ciao viva pasta

another restaurant succumbs to the crap economy with the closing of viva pasta in hillcrest. i liked the concept of fresh and healthy pasta prepared in a semi-fast food setting, but i heard some complaints about lack of flavor.

things are looking better over at the new twiggs on adams, where co-owner bernie says business has been good since their opening, with a big breakfast crowd. after a string of disappointing breakfasts at antique row cafe a few years back, and a la francaise now a memory, the lack of competition is in their favor. tonight they were serving up a michael jackson white velvet cake, each slice complete with sequined glove:



meanwhile 24-hour dining comes to hillcrest with the soon-to-be-opened ruby kitchen, in the old med grill location. expect comfort food from the owner of ruby room club next door by way of the former chef of ole madrid.

viva pops

taste of adams ave was a lot of fun sunday, and one of the highlights was new popsicle shop viva pops across the street from lestats. made with fresh organic fruits and herbs, they were the perfect cool-down on the first warm day of san diego's belated summer. the peach ginger was amazingly full of flavor, but my favorite was the lavender lemonade. we met the owners, lisa and jack, during art around adams, and they are really friendly and enthusiastic about their shop. interestingly, it's one of the few popsicle shops in the entire country.




other highlights from taste of adams: lobster samosas at pinto thai, paninis at kensington cafe, steak fajitas and grilled corn at el zarape, and smoothies at senor mangos. plus lots of tasty pizza from zia's. lowlight: jayne's gastropub going through the motions as they served up the same fish and couscous dish from last year.

more eatery news: sdnn notes the opening of two pizza shops last week - lefty's in the old phil's bbq spot in mission hills, and another luigi's, this time next to eclipse chocolat at 2121 el cajon blvd.

taste of adams this sunday

taste of adams ave is this sunday from 11-3. it was a lot of fun last year and this year has even more participants, including new restaurants el zarape and blind lady ale house:



also this weekend, the ocean beach street fair and chili cook off is going on saturday from 10-8. let's hope the coastal gloom will finally lift and we'll get the warmup the forecasters said would arrive three days ago.

kimball block

we met jay's folks for lunch in national city on sunday, which gave us the opportunity to check out kimball block on a street there. it's an historic set of rowhomes built in 1887, and they look like they've been picked up from savannah and dropped in the middle of nat city. actually they're based on philadelphia architecture and they're the only ones of their kind on the west coast, according to the link above.




there are a couple of other historic homes across the street, but the newish rowhomes on the next block are an interesting contrast to this historical pocket of town.

jake's on 6th wine bar opens saturday

the wine bar on 6th in hillcrest that's been under construction for a while appeared to be open this past sunday (updaet: it opens this coming saturday, thanks rich). jake's on 6th - a wine bar is just south of lotus thai in that same strip of buildings, with patio seating out front. nothing on yelp or their website yet, but they've got plenty of competition with the ever-popular wine steals on university, and the recently-opened mosaic and splash wine bars in north park.

other stuff:




- we were really surprised by the solid burgers and slick design of o brothers in horton plaza. everything is organic at this place, and the wolaver brown ale organic beer recommended by the cashier was very good. not something you'd expect to find in a shopping mall, but the strains of corey hart's "never surrender" over the restaurant's speakers reminded you of exactly where you were. on the plus side, there's a good view of the plaza below.

- they were taking down the starbucks sign from the recently-closed 30th and el cajon location as we drove by saturday. the empty patio should be a convenient spot for the pimps to keep an eye on their women as they work the boulevard.



- newly-launched uptown news reports that kensington terrace has been delayed "at least a year" due to lack of financing.

the repetition kills you

del mar racetrack has announced their 2009 summer concert series and unfortunately it's a rehash of 2008 - five of the 10 acts are repeat performers from last year, four are there for their third year in a row, and every act but one (airborne toxic event) has played there before. i know the shows are free with paid admission to the track, but how about a little variety guys?

el zarape open in normal heights

you wouldn't know it from driving by, but el zarape has opened on adams ave in normal heights. they're staffed up for a big crowd - we counted at least five different servers that came to our table, which accounted for the very good service we received. we started off with a mango ceviche tostada, which was a bit strange-tasting with its seafood/tomato/mango flavor combo. my shrimp diabla were quite tasty rolled into a tortilla with onions, peppers, rice and some spicy salsa. the entree was light and seemingly healthy, and a welcome change from the cheese-fest of nearly every entree at ponce's down the street. jay's flavorful bistek ranchero stew came with potatoes and onions, but could have used "mas bistek". my margarita was also good, but it's hard to beat the ones served up at cantina mayahuel nearby.

the dining area is large, open and traditionally designed. the kitchen and hostess area flank the room:



if i hadn't used the restroom i wouldn't have seen the lounge tucked behind the east wall of the dining area. from a design standpoint this is the highlight of the restaurant: a cozy area with brick walls and an inviting bar. i would have opened up the wall a bit between the two rooms, but then you probably wouldn't be able to fit as many tables on both sides of it.



while i'm on my soapbox, some signs of life outside the restaurant would be welcome - maybe a bench or two for waiting patrons, and a big potted cactus/succulent. some outdoor tables would be great but i'm guessing san diego's lame-ass outdoor drinking rules are to blame for the lack of them. and what's the deal with that signage pictured above? overall though, a great addition to normal heights and a big departure from the less formal menu at the smaller university heights location.

elsewhere:

- lucky d's opens on market downtown, friday 6/26, or so their myspace says. they're promising a non-pretentious vibe in a rock-inspired restaurant and lounge...

- crescent heights restaurant has closed and this one is a big loss. we were really impressed by our dinner experience there back in january. but the location and price point were not favorable for long-term success, i guess. hope the chef and similar concept resurface elsewhere.

- corvette diner opens in its new liberty station location next monday, june 22nd. after babysitting the niece and nephews this past weekend, we're looking forward to again having more kid-friendly options than chuck e. cheese.

- la times notes the modest may socal house price increase with the story of a gay couple buying an expensive (albeit discounted) row home in hillcrest. props to la times for mentioning the 'crest, and as part of the 18K hitched before the gay marriage ban, it was cool to see the phrase "his husband" in print. surely enough to destroy the sanctity of a few straight marriages.

- indigo hotel opens next month and the exterior construction appears complete. there's an interesting design touch near the roof, pictured below:

do-over at dish

the recent closings thread on chowhound has a rumor that dish is serving sunday brunch only for the next several weeks, as they "rework the entire restaurant concept". now if universal's owners can just rework those loan payments...

there was an article a couple weeks ago in the UT about the trend toward lower-priced restaurants in the current down economy. it got me thinking about whether it has more to do with the changing preferences of diners than a lack of disposable income. jay and i tend to avoid expensive restaurants because they're often sort of stuffy or require us to dress up more than we normally would. the prospect of being less comfortable while eating an overpriced meal usually leads us elsewhere, unless there's a great setting or special occasion.

it was interesting to see urban solace mentioned in the article, because we ate there recently and were again impressed with the excellent food and service for the prices charged. this might be the model restaurant for why entrees don't need to cost $40. and just down the street, the linkery's owner is quoted in the same article as going for a "downtown dining experience with neighborhood prices". our view is probably biased by establishments like these, but to me it seems ritzy restaurants are out of fashion with younger diners. it's a positive development that dining with your neighbors in a casual environment is more in vogue now than flaunting your wealth to strangers at dinner time.

shorties

- urban outfitters is opening in the old corvette location in hillcrest (they're opening in liberty station sometime this month). hope they can buck the trend of retail closings in the neighborhood, including the gap a few years ago down the street.

- cafe one three on park has reduced their hours to friday thru sunday only; could a change be in store for this spot?

- the old house fair is next saturday, june 20th in south park from 10-4. check out this historic neighborhood and some of its finest homes. preservation info will be available and walking/trolley tours are also scheduled.

while you're there, stop in to alchemy restaurant, where we had an excellent dinner earlier this week and enjoyed the great service, relaxed vibe and cool design. the large stainless steel tree art piece in the middle of the room makes quite a statement.

- while there was some activity at the kensington terrace site this week, rumor has it that the gas station has signed a 3-year lease extension. looks like it's going to be a while before that corner is transformed.

- the q has a coat of paint on it and the exterior looks almost near completion, funky boxy parts and all:



- so laurel's new name is... cucina urbana? as angie tempura would say: bitch, pleeze!

oceanside gill

before the independence jam started in oceanside we hit up the museum of art and knocked off some more gill homes; the original wing of the museum is actually housed in the old oceanside police station designed by gill. the oceanside projects (that's the americanization school above, in what's still a rough part of town) were his last and mark a return to the civic design he had performed at times throughout his career.

the new wing of the museum, shown below, has a lot of potential but not much in it at this time. still, our very personable docent cathy showed us around and explained the current olfactory exhibit which had some very quirky and humorous elements.



the old police station sits to the left of the new wing:



and the fire station to the right, all part of the large city civic complex:



meanwhile the last of the gill buildings, this one over by the movie theaters on coast highway, hasn't aged well:



i liked the movie theater just off the civic concourse, but was disappointed to see it not lit up after we left the concert:



so there's more to oceanside than just marines, barber shops and bars. i'm glad we took the time to look around before walking out on the pier, which was full of fishermen. down below a seal gazed up at them, waiting for another fishy treat.