Tin Fork
My friend Carlos paid for this. I would have been too mean. By the time I arrive, he already has a large plate of one of the taglieri (“cutting boards”). It’s laid out on the …
The tuba player sweats as he wiggles into his tuba — sousaphone, more accurately. It sends evil glints into the café crowd. But it’s so hot, he wriggles out again, and goes to sit under …
Sunday night, seven, 8th Street, up near Highland, National City. Not many places open for a hungry lad like myself. Yes, Cabo Wabo Grill and Bar is blasting out Historia de Un Amor, but I’m …
Bob and Kate Carpenter had a decision to make. “I said ‘We have no pension, no safety net. This has to work,’” says Bob. The question? Whether to give up their lives as journalists and …
When is a taco not not a taco? I’ve come to this brand-new Little Italy Food Hall’s opening day to find out. From The Princess Pub, you can see it happening at the other end …
‘Just think about it,” says Perky. Graham Perkett, actually, but his friends call him Perky. “Four, five hundred years ago, the Cape of Good Hope was where every ship from Europe had to stop in …
Welcome to Mat Kulaaxuuy — Land of Holes. ’Course, you may know it as “La Jolla.” But to the Kumeyaay, always and still, Mat Kulaaxuuy’s the name. Mat means “land,” Kulaaxuuy means “holes.” Ergo, Land …
Are we too hung up on spicy? On hot habanero burns to make our eating life sexy? The question came up the day Colombia beat — no, thrashed — Poland in the World Cup, 3 …
DMV. Wednesday afternoon. “H.H. Zero. One. One,” says the woman’s auto-voice over the loudspeaker. “Report to counter #3.” Okay, that might not be exact, but I’ve been sitting hearing the numbers creep up for the …
“First,” says the lady driver, “watch this traffic. It can be lethal out here.” I see what she means. Cars and trucks hurtle into this valley like the last plunge of the Giant Dipper at …
‘It’s a record! A state record!” This is Randy Hupp. He’s standing behind a rack of angry fish that look like scarlet versions of grouper. He points to two other fishermen in the tent. “These …
Peaceful countryside? Zoom! Zum zum zum, rattle, baarp! Highway 94, the old stagecoach route, is one crazy turnpike. Gravel trucks, tankers, buses, and cars, cars, cars. This one-shop stop is Dulzura (population maybe 850, scattered …
“You need to take your shoes off and put a covering on your hair.” He says it in the kindest possible way. Vikash Kumar. He ties a triangular orange scarf over my head. Because this …