple butter cream frosting, plus bacon bits on top. It flies out of here.” Actually, so does Toni. She’s a long-time flight attendant with …
Dobson's: pâté party!
The cool, politicians' downtown retreat hides one of the most scrumptious pâtés in town.
It’s not the cheapest joint downtown, but it has two things in its favor: One, it’s nearest the bus stop at 4th and Broadway, so you’re a 60-second sprint from your stretch limo. Two, as I discover tonight, for $9 …
Grapes and Hops: New eatery on Market?
Signs of life, where Gaslamp meets East Village
The signs are up. Spotted this ABC Public Notice of Application to Sell Alcoholic Beverages at 933 Market. They’re to give neighbors a chance to approve or complain about a new café here to be called “Grapes and Hops.” http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/02/34836/ …
Souper Barrio!
Gayle Covner's day-later veggie soups are keeping the barrio warm
“Believe me,” Gayle Covner tells a reporter. “Soup tastes better a day later.” She’s a pretty famous chef who has set up her restaurant, Blueprint, in Barrio Logan (1805 Newton Avenue, Barrio Logan, 619-298-7010). She was talking to Keli Dailey …