Hillcrest Stories
The loudspeaker blasts go on all day, says Mary Alsop, who lives a half block from the Hillcrest Department of Motor Vehicles office. So when the DMV presented its proposed design for the replacement building …
Devoted fans of the Hillcrest bagelry Big City Bagel Cafe had to go about two months without this spring as a fire forced the 24-year-old breakfast and lunch spot to close temporarily. I don’t know …
Two planning groups that share Park Boulevard as a boundary formed a task force to look at the historic district on Park between Upas St. and Robinson street, one that the city’s historic resources board …
At the July 16 city council meeting, the usual sea of green (pro-vacation rental) and red (anti-vacation rental) t-shirts will be joined by blue representing Ocean Beach. The Ocean Beach town council has chartered a …
Though the cooking technique dates back countless centuries to natives of the Pacific Northwest, here in latter day America, cedar plank salmon has largely become the provenance of upscale dining venues. But don’t tell that …
It’s noon on a warm Sunday, and I’ve just come from pinching produce at the Hillcrest Farmers Market to quench my thirst a flight at Hillcrest Brewing Company. It’s a journey of about twelve feet. …
“We’re not a brewery,” stresses Beau Schmitt. Schmitt and business partner Mike Sill opened the Brew Project in Hillcrest in fall of 2015, converting an old craftsman home into a bar and restaurant outfitted with …
We’ve all seen commercial spaces, some at large shopping centers, strip malls or standalone, which either remain vacant or have a lot of turnover. Businesses come and go, with months of vacancies in between. Are …
Back in 2011, the city got things moving to begin the Georgia Street Bridge reconstruction in North Park. Simon Wong Engineering, now Kleinfelder, received an amended agreement from the San Diego City Council, boosting their …
When I think about Brazilian skewers, my first thought is always of all you can eat churrascarias, such as downtown restaurants Rei Do Gado and Fogo de Chão, where you pay a flat rate to …
Every Friday in Hillcrest an advertisement circular is tossed from a delivery van to driveways and sidewalks around the neighborhood. The publisher calls it Local Community Values. Some from the community call it litter. The …
Over the past few years, Denmark has gained a reputation as being the happiest country in the world. And that might explain why there’s not an abundance of Danish restaurants here — happy people don’t …
Better Buzz Coffee is on the move. The Vista coffee roaster has opened its eighth coffee shop in San Diego, its fourth in just over two years. However, while most Better Buzz shops have been …
San Diego Pride's former executive director is suing the organization for wrongful termination, age discrimination, and defamation of character. Stephen Whitburn, also a former city-council candidate, began working for San Diego Pride in 2013 as …
Look near the top of any Thai restaurant menu in America, and you're sure to find one Thai dish in particular: Pad Thai. However, as chef Nattapon "Nat" Thitathan explained to me in a recent …
A deaf man says he was doused with pepper spray and tased for parking in a commercial loading zone in Hillcrest for two minutes. The man, Jeffrey Robinson, has since filed a claim to San …
Holy Matcha, a tiny cafe specializing in the powdered green tea for which it’s named, feels like it was designed by an Instagram algorithm. The interior is all pink and green, and everything — down …
Memes are usually captioned photos or short repetitive videos that go viral and transform to amuse, inspire, humor, or mystify people. A meme can also be only text that convey how the meme-poster feels at …
Normal Heights residents remain frustrated and angry over the recent influx of homeless people in their neighborhood — which city staff say was prompted by the downtown streets bleaching to ward off hepatitis A. The …
It’s early, the marine layer still a veneer over the city, when we park the car just shy of the suspension bridge. The day promises to be hot but, at this hour, the sun hasn’t …
Restoration of the 103-year-old Georgia Street Bridge began in August 2016 with a completion date of about now. Anyone driving past the site can't help but notice it doesn't look anywhere close to being done. …
A parking garage that hasn't gotten past the vision stage since first being proposed two decades ago is being resurrected by the Uptown Gateway Council. This group of Hillcrest commercial property owners is giving the …
This year's burger issue prompted the usual round of complaints that Rocky's Crown Pub wasn't mentioned. Or Hodad's. I'm sure there are people who'd go to bat for Slater's 50/50. I get it. But in …
A developer’s plan to build on a canyon property in Hillcrest sparked an ever-escalating two-year dispute with the project’s immediate neighbors. As the differences have become more contentious, one or the other side has appealed …
My ramen consumption has been down. Not because I'm over it, and definitely not for lack of availability — Yelp tells me I have roughly 300 ramen choices within a 15-minute drive. I've just been …
A trip to modern speakeasy cache is a trip through time. From the moment you discover its entrance disguised as a walk-in freezer by the bathrooms of not-for-profit Tacos Libertad (the latest offering from Cohn …
A topic of discussion at Balboa Park Committee's July meeting was that of noise along the western edge of Balboa Park, also known as the West Mesa. Specifically, noise from special events that are causing …
One day in 1957, Philadelphia disc jockey Hy Lit fell asleep listening to a stack of new releases. The last single played repeatedly until Lit awoke, leading him to include it in his rotation at …
The developer whose proposed project at 7th and Robinson was rejected by Uptown planners and Hillcrest residents in April won the group's support Tuesday night by returning with compromises. "We heard you," said Jim Ivory …
The Hillcrest hood, with its high commercial rents and constant turnover, is hoping to fill some of its properties along the main drag of University Avenue. Realtors there often attempt to lease similar businesses, such …
My opinion has long been that there aren’t any great Chinese restaurants in San Diego, but I’ve either softened my stance or things are changing for the better. For one, we’ve started to see an …
They say “location location location” is important in the restaurant business, and if that’s the case, 3825 Fifth Avenue must be a bad location. Although thrift shops seem to thrive there, the block between Robinson …
I’ve heard plenty of jokes that begin “a duck walks into a bar…,” and none have ended with the duck being eaten. So any thirsty mallards reading this take note: Whistling Duck Tavern does feature …
Though I appreciate many of this town’s 24-hour taco shops, it’s nice to have options for when David and I — hungry after a long event — are looking for late-night dining. Plenty of events …
The Hillcrest Business Association is urging east Hillcrest to look at setting up maintenance assessment district to provide businesses and residents with services that west Hillcrest already enjoys — private security patrols to deal with …
A vacation spot named “Stay” is in the works for the corner lot on India and West Olive in Middletown. The property owner (Indio Live LP/Mark Mandell) of the 0.35-acre site located at 2801 India …
“Everybody thought it was us, huh,” said L. Dee Kiser, the owner of Millard’s Fur Service. Kiser referred to the high-speed pursuit that ended with a white Honda Civic crashing into her next door neighbor, …
A deeply divided Uptown Planners voted 9-5 to appeal its approval of an 111-unit, 92-foot tall project at Seventh and Robinson if the developers fail to incorporate the group's suggestions in the building design. The …
[Ed. note: Ian Anderson reviewed Donna Jean on March 9.] We are all omnivores by nature, but I am also one by choice, as in I choose to eat a variety of foods that include …
“I think it’s weird and foreign-looking,” said LeeAnn Donan. Donan, 49, from Mission Hills, was referring to the two grayish boxes that appeared to have cameras inside of them mounted on the pole underneath the …
Huh. A smoker. And smoking away right now. Not some guy — a wood-burning meat smoker. I’m loping up Indiana Street. Where it forks into Park and Robinson, and right beside a li’l ol’ bungalow, …
I visited The Smok'd Hog a couple of years ago when it soft-opened as The Whole Hog. Back then I had a mixed experience at the little BBQ spot at the three-way intersection of Park …
My wife and I enjoy going to Trust in Hillcrest before going to a play at the Old Globe, and we thought we’d check out the brunch. Trust has been around a little less than …
Kevin Vasquez dines out a lot. He expects to pay tax and feels good about tipping. But the 6.9 percent surcharge a local restaurant added to his bill after January 1, well, that was hard …
Hillcrest may soon have new parking meters as well as new enforcement hours. Uptown Community Parking District chief operating officer Elizabeth Hannon said the changes may go into effect in the spring. Established in 1997, …
University Christian Church – Disciples of Christ Membership: 130 Pastor: Caleb Lines Age: 31 Born: Monett, MO Formation: Missouri State University, Springfield, MO; Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT Years Ordained: 5 San Diego Reader: …
On November 3rd, Lisandra Antonio was at work in Hillcrest when a client of hers came in and asked her to help "save" a puppy from a man who was trying to selling it. “My …
There are good places in San Diego for sandwiches — I’m a fan of Hillcrest Sandwich Shop — but it’s rare that I have a truly transcendent sandwich experience like I’ve had in New York. …
The restaurant Trust has garnered fans and sparked a bit of conversation since launching a few months ago. But it’s not the only eatery to open on the ground floor of the city’s latest mixed-use …
After decades of back-and-forth about whether to demolish or restore the Georgia Street Bridge, restoration of the 102-year-old structure began on August 3. The project was supposed to break ground in the fall of 2015 …
I’m not sure what the actual distinction is between fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, but I’m inclined to believe that if broccoli is served it’s better at the latter. At least, that was my thinking going …
Nothing says “equality and an end to homophobia” quite like garbage in the streets and drunk, sunburned straight people enjoying an excuse to slip on a tutu and some sequined leggings.