Hillcrest Stories
Legendary El Cajon Boulevard has had a checkered past since its early days, when it was once the major East-West highway (CA 80) into San Diego. It consisted of car dealerships, motels, shops, and eateries …
A quiet dead-end street in Hillcrest will become a main entry for the new University of California San Diego medical campus. Last week, the city council approved the privatization of portions of four public streets, …
My two friends Erik and Chris said I had to do this. “It’s not that cheap, but you get so much, you have two meals for the price of one, guaranteed,” said Chris. He was …
In my years covering local restaurants, I’ve witnessed San Diego foodies get excited about restaurants specializing in cheeseburgers, tacos, carne asada fries, ramen, sushi burritos, Neapolitan pizza, fried chicken, cupcakes, bone marrow, vegan brunch, and …
On June 30, a local reached out to the 1,700-plus members of the Stolen Bike San Diego Facebook forum. "My Jamis City bike was stolen from my garage in Hillcrest last night along with my …
In some cities, sea rise is claiming historic buildings. In Hillcrest, a modernist tower built with San Diego's sunny climate in mind is up against modern medicine. Its owner, Scripps Health, wants to replace it …
A Hillcrest favorite, Amarin Thai, closed last fall, after holding down its Richmond Street location for more than 22 years. Longtime fans of the restaurant may be pleased to learn that Thai food is officially …
The City Council has upheld the historic designation of a Bankers Hill home that advocates say is a rare architectural gem, while others call it Frankenstein. The mixed-style house sits in a mixed-use neighborhood rich …
Right about now, I’m supposed to be indoor dining somewhere and reporting how great it feels that we’re trending back toward normalcy. But not so fast! Yes, restaurant owners and their bottom lines may be …
Spring wouldn’t technically arrive for another few weeks, but the sun was out. After what has nearly been a full, cooped-up year of covid, that was all the encouragement we needed to have a picnic. …
Teagan (“Think ‘Reagan’” she says) saws away at her violin right by the entrance. She’s playing Arianna Grande’s “34+35.” Sounds really cool. Actually, this whole scene is hard to beat. Saturday morning, sunshine, cool breeze …
The untold stories about Hillcrest’s Friendship Hotel would probably read like William Burroughs’ dream journal. Once a nurse’s dorm for the nearby hospital, by the turn of the 21st century the two buildings across the …
“This night, we were stuck on a sand bar,” says Justin. “There’s weather out there, and strong current. There’s the potential for the boat to just get knocked over. The tide comes in very fast. …
This year marks the first I spend Valentine’s Day as a married man. Not to gloat too much, but I hit the jackpot. My gorgeous and successful bride happens to be an accomplished home chef. …
The clock was ticking towards the inauguration of the new president, and a look inside the fridge confirmed what I already knew: we were out of eggs. And any other breakfast protein. And bread. And …
It’s kind of surprising that I haven’t written before about Bahn Thai. I’ve been eating at the University Heights restaurant since it opened, going on ten years ago, and I’ve returned often. The most likely …
Restaurant delivery apps were already thriving before the pandemic hit, and without doubt they have benefited from our current all take-out, all-the-time dining culture. But, if you’ve used any over the years, you may have …
Great Maple has just about done it all this pandemic. It socially distanced its dining room, it expanded its outdoor seating. It expanded its outdoor seating again, erecting tents in its parking lot and filling …
Tara Johansen says improv comedy classes are the best way she knows for the introverted to meet other people. “I had just moved to San Diego a year earlier and I found it very hard …
Coming out of the DMV (trying to get a “Real ID”), Normal Street. Heading for University. Need nosh. But where to? Okay, I already know. Specially now, four in the afternoon, happy hour at my …
Twenty-dollar bottomless mimosas were behind the decision to go for Saturday brunch in Hillcrest. Everyone had endured four frustrating nights without election results and hoped to temper our collective anxiety. But by time we head …
I’m used to having leftovers. As someone who writes about food, I’ve long been in the habit of ordering more food than I can eat. And as a bachelor, I could always count on all …
“This certainly doesn’t look like beef,” said the boy, before he took a bite. After a few chews, he added, “But it kind of tastes like it.” We were trying out Burger Lounge’s new Flora …
More than 800 San Diegans have petitioned San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward to step into a tug of war that pits Hillcrest and El Cajon Boulevard business districts against what they see as a …
Sweet news, everybody! San Diego may have missed out on a county fair this year, but thanks to a burgeoning farmers market business, we can still sample the wares of last year’s best-in-class candy maker. …
If there were an alternate timeline, in which a pandemic never showed up to close local restaurants, I’d have been happily feasting on biscuit breakfast sandwiches all through the spring and summer. Alas, it took …
We were craving a meat and cheese platter but didn’t want to dine in at a restaurant due to the latest coronavirus surge. So I took a look around for take-out options, and saw that …
Gayborhood or ghetto? “I still love Jesus, and I’m still a conservative,” Texana R., 17, tells me. “I just am — I don’t care what my mama or my aunt or my step sister or …
Dining rooms have returned to San Diego, but that doesn’t mean restaurants don’t still find themselves in a sort of pandemic limbo. As social distancing restrictions remain, most traditional restaurants can’t seat enough of diners …
The seven pieces of sushi were packaged in the sort of container you’d expect to find in a grocery: one of those rectangular trays with a clear plastic, snap-on top. Except grocery store sushi boxes …
Since the call went out for all but essential businesses to close during the coronavirus crisis, exactly what constitutes an “essential business” has been a point of public debate. “Are restaurants?” some wonder; “Are bakeries?” …
San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward contravened the wishes of some of his most vocal constituents by seeking to exchange a portion of land at the city-owned Mission Valley stadium site for 2.5 acres of …
A couple of years ago, after a decade doing business in Hillcrest, fancy cupcake maker Babycakes moved out of its 5th Street home base to pursue a bigger bakery opportunity out in in Paradise Hills, …
Every time I’ve eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant with a group, deciding on appetizers has become a whole discussion. Should we get spring rolls, or egg rolls? How many? Tofu or pork? Shrimp or sweet …
I heard about a place that uses chicken parmesan as a pizza topping. Lucky I did, because Sisters Pizza operates in a part of Hillcrest I don’t normally go looking for restaurants. It’s a stretch …
Change is coming to the UCSD Health hospital campus in Hillcrest, change so sweeping that the campus will look completely different when it’s over. Instead of the sprawling, built-as-needed mish mash of 37 buildings and …
When Fruitcraft Fermentery and Distillery dropped anchor in Hillcrest two years ago, it primarily carried on the work of its original brand iteration, California Fruit Wine. That is, it fermented wine from virtually every type …
It’s tough to ignore a restaurant name like Breakfast Bitch. Which could prove to be important, because the willfully sassy breakfast spot recently filled in a Hillcrest location that’s been devastating to its past few …
Through a sidewalk counter window in the middle of a lively block on University Avenue, I meet Hillcrest’s resident hot dog maven. His name is William Schroeder, but with a streetwise New York accent, he …
Late last year, news spread that longstanding Point Loma rotisserie chicken joint, Natural Style Chicken, was opening a second location on a busy corner of Hillcrest. The new space boasts a larger kitchen than the …
I’ve paid lip service to vegan ramens before. Interesting, I’ve said. Oh, that is good,” I’ve agreed. But I haven’t meant it. Not to the extent that I would choose to order one over a …
Maybe it’s just California, but the açaí bowl concepts appear to be multiplying, especially around Hillcrest. I stumbled upon one with the achingly San Diego appropriate name, Roots Bowls; it serves açaí bowls, smoothies, pressed …
Week after week, people pour in and out of their favorite fitness classes, myself occasionally included. I’ve noticed fitness classes becoming a new kind of runway, where you can flaunt your style while you sweat …
Watchers of land-use politics in San Diego were surprised when late last year two names usually on opposite sides of controversial building projects suddenly showed up in TV interviews espousing the same passionately held position …
While I’ve been sitting here the past couple years trying to figure out which are my favorite tacos, the rest of the world has apparently become obsessed with Nashville hot chicken. The cayenne-spiced fried chicken …
On Oct. 9, 1975, the Reader published a story on driving shortcuts. It was written by then cabbie Ray Lilly and contained 14 San Diego shortcuts when gas went for about $.57 per gallon. In …
To some, Hillcrest is little more than 40 acres of overpriced, rambling urbanity to be avoided. Such Hillcrest-averse see two problems: scarce parking, and a homeless crisis that seems “worse than Ocean Beach.” “Currently the …
Earlier this year, news broke that a longtime eatery in North Park, The Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar, was going to vacate its current location in the Lafayette Hotel. It came as a surprise …
A sign near the door of this bakery promises all goods are free of gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, and peanuts. What’s left? I’m forced to wonder. Starry Lane Bakery originally opened out in …
It was my wife’s birthday and I was on a quest: To find a really superlative chocolate croissant. Here’s the backstory: We got engaged in Paris back in 2000, and one of the other highlights …
Some San Diego area stores owned by Mattress Firm, Inc. may be closed as part of the recently announced Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the company, which is owned by Steinhoff International Holdings, a South …
While leasing of retail spaces is part of the usual business activity on University Avenue in Hillcrest, you don’t see many buildings for sale there. Landlords like the monthly income, and you can raise the …