Tin Fork
Almost didn’t make it out of Kearny Mesa Friday night. Caught the last bus by a hair. I blame the Koreans. Came up here looking for Korean food. BBQ. And conversation. Because I’m kinda curious …
“All the Argentinian children thought I was Brazilian,” says Brandon, “because I was black, and they’d never seen a black American before. They all wanted to take pictures with me.” Brandon, his buddy Matt, and …
So ’t’other day my buddy Ernesto — Neto — and I met at this corner liquor store over the summit in Golden Hill for lunch. His idea. “Uh, likker store?” “Wait till you get inside,” …
First time I see the sign, I think hot diggity: A pie café on an airfield! So I walk in off Marshall Avenue to where all the hangars with the apartments above form a little …
It’s the free blankets. A whole wicker basket filled with them, all rolled up. Mexican blankets, waiting for patio customers to grab ‘em and warm themselves up. April 16th, opening day, on the patio of …
“Look around,” says Ivan. “What do you notice?” I look around. Uhhhh? “I’ll tell you,” he says. “Nobody’s using their phones See? They’re all talking to each other, drinking, eating, playing with their dogs, whatever. …
Hurry-up time: Have to hit happy hour because, well, this is Point Loma. Million-dollar yachts, hundred-dollar eateries. Can’t afford full-freight. I’m here for three days. Work. So, hey, three chances at happy hour happiness! Day …
“With your fingers, dude?” says Wes. “Hey, what else did people eat with, before you French brought in the fork, right? You invented cutlery! The Curse of the Eating Classes!” Actually, Wes has always been …
“Could you let me off at Lilac Road?” That’s me, asking the driver of the 388 as we climb through the hills and orange orchards of Valley Center Road, northeast of Escondido. “Just in time,” …
Who has the largest larder in the world? Peru. Why Peru? Because it has the most vertical of back yards. Restaurants in Lima can get produce from 17 different altitudes, from 6 feet below the …
‘The long and winding road,” sing the Beatles on this bus’s sound system. And, boy, have they nailed it. I look out the bus window and see rocks, bluffs, isolated houses with dusty trucks in …
Three armed guys come through the door. They’re all chunky hardbodies, wearing what look like bulletproof vests. Written across their backs, one word: PROBATION. They head for the counter. Maria, Rosana, and Carmen face them …
"Eight bucks,” says my friend Jim. “For a fish’s head?” I ask. “You’d be surprised how much meat’s on it.” He tells me about sitting next to a Kenyan couple in Saiko, the sushi place …
It’s Carla. She’s been ailing. Today, down here in Bonita, in a hospice, her suffering melted away. It was indescribably beautiful. Me, family, nurses, had been in close, talking with her, looking for even nods …
"J ó étvágyat!” says Zorka. It means “Bon appetit,” in Hungarian, she says. She’s from Budapest. We’re sitting in this brand-new, two-week-old pizza-and-salad joint, in East Village. Man, I’ve been waiting for this place to …
We haven’t quite got things ready,” says Jordan. “We’re working on a small-plates menu and a wine-by-the-glass menu, but we’re not quite there.” Don’t rush it, I say. Because this is big. We’re here at …