Taco means tiny taste of temptation. Satisfaction by a thousand different cuts of meat and veggies. Is it just me, this wacko taco love affair? I don’t think so. Every San Diegan has a secret …
May 17, 2017
News & Stories
San Diego Reader 2017 guide to tacos
Two Temple Poems of Annamayya
Born a man.Serves another man.Suffers every day Goes into every wretched placeAnd begs for a morsel to eat.Craves the place he was born.That’s why he’s never free. Born a man. God is born in all …
May 17, 2017
Chicano Park victims and surviving family members submit claims
Victims and family members of those who died as a result of being hit by a drunk driver who careened off the Coronado Bridge into a gathering at Chicano Park have filed claims against the …
May 17, 2017
The doctor is late
Travel and entertainment spending by the department of surgery at UCSD billed to so-called Express Cards handed out to employees for official spending has caught the attention of California state auditors, resulting in the implementation …
May 17, 2017
The future is Robin Trower
Three years out of a stint with Procol Harum, Robin Trower in 1974 released an album that would accomplish many things all at once. Bridge of Sighs introduced pop culture to the actual prison bridge …
May 17, 2017
Surfhenge and the surfboard benches of Imperial Beach
Surfhenge is the name of the art piece that sits in front of the Imperial Beach Pier. The project was commissioned by the Port of San Diego in 1997. The artist, Malcolm Jones, now from …
May 17, 2017
Hangin' with Mom at South Park Abbey
The locale on the corner of Grape and Fern was built in the late ‘40s as a laundromat and went on to operate as a thrift store, a lighting store, and a “Cuban restaurant with …
May 17, 2017
La Mesa's Green Mile
University Avenue is improving. Between 70th and Baltimore, La Mesa is “maximizing walkability and creating a unifying streetscape theme” by installing trees along the sidewalks, amending crosswalks, updating street lights, and most significantly, planting the …
May 17, 2017
Is this the end of Harbor Music Hall?
San Diego jazz fans might be on the verge of losing another music venue now that Harbor Music Hall (1506 India Street) has been threatened with the potential loss of their beer-and-wine license due to …
May 17, 2017
Align arises in Beeramar
When Miramar's Pacific Brewing abruptly closed last July, Andrew Heino was left holding the bag. "It was instant," he says of the end of his partnership with Pacific cofounder Chris Chalmers. The brewery was open …
May 17, 2017
Bold-faced retirement
La Jolla public affairs honcho Bill Bold, long the chief strategist of Qualcomm’s efforts to increase the number of so-called H-1B visas to allow more foreign nationals into the country to perform engineering work for …
May 17, 2017
Paradox Effects — serious gear for those who play
The workshop of Paradox Effects looks a lot like what you might picture when you imagine “Tijuana do-it-yourself boutique guitar pedals.” The low-ceiling warehouse overlooks TJ’s affluent Hipódromo neighborhood from the lower-class residential hillside of …
May 17, 2017
Call from a lobster
First off: I challenge anyone to beat my speed-walking time, from Anchorage Lane at Shelter Island Drive to the Kona Kai Club at the southern end of Shelter Island. Ten minutes. A good country mile. …
May 17, 2017
No doubt it is a selfish thing/ To fly from human suffering
In May Yes, I will spend the livelong day With Nature in this month of May; And sit beneath the trees, and share My bread with birds whose homes are there; While cows lie down …
May 17, 2017
How the world got to be the way it is
Obit, Vanessa Gould’s documentary look at the obituary department of the New York Times in action, is as deceptive in tone as it is perceptive in vision. A strange air of calm rumination pervades the …
May 17, 2017
Guitar Center refugee
“It’s about the greed that exists within corporations, specifically venture capitalists, and it has deep personal meaning,” says Bossfight guitarist David Settimi of the band’s new single “Green.” Settimi spent nearly 20 years working for …
May 17, 2017
Rancho La Costa Preserve was full of mines
The Rancho La Costa Preserve, located in the cities of Carlsbad and San Marcos, is a popular destination for both hikers and mountain bikers. Situated between Batiquitos Lagoon and Lake Hodges, the preserve serves as …
May 17, 2017
Frequent flyers offer air-travel suggestions
Air travel has lost the glamour it embodied in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. Gone are the days of smoked salmon, caviar, and champagne on Pan Am flights. These are the days of complimentary tiny …
22 shades of hipsterness
Hipster: People all over town are giving away their hipsterness (or lack thereof) in front of local grocery stores! Since those little plastic bags were banned in California, I’ve noticed that shoppers differ widely in …
May 17, 2017
The little taco stand that started it all
The Taco Stand One of the Taco Stand’s most eclectic tacos is the “Sonora Taco” which has its origins in the Northern Mexican state of Sonora, renowned for its beef. What makes it different from …
May 17, 2017
Belly Up County
Having Lady Gaga, Jimmy Buffett, and the Rolling Stones drop by for a show may be the Belly Up Tavern’s most visible triumphs. But behind the scenes the booking staff of the Solana Beach venue …
May 17, 2017
It's a slippery, messy delight
Aqui es Texcoco The moniker translates to “Here is Texcoco,” an homage to the Texcoco region of Mexico, largely considered to be the birthplace of barbacoa in that country. The specialty of the house is …
May 17, 2017
A year in an immigrant’s shirt
While crossing the border at San Ysidro, Valentina Forte-Hernandez, an unassuming and petite artist, aroused the suspicion of border agents due to the tangle of wires and circuits in her trunk. She had to submit …
May 17, 2017
Difference-making fresh tortillas
Tacos La Mezcla (at Fall Brewing) In Spanish, mezcla means mixture, and this mobile kitchen may be best known for mixing it up with a fusion twist, filling tortillas with carne asada recast as sweet …
May 17, 2017
San Ysidro fizzling
There’s nowhere to eat that isn’t a fast food chain. Nowhere to get a coffee or, god forbid, a beer. Nowhere to see anything like live music.
May 17, 2017
Customers order two, four, six at a time
Un Mundo An impressive lineup of hot sauces stands guard along the front window counter of Un Mundo, defending the cheerful interior from the curvy corporate brickwork and congested parking lot outside. The motto here …
May 17, 2017
Random people with great weed
Jay’s daughter has osteosarcoma — “cancer of the bone. She had to have her leg amputated. It also tries to travel to your heart and lungs, and it’s ongoing. They actually prescribed cannabis for her …
May 17, 2017
Taco secrets waiting to be whispered
TJ Oyster Bar It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what makes the TJ Oyster Bar fish taco superlative, but I think it comes down to the batter. It always manages to remain light …
May 17, 2017
Walmart sues Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea for price fixing
A class-action lawsuit filed by retail giant Walmart accuses canned tuna's three biggest players – including San Diego's Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea – of conspiring to fix prices on "shelf stable" seafood …
May 17, 2017
NFL owners’ noses growing while their pants burn
Since its founding in 1920, the National Football League has proclaimed it opposes gambling, but the league was actually launched by gamblers and has been tied to and supported by gambling ever since. The league …
May 17, 2017
The rise of octopus
Galaxy Taco If you believe it’s heresy to pay more than $7 for a combo plate, Galaxy Taco is not for you. If you want really high-quality tacos that linger in memory, Galaxy Taco is …
May 17, 2017
Maybe the best surf-and-turf taco in town
Tamarindo North Park Latin Kitchen and Bar Last month, Tamarindo debuted at the former site of North Park landmark Claire de Lune Coffee Lounge. The locale serves inventive agave and sotol cocktails (Mark Broadfoot of …
May 17, 2017
Voice of eliminations
As San Diego’s layoff-shrunken corps of reporters continues missing in action on big political stories of late, a local nonprofit, donor-backed news-and-opinion website has gone up on LinkedIn, seeking a new six-figure executive in charge …
May 17, 2017
The true cross-border spirit
La Taquería Vegiee 2036 Avenida Ocampo, Downtown Tijuana The word “vegiee” is misspelled, but the vegan attitude at La Taqueria Vegiee is fully pronounced. Vegetables pretend to be meat and seafood at this 100 percent …
May 17, 2017
Burrito equals boring, while taco ... aah!
Tacos El Rorro The thing about Rolando, El Rorro’s owner, is he gets his shrimp from the ocean, not fish farms. These little guys have exercised, lived real lives of chase, chomp, and run. Not …
May 17, 2017
Happy hour and Tacotopia memories, wondering how that massage worked out
Five Pitchers of Beer When I started reading, “Set My Drinkers Free” and I read the part, “Line ’em up, says Mitch”, it made me think of the days when I lived in Ocean Beach …
May 17, 2017
A bona fide food pilgrimage
Craft Kitchen It’s another of the sheet metal, recycled-wood, chalkboard-beer-menu kind of places that are popping up everywhere. The menu features shrimp, lobster, mahi mahi, and tuna tacos ($5 each), but I like the two …
May 17, 2017