The Cabrillo National Monument at the southern-most tip of the Point Loma peninsula depicts a towering Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo gazing east over San Diego Bay, where, in 1542, he was the first European explorer to …
Back to profile
Stories by Chad Deal
Sharing walls with the Stone Company Store in the historic McClintock building by Santa Fe Depot, the Flight Path juxtaposes the 1928 warehouse’s original exposed columns and polished concrete flooring against all-white minimal modern Italian …
it’s Saturday night on North Park’s Ray Street and the pavement is humming with life. A dude in zebra tights and a tank top twirls around with a hula hoop while a crowd gathers to …
Baja California is currently home to around 100 craft breweries, but many San Diegans have never tried a Baja craft brew. While southbound tourism has been picking up, borderphobia and long return lines have led …
What’s this? Craft beer on Fifth? That’s right. Our downtown strip is straying further from its time-honored formula of tourist traps and EDM cesspools to bring West Coast suds to the Gaslamp. Nearby establishments such …
The scene at Nopalito Farm & Hopyard’s mid-June grand-opening party in Valley Center was something straight out of a Geico ad-exec’s wildest dreams. Cute-couple band the Dawsons played on a stage hosted by Grampadrew’s Flim …
“There’s a dude named Emilio, who’s an older barber guy, and he’s kind of the star of the video,” says Tim Donnelly of Encinitas trio Ditches. The music video for “Break-In” depicts a figure going …
A Ship in the Woods, a nonprofit arts collective, set sail from the north end of Del Mar in July following the expiration of their lease after about five years at the location. The wooded …
Blame the humidity, but my first instinct upon entering Sidecar was to draw a cynical correlation between the place’s name and the thought that they were more or less riding shotgun to the passing fancies …
I first met Mark Broadfoot back when we were Scouts in middle school, and ever since then I’ve known him to be fond of sharing. The first time it caught my attention was on a …
“The way I approach cocktails is like sailing the most difficult route, because I know how to navigate the waters, and I take pleasure in turbulent seas,” says Cervantes Magaña, beverage consultant with Medicine Show …
The Mexicali craft-beer industry is in hot water after a Tuesday, June 30, meeting of the Consejo de Alcoholes de Mexicali: the regional alcohol council's members expressed opposition to issuing new permits to artisanal brewers. …
“Anytime a genre of music is basically outlawed and pushed out like that, it makes my blood boil.”
With the first hills of Baja California rising on the horizon, South Bay is home to a number of mariscos joints that follow in the seaside tradition of Baja and beyond. La Palapa Nayarit is …
The Tin Can Ale House, a Bankers Hill live music go-to and canned-beer wonderland, has traded in their aluminum for glass. The Balboa debuted in March with a cocktail menu designed by Jackson Milgaten (who …
“Now, I have a much better understanding of money. I understand that it goes in and it goes out.”
Chad, 11:45 a.m.: “Aye dawgy, what time are you all headed south?” Derek, 11:46 a.m.: “It might be later than we originally planned cuz I have to go to the hospital. But I will be …
Tacos El Paisa There’s a lot to be said about a San Diego taco shop that is mindful enough to press fresh masa tortillas with every order. It speaks to a certain authenticity, one that …
Voodoo Stu probably could have gotten away with calling his cooking “Rural-Creole-Baja Cuisine” or some drummed up stuff like that, but he didn’t. Instead, the Atlanta-raised chef simply calls it “Southern comfort food,” and it …
T Lounge Located beneath the billowing rainbow flag of Hillcrest east, the Bamboo Lounge recently rebranded to the T Lounge and, with their renovations, included a happy hour of polychromatic proportions. More than just a …
An international craft oasis in El Cajon's American macrobrew desert.
Baja and San Diego have a long history of partying together. These days, the atmosphere is less belligerence and more participants. Promoters from both sides work together to throw underground shows at new and inventive …
El Rincon del Oso Mercado Miguel Hidalgo local-47 Phone: 6646842491 Tijuana has gotten a bad rap over the years, thanks largely to a U.S.-fueled drug war and the ensuing onslaught of sensationalist journalism that often …
Brunch in Tijuana may not be the middle class ritual de lo habitual (to borrow a phrase from Jane’s Addiction) that it is in urban America, but the Sunday fare is certainly worth waking up …
Walter Sutin grew up in Pennsylvania and studied at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore before moving to San Diego in 2008 and, three years later, enrolling in the master’s program at UCSD. He …
Sean McMullen never intended to become a photographer. After testing out of high school in the mid-’80s to pursue a future in filmmaking, the Chula Vista native took a course in photography under the technical …
It’s only been about five months since Mexico City multimedia artist and musician Francisco Eme moved to San Diego, but he’s already integrated his work into multiple shows in California and Baja. Many of the …
“No one is going to shut me up here.” That’s what artist Daniel Ruanova told Newsweek in a 2002 article that arrived at the zenith of media captivation with Tijuana art and music. The publication …
Bol Corona Avenida Ocampo between Tercera and Cuarta, Centro, Tijuana San Diegans are often surprised to discover that our beloved, bulky, bountiful burritos are nowhere to be found in Tijuana. In fact, the Northern Mexico …
Telefónica Gastro Park Avenida Ocampo between Boulevard Agua Caliente and Calle 11, Tijuana, Baja California. Telefónica Gastro Park, one of the city’s more recent groovy grub hubs, puts innovative urban chow on wheels. The downtown …
It’s been eight years since Doña Pancha Fest held their first fringe showcase at a brothel in Tecate, featuring the zebra-costumed Anal Core and Los Nuevos Maevans, whose air-guitar old-school punk jams have become a …
“I think everybody kind of left cumbia, but we’re still doing it in this weird way,” says Marco Polo Gutierrez aka Siete Catorce, a Mexicali producer who fell in with Tijuana’s ruidosón crew after performing …
Moustache has always struck me as a Tijuana twist on North Park’s Bar Pink. Both are surefire spots to run into familiar faces most nights of the week and catch (often) free live music from …
Let nature provide Hills, valleys, and seaside Let the seasonal bouquet of East County and coastal chaparral inspire homespun holiday treats. A pungent whiff of Cleveland sage on Sycuan Peak or Sycamore Canyon might inspire …
Bring Your Own Beamer is a project launched by Berlin artist Rafaël Rozendaal in 2010 that gives an open-call to visual projection artists of every inclination. In a DIY showcase of the developing frontier of …
It doesn’t look like much, the windowless portico brooding in the glow of a Hotel Circle Travelodge. However, behind a red door next to the lobby lies a world-class throwback that shows little indication of …
On the far end of the spectrum from modern grub-hubs such as Food Garden and Colective 9 lies Flor de la Vida — a classic Tijuana veggie kitchen, bakery, and health food store that stocks …
No-wave garage-rock quartet Octagrape are embarking on an eight-stop West Coast tour with Portland-via-SD experimental band Trumans Water and Florida like-mindeds Permanent Makeup. The trio of acts will be travelling on a 17-track compilation cassette, …
More of an attitude than a proper genre, a close-knit collective of Tijuana musicians put a significant blip on the international music radar starting in 2009 under the umbrella tag ruidosón. The sound takes hints …
Fixed gastrocourts and quasi-permanent food truck circles have been redefining the culinary streetscape of Tijuana neighborhoods such as Centro, Cacho, Gabilondo, and Distrito Gastronómico for the past couple of years. Newest on the scene is …
Once infamous for its streetwalkers and illegal street car races, El Cajon Boulevard is further reinventing itself by debuting San Diego’s first popup outdoor prepared foods market. The BLVD Market will be held every third …
Suds lovers, rejoice! It’s your turn to draw that draft, thanks to Barrel Republic’s pour-it-yourself tap room, which opened last November. “A lot of people compare it to Yogurtland,” says barmaid Nikki, one of the …
The only rule? Do not throw bottles at the driver.
Miguel Buenrostro sits on the second floor of the old Mexicoach station, half a block from the nocturnal nexus of Sexta and Revolución. We are in a vacant, black-walled room that will soon be converted …
Far removed from high-end buffets and trendy concept eateries lays Raíces Cocina Vegana, one of at least three veggie-centric bicycle delivery services in Tijuana. Active for about 4 months, Raíces prepares vegan burritos at the …
It’s been three years since the Moon Block Party collective threw their first free event at the Downtown Pomona Arts Colony with over 50 acts including notables such as Strangers Family Band, Allah-Las, Halloween Swim …
Veggie Smalls gets a sterling rating right off the bat based on their name alone, but the instinctive kudos is backed up in full by their menu of veg-friendly burgers, dogs, and tacos. For the …
Art on the hoof, in the river, but not quite across the border.
La Cupula is everything I’d hoped a vampire bar in Tijuana would be. At first I’d pictured an all-out monster mash: freaks sipping gore-toned cocktails and stomping around to industrial remixes of 45 Grave. It …
The thought of eating vegetarian in Tijuana may seem strange. After all, when considering the cuisine of our neighbor to the south, one generally pictures the carne asada, chorizo, adobada, and braided tripa tacos that …