Shivering Salads!
I know, I know. Midwinter and we’re talking salads? But here I am, seven at night, sitting outside Salad Style, that tiny little eatery just up from the post office (807 F Street, 619-255-6731), waiting for a Moroccan couscous salad. …
Waffle Lion
Anastasia from Vladivostok brings my waffle. Melissa — her family is from Guam — hands me my coffee. The coffee’s Kona, from Hawaii. The waffle is from heaven. Sigh. Love a surprise. Here I was, ambling along Market. Biggest care …
Dirty Del Doesn't Like Money
It was the end of a long night. C-c-cold out here. About ten. I was down on Tenth and Market. Looking to catch a bus heading south. Dang. Timetable says another 15 minutes. So I start moseying down Tenth towards …
El Porvenir Takes Back the Future
I was wandering along National Avenue in Barrio Logan, about nine at night, when I noticed a light inside the long, low, century-old El Porvenir building. Then a couple of people coming out. Looked like a little family scene going …
Jack's Place
The first time I came by Cozine’s Grocery (402 Civic Center Drive, 619-477-8488), I was taking a picture so I’d recognize it. I wanted to come back and try the fried chicken someone had told me about. So I’m clicking …
Fugitive Chickens: Still on the Run!
Shock report: Coronado has made chicken-raising illegal on the island! Leslie Crawford had been depending on her breakfast eggs from the two snowflake hens she had been raising for months when neighbors complained to the city. They worried that bacteria …
In the Last Resort
“Don’t rush me!” Dion’s voice cuts through the noise. She’s barking at a customer who wants to pay up and go. It’s all part of the schtick. The crew gives customers a hard time from the get-go. People love to …
Best in Westin
Problem on the Blue Line. Accident, they told us. Whatever, it's the end of the line till they get buses organized to Old Town, which is where I was going. So everyone off the trolley. This is at the temporary …
Au Revoir, Pierre
Honestly? The cool part of Fifth downtown is south of Broadway. The uncool part is just north of it. Eatery-wise anyway. Maybe that was Pierre’s problem. Pierre’s Place (1404 Fifth Avenue, at Ash, 619-727-4700) was a brand-new construction. Father Joe …
Nothing Like a Dry Rub
Roasted tri-tip beef, rubbed all over with – no joke – coffee? Had this once before, but I keep coming back. It's in a sandwich, along with smoked gouda cheese, tomatoes, mixed greens, garlic mayo. Oh man. Michael Karijanian’s the …
Señor El Taquero: The Late Late Show
If you’ve been to Señor El Taquero (435 Broadway, downtown, 619-550-5451), it was probably after you got out of some Gaslamp bar around 2:00 a.m. and needed solid food, like, now. “Say one o’clock Friday night, the line outside’s way …
Eggsploitation on Trial
Chicken lovers Unite! Today (December 6) is the day. According to secret sources on the sceptered isle of Coronado (okay, Carla’s buddy/hairdresser Diane called her), the Coronado City Council is set to debate whether their ban on keeping chickens within …
The Lady From Rome
Changes keep on comin’ in Little Italy. Was at Caffe Italia the other night. Right next door is Vincenzo’s Ristorante Italiano (1702 India Street, at Date, 619-702-6181), kinda classy black and white place I’ve always wanted to eat at. Wanted …
Acorns for Breakfast?
Do you know how to eat Californian? Like, from what Mother Nature has to offer in California’s natural state, right here? Me neither, but I’ve started trying to learn what every Kumeyaay knew back in the days before the rest …
This’ll Save You $$$ At the Dry-Cleaners
Carla’s gonna kill me for this, but she’s built like a woman and so anytime something spills on the way to her mouth it lands on the nearest platform, and that ain’t her lap. Same with me. I swear. The …
Pssst! Hot Dogs Actually Are Good Here
Downtown. Drifting. Desperate. Three buckeroos in my pocket and I’ve got nothing to take home to the beautiful Carla, and I promised I’d bring her a late nite snack. And I’ve got seven minutes till the bus. Lawdie. I’m at …
Cobbler Tuesday?
My $3 meal with Barrio Star (see below) has left me with five bucks. Walking down past Extraordinary Desserts (2929 Fifth Avenue, Bankers Hill, 619-294-2132), I stop. Start thinking, hey, maybe I can swing a little something sweet here. And …
The One-Taco Dinner
On Fifth Avenue, tramping uphill, north. Get to Nutmeg Street, St. Paul’s cathedral. It’s five o’clock. Unbelievable pink sunset. And I’m looking at it from this maroon stucco corner place almost the same color as the clouds. Huh. I remember …
The Yellow Beehive
Hey hey! Another candidate for Best Sidewalk Patio. Was waiting for the bus just south of University up in Hillcrest the other night. And glowing across Fourth Avenue was this, like, yellow jewel. A café-bistro, long, luminous, and packed with …
Caffe Vergnano: Sign of the (Opening) Times
Went striding confidently up to Caffe Vergnano 1882 (3850 Fifth Avenue, Hillcrest, 619-255-1882) the other night. Always liked their Olde Worlde outside and Italian Moderne look inside. Tonight, I basically, jes’ wanted one of their nice $1.95 espressos (There’s no …