Café Noir: A Mystery Wrapped In a Conundrum
What the…? At the top of the black house, the letters I’ve missed for three long years. They're back on again. “Café Noir.” This I’ll have to investigate. Remember Café Noir, built into the li’l ol’ 1886 wooden house that …
New (Veggie) Pizza in Town
“Make Pizza, Not War.” Like the logo. Pizza sliced into the no-nukes peace sign. Walking along Island, from the Tivoli, through Chinatown (you can tell by the street lights), heading for Fifth. Notice this new place in an old building. …
Blackout Party Time!
PB managed to party it up last night, as the blackout took most of us back to stone-age star-gazing for entertainment. But staid downtown Coronado? Absolutely! And you can thank Brant Sarber, owner of Costa Azul (1031 Orange Avenue) for …
Best Patio? These Just In!
Paris, California? You know how Naomi, Brandon, and I were talking about the best patio to eat, drink, and watch the world go by? Stop the presses! I hadn’t been to El Cajon yet. Yeah, yeah. The heat. But these …
No More Free Danish
They struggled for a long time, but Silvana and her daughter Salena and the rest of the family who ran the New York Bakery (245 E. Main) have had to close their doors. It happened just over a month ago. …
Antique Cars, Old-School Adobada
Reporting from the Far East, here: E. Main in El Cajon. Tonight (Wednesday) is Antique Car Nite, aka the Cajon Classic Cruise, from 5 to 8 p.m. The danged thing keeps you coming back. Maybe it’s because I’m a car-free …
A New Cheese Steak Is Born...In Lemon Grove
He's bent over, chomping into his sandwich. "My invention," he says. "The California cheese steak sandwich." Huh. Turns out he took over this joint just...yesterday! John Forouzandeh, business grad from SDSU. This is Friday lunchtime at his Lemon Grove Deli …
Last Chance
Chance would be a good thing. And it was. But Chance Bistro (926 Orange Avenue, Coronado), the little “Modern Mexican” eatery that has been a quirky presence in the beach town for the best part of the decade, closed its …
Possum Problems? Possible!
Naomi: I’m having trouble with this comment box too. Had to haul this comment up to blog because the comment box won't accept it. OK, let's see how we go here, get out of Kafkaland... Re possums: Yeah, they're having …
When It's Too Much
Talking with Al Kazzazi at BB’s Deli yesterday got me thinking. How much of a strain is it to keep a restaurant going when the economy is evaporating around you, and you’re not getting customers, and the landlord and the …
Bullfight Bisque
Last night I did the unthinkable: I walked into Dobson’s. That’s the downtown magnet for the power elite. Actually, was just hanging around for a bus. I recognized Paul Dobson, the bullfighter-owner, talking outside. I thought, what the heck. As …
Al's Always Open
The scaffolding's up, but Al's not down. Al and customer His BB's Deli has been a sidewalk hole-in-the wall in the Sandford long-stay hotel building for 16 years, always known for its deals. But the hotel's going through a major …
Eating with Ghosts
Just think: a hundred years ago, ladies of the night would be sitting on this balcony, calling "Woohoo!" to the cowboys sauntering by on the boardwalk. That's the legend, anyway. Talking about The Mission SoMa ("South of Market"), the breakfast-lunch …
Favorite (Wannabe) Café Terraces (Cont')
I so wanna be part of this. It’s not so much a café sidewalk patio as a proper café terrace. Terrazza! Dahling! Welcome to la dolce vita! Do you know count Otto von Schomberger, the Olympic skier…? The only problem …
Do Wood-Fired Beehives Bake the Best Pizzas?
Pizzeria Calabria's Arne Holt is proud of the fact that he has a beehive-shaped pizza built by Stefano Ferrara of Naples, Italy (see this week's Tin Fork). It's da bomb, when it comes to baking traditional Neapolitano pizzas (and they …
Giant Rat for Breakfast?
Giant rat? No. Baby possum. Thinks Casa Bedford is his local Cheap Eatery. Walks in, confident as all get up, doesn't Wait to be Seated, starts in on the appetizers. Cats don't know what to do with him. Brash confidence …
Sad to Say, Sadie
Sorry, Sadie. That glamorous, sexy picture of Wyatt Earp's wife, Josephine Sarah "Sadie" Marcus Earp? You know the one that hangs near Wyatt's photo... ...by the entrance to the Tivoli bar (506 Sixth Avenue, 619-232-6754), the Gaslamp's oldest bar? Tivoli …
McDonald's of Manila
What's the McDonald's of Manila? Luwee knows. He's waiting to take my order here at Jollibee (1401 E. Plaza Boulevard, National City), the Filipino fast-food eatery that has created almost 2000 outlets worldwide, including subsidiaries. They were a two-store ice …
But Is It Proper at 4.30 a.m.?
Monica Halliday said she'd do it. Turn up at Proper Pub at 4.30 in the morning each time a serious Premier League soccer match happens. And that's a lot. But with the time difference with Europe, that's when live action …
McGonagle's: Philly Cheesesteak in National City
"I was standing in a shower when it came to me," says Brian McGonagle, "I just knew this was what I wanted to do." McGonagle was 27. He had just come out of eight years in the Marines. Two tours …