RonDonSD

NOVEMBER 24, 2009 -- The site of the latest DTOWN Mixer was the new, dual-venue Taste & Thirst (715-719 Fourth Avenue) in the Gaslamp Quarter. The monthly party celebrates the publishing release of San DIego Downtown News newspaper. Party partners include FIT Athletic Club, The Galamp Quarter Association and sandiegoDTOWN.com. Ivan Harris snaps the photos--check out who was on hand...

OCTOBER 13, 2009 -- Mike Judge’s movie Office Space didn’t hit box office gold, but it later became a rental cult classic. Same with The Big Lebowski—though its fans are a bit more eclectic. The Coen brothers’ offering is an acquired taste. That’s partly because there’s so much more packed into the tale of three slacker bowling buddies than is easily digested on first viewing.

And then there’s the sandiegoDTOWN.com bowling party on Wednesday at East Village Tavern + Bowl. It’s themed on the Lebowski movie. We’ll be serving “The Dude’s” favorite drink—White Russians. Fueled by St. Petersburg Vodka, you can drink “White Knights” for $1 a pop for the whole party (6-9 p.m.).  

Wait, what’s a White Russian and/or a White Knight? And who’s The Dude?

Good questions. Curiosity, by the way, was a grounding and primary characteristic of Donny (played in the movie by Steve Buscemi).

A White Russian cocktail is made with vodka, coffee liqueur (like Kahlua) and light cream. White Nights is an annual phenomenon that occurs in St. Petersburg, Russia, whereupon the sky stays bright all day and all night (each year from June 11-July 2).

The Dude is Jeffrey Lebowski. But nobody calls the movie title character (played by Jeff Bridges) by his given name. From the film’s dialog:

The Dude: “Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not ‘Mr. Lebowski.’...I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.”

Are you following this thing? To recap, we are hosting a party at EVT + Bowl on October 14 from 6-9 p.m. It’s just for fun. You can dress up like your favorite Lebowski character and try to win a prize. There will also be other raffle prizes.

Oh, and there will be bowling. And remember what movie character Walter Sobchak said: “Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.” Games cost $5 per person. There will also be special lanes set aside for a strike contest. Rolling one gets you a raffle ticket.

As we learn at the end of The Big Lebowski: “The Dude abides.” Come abide with our downtown crowd.

(RSVP at feelthepulse@sandiegoDTOWN.com)

Pick your favorite studio or gym from from the following list and highlight the fastest route to the new downtown LuLuLemon showroom. Print the map with your very personal path highlighted and deliver to the showroom on Friday, August 7 before 5 p.m.

Find Your Path!

sandiegoDTOWN.com

Yoga Studios:
Bikram Old Town
Chula Vista Yoga Center
Core Power Point Loma 
Core Power Hillcrest
Ginseng Yoga
Infinite Yoga 
The Little Yoga Studio
Red Lotus Society
SD Yoga Loft
Yoga One
Yoganic Hillcrest

Pilates, Dance Studios and Gyms:
The Bar Method
Culture Shock
Hot Body Pilates
Marshall Eklund Pilates Studio
Pilates on J
The Pilates Room Little Italy
Pure Fitness

JULY 7, 2009 -- Have you ever seen a dog bobbing for wieners? It’s akin to the human act of bobbing for apples—and it’ll be part of a “What Up, Dog!” dog-friendly scavenger hunt scheduled for July 11 in downtown San Diego.

Where You Want To Be Tours co-owner and scavenger hunt creator Marc Menkin says watching a pooch bob for hot dogs is a sight you won’t soon forget. “I promise you’ll get a laugh out of it,” he says.

Where You Want To Be Tours has hosted two-legged scavenger hunts for five-and-a-half years. Participants are led by a group leader who keeps a team together and on track while they perform mandatory tasks, all while looking for bonus points. It’s a competitive, local version of “The Amazing Race,” without any “Fear Factor” gross-out eating tasks.

Menkin’s scavenger hunt has gone to the dogs for the first time. He’s created a whole new set of game clues that are canine-oriented. “Dogs are the ultimate scavengers and hunters,” he says. “This will be a lot of fun for both the dogs and their owners.”

Along with the July 11 hunt, another dog-friendly scavenging session is planned for September 26. Both begin at 10 a.m. The starting point is disclosed when you RSVP to menkin@wheretours.com or call 619-917-6037.

The scavenger hunt will entail walking about two miles. Dogs should be non-aggressive and leash-trained. Water stops and doggie bags will be provided. Cost: $50/person and dog. Individuals without dogs are welcome to participate.

JULY 6, 2009 -- Two of the Gaslamp Quarter’s consumer-friendliest happy hours happen early in the week. On Monday nights, it’s half off nearly-everything—including food and top-shelf liquor—at La Puerta. Same deal on Tuesdays at Confidential Restaurant + Loft.

Both Fourth Avenue venues are owned by the same management. And on Wednesday, July 15, each will be highlighted during a double-header party that begins at Confidential and ends at La Puerta.

The event is co-hosted by FIT Athletic Club and sandiegoDTOWN.com. Gift certificates to several restaurants will be raffled off. Other raffle prizes include GoCar GPS-guided tours and Skyy Limousine rides. The grand prize—awarded to one lucky winner who attends both parties—is a 40-person Loft party at Confidential that includes a $500 bar tab.

The Confidential party is from 6-9 p.m., and will feature wine pairings and free, small-bite food. The scene switches to La Puerta from 9-11 p.m., where a more Mexican vibe—yes, tequila-infused—exists.

“First and foremost, this night is going to celebrate the happy hour culture, and the social ambiance of downtown,” says Darren Moore, co-owner of both spots, and a downtown resident. “We’ll showcase the menu at Confidential, because we want people to see it has a residential feel, and it isn’t just a lounge. And people who come down to La Puerta afterward will see how diverse a venue it is.”

WHEN:

July 15 (Wednesday)

WHERE:

Confidential 6-9 p.m.

La Puerta 9-11 p.m.

RSVP to JASON@SDNEWS.com

July 3, 2009 -- In director Cameron Crowe’s 2000 movie “Almost Famous,” the San Diego native shot one scene of dialogue in downtown’s Sun Café. The greasy spoon was located at 421 Market Street. It recently was bought and converted into Funky Garcia’s Mexican Eatery & Bar. If Crowe contemplates a sequel to his movie, don’t expect him to return here—it’s one of the most 180-degree renovations you could imagine.

The new design is an absolute upgrade—even though low-cost food remains a link between Funky Garcia’s and the Sun Café of yore. Owners Moji and Alfredo Sadighian also opted to keep the SUN CAFÉ sign on the exterior wall, as an homage to the old landmark.

Inside it’s all about south-of-the-border ambiance. There are tequila half-barrels on the ceiling serving as light shades. The walls are decorated with maracas, serapes and Mexican landscapes. There’s also a mustachioed, sombrero-wearing cartoon character—the inimitable Funky Garcia—stenciled in various poses around the room. He looks like he’s sampled all 82 of the tequilas served here.

The Sadighians own four restaurants in Tijuana, and have run downtown San Diego’s Tabule eatery for a year. “Funky Garcia’s has sort of a Senor Frog’s theme,” said Moji Sadighian. She says the Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream flavor had nothing to do with their name choice.

Funky Garcia’s—which recently hosted John Campbell’s 92101 Happy Hour mixer—is serving lunch and dinner seven days a week. The kitchen is open until 3 a.m. every night except Sunday (when it shuts down at midnight). Most burritos are $4.99; tacos are $2.99. For now, Happy Hour is 3-7 p.m. every day, with half off all drinks.  

Funky Garcia’s exudes a high-concept lowbrow atmosphere. The quirkiest aspect I found: The men’s room toilet, which offers privacy via a semi-translucent blue shower curtain. Now, that’s funky.

JULY 2, 2009 -- A downtown denizen (myself included) really doesn’t need the hassle of driving to Pacific Beach for nightlife. Nor should the PB knuckleheads (a tough-love term of affection) come downtown and drunk-drive home. I’m not advocating that everybody just stay on their own turf—though that’s what I do, mostly. Recognizably, there are legitimate reasons or events that entail—deep breath—leaving the home base of operations.

To that end, kudos to Link Shuttle Inc. for starting LocalLink. It’s a shuttle service that starts up this weekend, with drop-off and pickup at The Local in downtown and The Open Bar in Pacific Beach. Vans will leave each bar on the hour from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Cost is $10 roundtrip.

“We’re excited about this ride-share idea,” says spokesperson Aaron Heier. “It’s a safety idea, as well as a green and economical idea. If you’ve got eight friends that all want to go to a specific location, you don’t have to take eight cars.”

A one-way taxi fare from downtown to Pacific Beach is estimated at $25-$30.

The vans fit up to 30 people. Heier says LocalLink is committed to doing the service all summer. If demand is there, the company will extend it beyond the summer, or do back-and-forth service from other locations.

Link Shuttle Inc. got its start in 1996 as a small-scale transportation service for local university students. Owner Cynthia Sanders partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and strove to get students home safely from downtown. Today, Link Shuttle has 25 vans and 40 employees.

Is drinking allowed on the shuttle bus to-and-from downtown and PB? “Yes,” says Heier. “But these are not party busses.” And make note, knuckleheads: There are no potties.

JULY 1, 2009 -- It’s no wonder David and Kim Pinkney have been picked for a reality show about “underdogs” in American business. He survived the mean streets of Chicago. She made it out of rural New Mexico. As Kim says, “not many of the kids we grew up with got an education, or are business owners.”

Today, they own Crunch Time Popcorn, with a storefront on K Street that’s half a block from Petco Park—home to Padres, their biggest client.

After finding each other nine years ago—on a dating Web site—the pair survived a couple tragedies to be where they are now. In 2003, their Descanso home was one of few that survived that year’s wild fires. And late last year, an F-18 military jet crashed in their neighborhood. The plane’s canopy landed on a neighbor’s roof, and glass sprinkled the garden Kim had planned to work in that day.

They’ve had a downtown San Diego Crunch Time store for seven years, and have been in the current spot for just a year. The Pinkneys sell popcorn to several downtown hotels (The Omni, Sheraton, Manchester Grand Hyatt, the Marriotts and the new Hilton Bayfront to name a few). Christmas is a big selling time for cans of their trademark caramel corn. But David says 70 percent of his business is vended at Petco Park.

“A lot of people with the Padres helped me, and I thank them all,” says David. “[Part-owner] John Moores, though, he put us in and got the ball rolling. He wanted to see an entrepreneur in this position—and he snapped his fingers and made it happen. We’re a small company in that park—but we don’t get stepped on at all. We are underdogs that are making it.”

The Pinkneys have six employees that make their trademark air-popped corn (it’s not cooked in oil). And seven venders hawk it in the park—including David. He doesn’t have to sell, but says it’s the best feeling in the world: “I make it with my own hands and sell it, and I get to see the blissful reaction on peoples’ faces when they eat it.”

Here’s what’s happening in restaurant news all over town…

Lefty’s vs. Bronx. When lip-smacking delicious Phil’s BBQ moved to Sports Arena Boulevard, it left a void in Mission Hills. But who-da thunk the space would be filled by a powerhouse pizza place? Especially with a pie titan roughly 10 blocks away in Hillcrest’s Bronx Pizza. This geographic juxtaposition presents the possibility of a big city pizza-dough throw down. Will the thin-crusted New York style prevail? Will the Chicago deep-dish of Lefty’s come out on topping? This is a mouthwatering heavyweight matchup.

Corvette Diner. The classic Corvette Diner has re-opened with an expanded Gamers Garage in Liberty Station. As reported here first, waitresses won’t be tossing Bazooka gum at patrons any more. A grand-opening celebration will take place July 11 and 12. Lady Dottie and the Diamonds are one of several bands slated to hit the stage. Come in a retro costume and be eligible to win a $500 dinner package; or, enter by emailing a photo of yourself at the former Corvette Diner to corvettedinersd@gmail.com.

Prepkitchen. The brains behind Whisknladle in La Jolla have opened a new place in the tony seaside enclave. Prepkitchen (7556 Fay Avenue) will serve gourmet takeout for lunch and dinner. Whisknladle executive chef Ryan Johnston will also oversee the lunch small bites and full dinners at Prepkitchen. “Snacks” include chicken-stuffed piquillo peppers and squid escabeche ceviche. Yep, that sounds like La Jolla takeout.

Casa de Bandini. Back when Old Town was cool—okay, it wasn’t as cool as much as it was acceptable to take your visiting tourons there—it was home to Diane Powers’ Casa de Bandini. She got a bum deal, had her lease revoked in 2005, and is finally re-opening the restaurant at The Forum in Carlsbad. Back will be the strolling mariachis and the human-head-sized margarita glasses.

Azucar. I’m not a dessert person, but people are raving about Azucar in Ocean Beach. It’s a Cuban patisserie that serves cakes, cookies and all manner of sweets (azucar means “sugar” in Spanish). The place is the inspiration of Vivian Hernandez-Jackson, who was born to Cuban parents in Miami. A Buenos Dias bundt cake is made with carrots, apples, coconut, pineapple, walnuts…and plenty of azucar.

O’Brothers. It’s home to a 100 percent organic beef hamburger. Everything is organic—from the beef to the cheese to the buns to the condiments. O’Brothers is in Horton Plaza—but like many storefronts there, it’s a little tough to find. If you’re desperate for all things organic, go to the northeast end of downtown’s phantasmagoric mall and ride the Broadway Circle escalator to just above the Levi’s store.

JUNE 29, 2009 -- Dave McDonald says Banker’s Hill is poised to be the next North Park. It’s a bold claim—North Park is a gentrifying, up-and-coming urban neighborhood noted for cool clubs like U-31 and eclectic eateries like The Linkery and Sea Rocket Bistro.

Banker’s Hill isn’t known for much—a lot of it sits under the Lindbergh Field flight path and the widely unheralded neighborhood is essentially Victorian homes interspersed with small, plain storefronts.

But here comes McDonald’s Tin Can Alehouse (1863 Fifth Avenue, between Elm and Fir). The site has held a liquor license since before World War II, says McDonald, and up until he took over three months ago, it was called Brothers on Fifth.

The new name is derived from the fact that most of the beers served here come in cans. McDonald serves 57 brands of beer. “If you can’t find something you like here, you don’t like beer,” he says.

For $2.25, you can lowbrow it with Olympia or Old Milwaukee. Schlitz High Gravity (9.5 percent alcohol) and Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys (24 ounces) are $4.75. The ladies like the Young’s Double Chocolate ($7), and another popular premium is the Maui Coconut Porter ($8), says McDonald. But he believes the best bargain is the German Spaten: Its $25 for a 169-ounce mega-can, which serves roughly 14 12-ounce glasses.

The stretch of Fifth Avenue occupied by Tin Can Alehouse is slightly rough-hewn, but McDonald has cleaned up his establishment. Bands play Tuesday-through-Saturday; and he recently hosted an art exhibit by HGTV “Design Star” competitor Jen Guerin (her JC Color Studios is on the same block).

North Park may not have Banker’s Hill breathing down its neck in a cool-factor race. But Tin Can Alehouse’s signature “All-in-One” sandwich is worth a raised eyebrow. Heaped between fresh-baked bread are five meats (salami, pastrami, corned beef, smoked turkey and barbecue beef), provolone cheese and, yes, fresh-cut French fries. If it doesn’t kill you, it will only make you stronger.