Little Italy San Diego

JANUARY 27, 2010 -- Dear Readers:

It’s my pleasure to inform you that sandiegoDTOWN.com is moving. This Web site is being merged into the much bigger SanDiego.com site. DTOWN will soon be a page on SanDiego.com, and I have been hired to be Editor in Chief of SanDiego.com.

From inception in 2009 until now, I’ve enjoyed writing and editing stories about downtown San Diego for the neighborhood site Heather Back and I started up. We both previously worked at San Diego Magazine (which is not affiliated with SanDiego.com), and resolutely took our print experience to the new media world.

Entering the Wild West of journalism was exhilarating. We found a great host company called Neighborlogs that gave us the framework for sandiegoDTOWN.com. Then we learned how to post stories, size photos, create eBlasts and even found paying advertisers for our site. The ride was bumpy and there was no map, but the journey had begun.

Very soon, everything you may have liked about DTOWN will start showing up on SanDiego.com. That Web site has been in existence since 1993. Bought for $35 back then, you can only imagine what a “geo-domain” like SanDiego.com is worth today.

SanDiego.com has been a profitable venture that served as an information portal for visitors to the city. Now, the direction has been set to serve local information to locals. We’re not aiming to be a breaking-news site. Rather, we’ll evolve into an online version of a lifestyle-oriented city magazine. We’ll cover interesting and off-the-beaten path San Diego stories, as well as business, sports, arts and entertainment and much more.

The new SanDiego.com is already off to a great start. La Jolla-based Mike Sager, a writer at large for Esquire magazine, is writing spirited opinion columns for the site. New York Times contributor Eilene Zimmerman is covering San Diego business. And former San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Welton Jones heads an impressive team of arts reviewers.

The contributor list also already includes Dave Good (The Reader), Ned Randolph (San Diego Magazine) and Brandon Hernandez (Pacific San Diego), and veterans like David Coddon (Union-Tribune’s Night & Day) and Josh Board (The Reader) are about to bring their well-read musings to SanDiego.com.

Thanks for clicking on sandiegoDTOWN.com last year, and opening the eBlasts. As 2010 shows signs of recovery and rejuvenation, you’re invited to stop in often at SanDiego.com for news, musings and insight into the stories and issues that affect life in Greater San Diego.

Sincerely,

Ron Donoho

Editor in Chief

SanDiego.com

DECEMBER 17, 2009 -- One party guest at the new El Camino Mexicana in northern Little Italy seemed a bit confused about the venue. He approached a pair of pretty party-goers on the al fresco back patio and asked if the planes would still be flying overhead. Seems he’d been to this site when it was called Airport Lounge and back then, it was directly under the Lindbergh Field flight path.

That reveler was advised to have another cocktail and just wait a couple minutes. The décor has changed, but indoor-outdoor El Camino is still under the flight path, and you still have to freeze your conversation while each Southwest 747 roars down from above.

When it was Airport Lounge, the interior was made to look like the inside of an airplane. The bar was sleek and white, and bartenders and waitresses dressed like pilots and stewardesses.

Now, the décor is muy Mexican. Day of the Dead-inspired paintings cover walls, and Virgin Mary candles are everywhere. The bar has been paneled over with dark wood. For the opening party, about a half dozen actual El Caminos were parked outside—hopping up and down on hydraulic lifts.

Mauricio Couturier and partners still own this El Camino, and another in South Park. Had Airport Lounge outlived its “in” image?

“Airport Lounge still had a strong following,” says Couturier. “But we opened the El Camino in South Park as a test for opening one in Little Italy. It’s working out in both places.”

El Camino will be open for dinner seven days a week. A Mexican brunch is served on Sundays, starting at 10 a.m. If a demand arises for lunch, Couturier will give it a go.

And yes, the airplanes will still be passing overhead.

NOVEMBER 2, 2009 -- Taste of Little Italy happens twice a year and sells out each time (ticket sales are capped at 750). The next one is Wednesday (November 4) from 5-9 p.m., and it’s your last chance to pay one price for access to 27 different restaurants in one night.

New this year: Fabrison’s, Pizzeria Luigi and the organic beefy deliciousness of Burger Lounge. Yogurtland will be dishing out 16 different flavors of dessert, and Enoteca Style will serve Prosesso (Italian champagne) to ticketholders 21-and-up.

You’ll never get to all 27 eateries in one night (nor should you try). But the restaurants are close enough together so that you can plan a meal strategy, and not just do a bloated stagger down India Street.

Consider: The views from The Glass Door; the “crazy” risotto from Po Pazzo; and/or the saffron arancini bites at Anthology, where jazz violinist Jean Luc Ponty plays two shows (at 7:30 and 10 p.m.). No, jazz flautist Ron Burgundy is not billed that night.

Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 night of. Get more information at tasteoflittleitalysd.com.

Egg-zactly!: The Broken Yolk (355 Sixth Avenue) is a most welcome addition to the downtown breakfast scene. The food selection is tops and the eggs are never greasy. But the best bet for a bubbly bargain is the mimosa special. You get a bottle of decent and drinkable (Wycliff Brut) champagne and a half carafe of either orange, cranberry or pomegranate juice for $12.99.

See if that puts you in the mood to take the Broken Yolk challenge: Eat a dozen-egg omelet in less than one hour and your meal is free. You also get a t-shirt to mark this proud moment, and your picture goes up on a Wall of Fame/Shame.

Fox Rocks: This past weekend, after splitting cranberry mimosas at The Broken Yolk, the Significant-O and I set out for a sports bar to watch the continued domination of the Chargers over the Raiders. The East Village Tavern is always elbow-to-elbow on Sundays. So we pedaled our bikes to the enormous new Hilton Bayside (east of the convention center) and were wowed by the water’s-edge scenery at the Fox Sports Grill. This big, but slightly-off-the-well-trodden-path pub/eatery was 75 percent capacity. The crowd—slightly older than EVT’s—was decidedly pro-Chargers. Put this place on your list (but if you go, grab a booth—some dining room chairs seem sized for kindergartners, and especially not a Broken Yolk Challenge kinda guy).

Happy Birthday: Urban Solace in North Park is turning two (but not the terrible kind). Chef Matt Gordon’s fall menus will be paired with Palmina Wines (the gift President Obama presented to Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano at the G8 Summit). A second U-S is slated to open in Encinitas in spring 2010.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009 -- Little Italy’s It’s A Grind Coffee House has quietly re-opened. The chain store had been closed for about two months, following the shocking arrest of franchise owner Thomas James Parker. The Tierrasanta businessman was accused of assaulting seven San Diego women over the past year.

After his high-profile arrest, Parker, 39, committed suicide in his jail cell by hanging himself with a sheet.

Angelica Andrews worked at the coffeehouse for six to seven months before the closure, and is now back on the job. “There’s honestly nothing else to say except we were all extremely shocked,” says Andrews.

She says business is slowly picking back up. “Slowly, business is coming back,” says Andrews. “We have a lot of regulars that are excited we’re back open…Sure, we get some people asking questions about what happened, but, it is what it is.”

It’s A Grind is a national chain of coffeehouses, with hundreds of locations around the country, including five in San Diego. The Long Beach-based company was founded in 1994 by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery.

A spokesperson for It’s A Grind could not be reached for comment. Andrews says the Little Italy location is currently corporate-run by the founder’s brother, Jerry Cox. Several employees are under the impression the company is currently looking for a new franchise owner.

Parker was arrested in early July after trying to attack a Mission Valley woman in the garage of her home. She fought back, Parker tried to leave the scene and an off-duty Border Patrol agent helped capture him. Before that attack, most of Parker’s victims had been young Asian women.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 -- Wednesday could be designated Howie Day Day in downtown’s Little Italy. The international singer-songwriter will play a free lunchtime concert at Anthology supper club. First come, first acoustically served in the 600-capacity club.

The daytime concert is courtesy of independent radio station KPRI (102.1 FM). “So many of our free shows are in the evenings,” says VP/station manager Bob Burch. “We felt it was time to do a show for the working men and women of San Diego.”

Anthology has hosted other lunchtime concerts, but those have been private events for various select radio station audience members. This is the first one open to the general public, says Anthology owner Marsha Berkson.

“KPRI wants to expand its reach, and extended an open invitation,” said Berkson. “Anyone can come, but we’re excited because it’s very much targeted to the Little Italy neighborhood.”

Doors open at 11 a.m., and Day is scheduled to take the stage at 12:30. Anthology is not normally open for lunch, but will offer a $10 buffet spread. Full bar service will be available.

Acoustic rocker Day (you’ve hummed his 2005 hit “Collide” at some point in your life) plays House of Blues tonight, with Colbie Caillat. Day’s new album “Sound the Alarm” was just released this month.

AUGUST 7, 2009 -- Next time you read a byline in a local newspaper or magazine, or watch an anchor on a nightly TV newscast, take note: those people may soon be your public servants. Over the past few years, there’s been a steady march from the field of journalism into politics.

On Monday, Tim McClain should begin working as a legislative assistant/press secretary to San Diego County District 4 Supervisor Ron Roberts. For the previous dozen years, McClain was the editor of Metropolitan magazine, appeared on Editors Roundtable on KPBS and most recently was business editor for sandiego.com.

What’s it like to go from asking the questions to answering and/or avoiding them?

“I love journalists and writers—I’ve always been a big defender of what they try to do,” says McClain. “And I’ll help them do their jobs from this side of the fence.”

Last month, San Diego city councilmember Marti Emerald (District 7) hired former KGTV weather reporter Geni Cavitt to be her director of communications. You might recall Emerald was the “Troubleshooter” consumer reporter for 10News.

Within the last year, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders snatched up San Diego Union-Tribune writers Gerry Braun and Rachel Laing to be director of special projects and deputy press secretary, respectively.

District 6 city councilmember Donna Frye has also double-dipped at the Union-Tribune. Former reporters Mark Sauer and Chet Barfield are now her district representatives.

Former U-T reporter Tony Manolatos was grabbed to be director of communications for District 2 city councilmember Kevin Faulconer. District 1 county supervisor Greg Cox has the U-T's Luis Monteagado as his spokesperson. And the director of communications for the past couple years to District 5 county supervisor Bill Horn has been former KFMB-TV anchor John Culea.  

And now, I'd like to announce that I'm running for President...Not.

JULY 16, 2009 -- The noshings offered at Spicy Pickle (303 Beech Street) are delish. The pizzetis and paninis, the subs and soups—all are served with a trademark spiced pickle.

So what, you ask?

Yesterday, I drove by the corner of Front and Beech and passed a six-foot-ish spicy pickle. The larger-than-average veggie-man was leaning against a post and casually waving a sign advertising the eatery. (Take a moment to examine the picture. It’s just not something your brain is wired to expect.)

We’ve all seen sign spinners. They’re street advertisers—some of the more talented ones wiggle, jiggle and juggle the signs to get your attention. And I recently covered a story about nearly nude models wearing sandwich boards to get noticed on the street. It was called a throwback to the earliest days of social networking.

And then along comes Spicy Pickle Man. I checked my calendar. Nope, the costumed revelry that is ComicCon doesn’t starts until July 23. Could there be an under-publicized VeggieCon going on at the convention center?

Negative, reports Spicy Pickle manager James Flores. Spicy Pickle Man is an employee who premiered the pickle suit on Wednesday—and helped account for a five percent spike in lunch business.

A sweet dill, indeed.

JUNE 24, 2009 -- The smart single guys—who are at least moderately flexible—will make a beeline to the sand-covered Beach rooftop bar at the downtown W Hotel this Thursday, for the summer premier of Vino & Vinyasa. It’s a wine-and-yoga event that last year was reportedly attended by three spandex-clad gals for every warrior-posing guy.

The one-hour class is taught by popular yoga teacher/mentor/consultant Bonnie Jones. “This is the second year for this class, and it’s got an amazing energy,” says Jones, who is also an “ambassador” for lululemon athletica yoga apparel (a new shop will open downtown this summer). “I think people like being outdoors and on the sand—but in the city.”

Jones notes that doing yoga on sand is “super hard,” but still a fun challenge. As added incentive to come bend on the beach, there will be a raffle of five one-month memberships to The Little Yoga Studio in Cortez Hill.

The classes at W Hotel will re-occur every other Thursday through September 3. Get there earlier than the 5:30 p.m. start time—or risk being relegated to overflow space near the pool (no, they won’t put you on a mat in the lobby).

Your first glass of vino is $3. But will you feel odd socializing out at a bar in your yoga-sweat-sopped gym clothes? No way, says Jones. “Everyone’s there to do yoga,” she says. “Afterward, the veneer is stripped away, and the typical male-female dance is broken down. Everybody mixes and mingles.”

Meditate on that.

JUNE 22, 2009 -- Passers-by might do a double take when they see the new storefront on India Street in Little Italy. It’s reasonable to expect pizzerias and coffee shops. But a water boutique? From Japan?

Daisuke Miura is the CEO of Numero Water Boutique (619-236-8369; numerowater.com), a shop that opened in mid-June. The company sells pricey water from Japan’s Mount Fuji in what Miura says is the biggest bottled-water market in the world—San Diego.

The former second-floor condo sales office has been impressively reworked. The entrance includes monkey statues and a living plant wall that leads the eye up. Upstairs is an open space where foot baths are offered with an expansive view overlooking India Street. Wall decorations include framed samurai headbands.

The design reflects modern, urban Japan and wabi sabi, a philosophy that loosely translates to an appreciation of nature and the fleetingness and imperfection of life, art and human endeavors.

Miura and his associates set out to create a new business that is part spa – and part something completely different.

After all, how many other businesses feature tea-tenders? Currently, Numero is giving free tastings at a green tea bar that features 25 types of the healthful brew. The tea bar is tucked around the corner from the main space, with a view of a Zen garden. The room is connected to a tea ceremony room and reflexology room. Matcha is one house specialty. A strong green tea that is whisked with a small amount of water and drunk out of bowl, it is somewhat similar to a very green shot of espresso.

Several types of spring water are available, including one that Miura touts as the “softest water in the world.” And he proposes a surprising use for it: cooking.

The shop also offers more traditional spa type treatments including a hot spring foot bath and reflexology. Office manager Debbi Ditomaso says that in a bow to Karate Kid, the store has an electric massage chair that’s been dubbed: “Mr. Massage-y.”

(R. Adam Ward is a freelance writer. To read more of his work, go to radamward.com.)

JUNE 18, 2009 -- The world’s largest ball of yarn is just so passé. This Saturday, local chefs will attempt to build the world’s largest…Caprese salad. An extensive Google search turned up nothing conclusive on other over-sized salad attempts. So after this weekend the record for biggest Caprese salad is estimated to be: 24 feet (long).

The tall-order tossing takes place at The Mercato, the Little Italy farmer’s market celebrating its one-year anniversary this month. The salad will be forked up by three chefs—Eric Bauer of Anthology, Rob Conaway of The Glass Door and Joe Magnanelli of the currently-being-re-vamped Cucina Urbano (formerly Laurel)—and three culinary students.

For the record, a Caprese salad consists of tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella and olive oil. Organizers estimate it will take less than an hour to make history and rock the Caprese world. The super-salad will be portioned off and sold to the viewing audience. Proceeds will go to Kinder Garden, an actual garden program run by Washington Elementary School.

Mercato “meistra” Catt White is proud of how far the farmer’s market has come in one year. “Every farmer’s market has its own characteristics,” she says. “We’re European-style, with a focus on farmers.” In the beginning, there were 38 booths; now there are 82. There’s room for about 15 more.

On any given weekend (The Mercato is held every Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) upward of 3,000 people come to shop. But you can image that, with the record-sized Caprese salad going up, years from now 10 times that amount will claim to have been there.

JUNE 11, 2009 -- It's been 20 years since Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played in San Diego. That’s a huge shame, according to Robert Hughes, co-owner of local independent radio station KPRI (102.1 FM). But Bruce aficionados take heed: the tribute band Thunder Road is playing downtown at the Anthology supper club this weekend. The band just happens to include Hughes on rhythm guitar.

“Bruce Springsteen puts on the very best show in rock & roll,” Hughes says. “He delivers. It’s very disappointing to all of us in the band that he hasn’t been to San Diego in so long. We have no beef with him -- it must be a business decision -- but we’ve all seen his show and would love to see him here.”

The Anthology shows (June 13 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) will feature Thunder Road playing “faithful renditions of his songs, played to the best of our abilities,” Hughes says, adding that leather-clad lead singer Nicky Rich looks like a young version of The Boss.

Thunder Road has a number of players from Hughes’ other classic rock band, Shock Waves (formerly known as Left for Dead). He jokes that the band changed names at the urging of NBC 7/39 anchor Marty Levin’s wife, Gail.

“She was in charge of a benefit and was thinking about booking us,” Hughes says. “But she was pretty adamant about not hiring a band named Left for Dead for an Alzheimer’s event.”

For Anthology ticket information, call 619-595-0300.

JUNE 7, 2009 -- Hurt by a slide in occupancy rates and revenue, the owner of downtown’s upscale W Hotel San Diego will default on the June mortgage payment. Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. will turn the underwater property over to its lenders.

What does that means to job stability for employees and service for booked guests? “Nothing—everything will move forward as it has in the past,” says W Hotel San Diego general manager Stan Kaminski. “Starwood will retain the management contract, and continue to take care of all our clients and guests.”

Kaminski, who opened the Sheraton Carlsbad in February 2008, has been on the job at W Hotel for just a month and a half. He says coming into the position he knew the financial situation, but was still taken by surprise when the default occurred.

Kaminski says the company is still awaiting official word from the bank, and a press statement will be released later today.

Sunstone Hotel Investors owned 43 hotel properties that are run by a variety of high-end management chains, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Fairmont. W Hotels is a management brand under the Starwood umbrella.  

“While [Sunstone] maintains more than adequate liquidity to support or repay this mortgage, we believe a conveyance of this hotel in settlement of the debt would be in the best interest of our stockholders,” Sunstone chief financial officer Ken Cruse said in a statement.

When opened in December 2002, W Hotel San Diego was the new “it” hangout. Its sand-covered Beach rooftop bar was coveted by the “in” crowd. The property lost some of its luster as more and more rooftop bars—including Stingaree and The Gaslamp Marriott’s Altitude—entered the downtown arena.

To keep up with the influx of downtown luxury boutique properties—like The Ivy, The Keating and Hotel Solamar—W Hotel renovated its bars, pool area and lobby last year. The cost of that upgrade—overseen by “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” design guru Thom Filicia—was not disclosed.  

JUNE 2, 2009 -- 1989 was a good year for beer. Homer Simpson first showed us his love for Duff, and Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner co-founded Karl Strauss Brewing Company. Their first restaurant opened up downtown on Columbia Street. To celebrate two decades of hoppy days, Karl Strauss is holding a series of anniversary beer dinners. One was held last night at the La Jolla location.

This four-course dinner is the kind that lingers on your palate (and hips) for longer than just the night. Imagine tender seared salmon paired with Karl Straus Amber Lager. And mussels, shrimp and bay scallops soaked alongside Andouille sausage and complemented by Tower 10 IPA (named after a Mission Beach lifeguard tower, and which replaces Stargazer IPA on the brewery’s roster).

That’s just half the menu. Save room for marinated pork chops paired with toasty and rich Karl Straus Altbier. For dessert—yes, beer can be a dessert—there’s beer-n-bananas-foster. Homer, eat your heart out. Its vanilla bean ice cream, spiced biscotti and plantains matched with 20^th anniversary bourbon-aged Belgian trippel beer.

This brewski, aged for nine months in bourbon barrels and weighing in at 10.5 percent alcohol content, is only around for a limited engagement. But Karl Straus, the company, appears to be here for the long haul. The craft-beer specialist recently completed a brewery expansion, and is now capable of producing 60,000 barrels annually.

At last count there were six Karl Strauss restaurants, including four in San Diego (La Jolla, downtown, Sorrento Mesa and Carlsbad). If you can’t wait for the next beer-pairing dinner, check into Thursday Cask Nights. Brewers create special small batches of beer. June 6 will beget a Rye IPA. As Mr. Simpson might sum things up: “Woo-Hoo!”

JUNE 1, 2009 -- San Diego has tried to get it right with red-light traffic cameras in the past, to ill-effect. Now they’re back, and at three new intersections and the 30-day warning period is over.

Now, rather than a warning, you get a ticket if the camera photographs your vehicle moving through an intersection after the light has turned red. There are none downtown--yet. The three spots newly in effect are: Balboa Avenue at Kearny Villa Road, in Kearny Mesa; North Torrey Pines Road at Genesee Avenue, in Torrey Pines; and Rosecrans Street at Nimitz Boulevard.

This is a small step in the wrong direction, Big Brother. The tickets carry a minimum fine of $436. Sure, drunk drivers and those who endanger life and limb should be fined and taken off the streets. Pushing a light is not ever a good idea, but it’s not always an infraction that needs to be enforced as a black/white issue.

There are days when you’re late to pick up a child a day care, for example. And there are times when seconds count for matters that are essential to your life and can’t be explained to a camera. The classic case was the expectant father who roared through a red light and was pulled over by a cop. When told of the impending bundle of joy the cop almost always threw on his lights and yelled, “Follow me to the hospital!”

We can’t put a police officer at every intersection to sort through the nuance of every infraction, and nobody should be above the law. But red-light traffic cameras are more of a fiscal crutch than a reasonable response to traffic safety. They should go.

MAY 28, 2009 -- As participants in Taste of Little Italy scampered from eating station to eating station last night, they got to sample culinary offerings from the downtown area’s established outlets as well as new kids on the block. One of the latter was Porto Vista Hotel, which has been popular out of the gate, but has even bigger plans on the drawing boards.

The 193-room hotel has a cool fourth-floor restaurant called The Glass Door, which offers daily Happy Hours and a peaceful view of San Diego Bay. The hotel opened May 2008, the restaurant came a little later and a new rooftop deck is just about to be open full time in the evenings. The deck has cabanas and is lined by Italianate columns; bar areas and other finishing touches are near completion.

The exterior of the hotel is a major step up from its former life as a Clarion hotel. But up until recently, let’s face it, the rooms and walkways still had that Clarion ambiance. That deficit is about to be addressed, said Porto Vista Hotel general manager Greg Keebler.

The hotel has enlisted the aid of designer Graham Downes, whose architectural work is on display locally at Tower 23 and The Pearl hotels. Downes is working on giving Porto Vista a more upscale “1960s Italian” look. Watch for an artful change from street level, and get ready for wall-sized murals in all guest rooms.

“It’ll be more mid-scale boutique—not high-end like The Ivy, but an improvement to what it is now,” said Keebler.

There are already a pair of Vespa scooters (one is valued at $20,000) on display in the hotel’s lobby, and more are on the way. In Las Vegas, The flashy Wynn mega-resort has a Ferrari dealership; more befitting the Little Italy neighborhood feel, Porto Vista will soon sport a Vespa store. Get ready to scoot on over.

(Ron Donoho's stories are also carried on NBCsandiego.com and sandiego.com)

MAY 26, 2009 -- You ought to be able to hoof it 10 blocks from The Waterfront (chipotle sliders) to Karl Strauss (serving home-brewed beer), but don’t expect to get in a foot race with Sandi Cottrell. Bummer for the Taste of Little Italy event organizer: The popular walking event kicks off Wednesday (May 27), but she took a fall in Cancun a couple days ago and broke her ankle.


Cottrell’s crack will prohibit her from visiting all 20 of the restaurants participating in downtown’s Taste of Little Italy. But she doesn’t want that to stop anybody else. For $35 dollars, from 5-9 p.m. ticket buyers are entitled to one free sample at each place.


You’d really have to pace yourself to eat 20 samples at 20 sites in four hours, but if you’re not on crutches, give it a go. Ilume is offering braised pork shoulder with orzo, spinach, and feta cheese. Indigo Grill’s got ceviche, and Spicy Pickle picked paninis. Enoteca Style will offer a Prosecco tasting, and Pappalecco is spooning out gelato.


Cottrell says ticket sales are limited to a moderately intimate 750, and they could probably sell twice that many if so many of the participating establishments were so intimately sized. Some tickets are still available by phone (619-615-1092), and a few will be sold for $40 at the Date and India street corner ticket tent.


“Even if you don’t get a ticket, its fun to come down and see the people and enjoy the scene,” says Cottrell. “Some people have never experienced the atmosphere of The Waterfront, or tried the new Yogurtland.” At the very least, you could come down and sign Cottrell’s cast.