Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Hoffer's Cigar Bar
“It’s easy to miss,” Hoffer’s owner Craig Hoffman says. “My regulars love that about it.”
Mark Twain was only sort of correct when he said, “Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man’s enjoyment of his cigar.”
At least, that’s the philosophy at Hoffer’s, where a rotating cast of premium suds and live jazz supplement Twain’s trinity of smoke, snack, and slumber.
Stogie savant Phil Hoffman opened the bar almost five years ago, lending an air of elegance to a neighborhood dominated by dives, antique malls, and mediocre Mexican sit-downs.
Now, you can walk into Hoffer’s dual cedar-lined humidors and choose from a selection of cigars that would make Castro chortle, grab a pint from the bar’s 24 taps, and light up on the heated patio, where the Full House trio and guests jam every Saturday night from 7:30 to 10:00 ($5 cover).
“We go through about 80 beers in 60 days,” says general manager and oat-soda aficionado Michael Craig. “By 10 tonight we’ll have a different beer list.”
By 6:45, the board is being updated (check their website for current taps) while I enjoy, at Craig’s recommendation, a pint of Ballast Point’s spritzy bOOb Check rounded out with a splash of Lagunitas’ Wilco Tango Foxtrot strong ale.
Craig volunteered several tasters before I settled on my drink, offering insight into each brew as I tossed them back. Bottled beers are also available and can be purchased to go.
“It’s easy to miss,” Craig says of the location, which rubs elbows with Cosmos and Swami’s cafés. “My regulars love that about it.”
Both neighboring bistros will deliver from their menu to your bar stool at no extra charge, along with nearby eateries La Torta and Trattoria Tiramisu.
You can eat at the smoke-free bar while you chat with the locals or send off a forgotten email from the in-house laptop before stepping out front to browse a vintage-car show every Thursday evening (5–8 p.m., June through August).
Parking can be difficult on car-show nights and weekends, but meters are free after 6 and the trolley stops a block west. Hoffer’s closes at 11 most nights, and they will take your glass, empty or full, at 10:58. You can keep it going ’til midnight down the street at Pete’s Place or roll your smoky bones home for a Twain-approved interlude of sleep.
— Chad Deal (@chaddeal)
Attire: Humidor haute
Price: ~$6/pint
Food: Free delivery from neighbors
Happy Hour: ‘til 7 p.m. daily, $4 pints and wine
Max Cap: 40 inside, 40 on patio
Hours: Mon–Sat, 11 A.M.–11 P.M.; Sun, 1–8 P.M.
Cards accepted
Here's something you might be interested in.
Hoffer's Cigar Bar
Hoffer's Cigar Bar
“It’s easy to miss,” Hoffer’s owner Craig Hoffman says. “My regulars love that about it.”
Mark Twain was only sort of correct when he said, “Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man’s enjoyment of his cigar.”
At least, that’s the philosophy at Hoffer’s, where a rotating cast of premium suds and live jazz supplement Twain’s trinity of smoke, snack, and slumber.
Stogie savant Phil Hoffman opened the bar almost five years ago, lending an air of elegance to a neighborhood dominated by dives, antique malls, and mediocre Mexican sit-downs.
Now, you can walk into Hoffer’s dual cedar-lined humidors and choose from a selection of cigars that would make Castro chortle, grab a pint from the bar’s 24 taps, and light up on the heated patio, where the Full House trio and guests jam every Saturday night from 7:30 to 10:00 ($5 cover).
“We go through about 80 beers in 60 days,” says general manager and oat-soda aficionado Michael Craig. “By 10 tonight we’ll have a different beer list.”
By 6:45, the board is being updated (check their website for current taps) while I enjoy, at Craig’s recommendation, a pint of Ballast Point’s spritzy bOOb Check rounded out with a splash of Lagunitas’ Wilco Tango Foxtrot strong ale.
Craig volunteered several tasters before I settled on my drink, offering insight into each brew as I tossed them back. Bottled beers are also available and can be purchased to go.
“It’s easy to miss,” Craig says of the location, which rubs elbows with Cosmos and Swami’s cafés. “My regulars love that about it.”
Both neighboring bistros will deliver from their menu to your bar stool at no extra charge, along with nearby eateries La Torta and Trattoria Tiramisu.
You can eat at the smoke-free bar while you chat with the locals or send off a forgotten email from the in-house laptop before stepping out front to browse a vintage-car show every Thursday evening (5–8 p.m., June through August).
Parking can be difficult on car-show nights and weekends, but meters are free after 6 and the trolley stops a block west. Hoffer’s closes at 11 most nights, and they will take your glass, empty or full, at 10:58. You can keep it going ’til midnight down the street at Pete’s Place or roll your smoky bones home for a Twain-approved interlude of sleep.
— Chad Deal (@chaddeal)
Attire: Humidor haute
Price: ~$6/pint
Food: Free delivery from neighbors
Happy Hour: ‘til 7 p.m. daily, $4 pints and wine
Max Cap: 40 inside, 40 on patio
Hours: Mon–Sat, 11 A.M.–11 P.M.; Sun, 1–8 P.M.
Cards accepted