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Stories by Ian Anderson

South Park meth market shut down?

For the second time this year, the yellow house at 1505 Fern Street in South Park was raided by law-enforcement officers and its occupants arrested. At 5 a.m. on the morning of June 11, an …

An ode to Brooklyn Girl brunch

Brunch. Breakfast + lunch. This simple portmanteau fills me with a mixture of joy and dread. In many ways it's the perfect meal: transitioning seamlessly between savory and sweet dishes; adeptly served by either coffee …

Backpacker fave lost in translation

Making a sandwich from three ingredients takes a lot of brass. But mostly it takes three pretty terrific ingredients, and clearly one of them is going to be bread. So what do you get when …

Tenacity with a side of couscous

After running around Ocean Beach's dog beach for awhile, I brought Loki over to Shades Oceanfront Bistro to grab some lunch. I mean, why give up on the idea some bikini-clad girl is going to …

Sisig and sarsparilla at the other Tita's

Actually, I was trying to go to Tita's Kitchenette, a cramped, cafeteria-style Filipino food counter on Plaza Boulevard in National City. But I passed right by without noticing. I might have driven another five minutes …

Trying to live up to the fish tacos of lore

I'm not sure what's more disturbing, that I hold every fish taco I eat up to the standards set by a greasy street cart selling them for 85 centavos apiece on some desolate stretch of …

Lazy afternoon in a lazy coffeeshop

I honestly don't know what I was doing in Old Poway Village. It's a cute enough place, with old-timey storefronts that might be charming except for the fact they house businesses along the lines of …

Eucalypti, your time has come

The California gold rush didn't only bring myriad fortune-seeking people to the Golden State. It also brought trees. Specifically, an Australian species very familiar to anyone who lives in San Diego: the eucalyptus. However, nearly …

Kearny Mesa restaurant aspires to be crappy fast food chain

I had to go to the courthouse to deal with a traffic ticket — nobody's idea of fun — and had just enough time to squeeze in lunch beforehand. I wanted, needed, a good reason …

All I could eat, plus mango custard

For the most part, anyone who tells you they had a satisfying All You Can Eat meal cares more about feeling full than eating good food. This holds especially true when you cross below the …

The Spoken One speaks on his graffiti-busting ways

A recent confrontation between a surfer and a graffiti vigilante at Sunset Cliffs park ended peacefully but raised questions on how to approach the encroachment of vandalism, particularly within our beach communities. An eyewitness reports …

A taste of Chicago, on Hawaiian sweet buns

Every time I walk into Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria, I hear Sean Connery's voice in my head, growling "That's the Chicago way!" Granted, his Untouchables character wasn't talking about deep dish pizza. But then, neither am …

This is not my zereshk polo

Some of the most enjoyable salads I've eaten have come from the kitchen of Soltan Banoo, a Persian restaurant maintaining a low key presence on Park Blvd in University Heights. The place never seems to …

Playing basketball on Mars

No visit to Paris is considered complete without a glimpse of the iconic Eiffel Tower. And if you want to truly capture the full romantic grandeur of the occasion, it's best to approach from the …

Not all food adventures end well

I'm not sure I've ever really had good Chinese food in San Diego. I've had good dishes at Chinese restaurants with distinctly English names, and I've had bad experiences pointing at what I think want …

Not a steak, but not a bad burger

Walking into Cali Steak Burger Bar forced me into a little semantic introspection. What makes a burger a "steak burger"? For that matter, what distinguishes steak from other cuts of beef? And if you make …

An American orders spaghetti and meatballs in Poway

I've eaten lunch in Poway a lot over the years, and have even walked past Mamma Teresa a few times, sometimes on my way to the Five Guys next door, or to the Japanese restaurant …

Shelter Island's other fish sandwich

Having realized my dog enjoys scoping waterfowl while I eat, I head over to the Shelter Island area to try out the deck at Mitch's Seafood. The place sits right on top of America's Cup …

The web at my fingertips, Thai at my front door

One perk of writing for Feast! is that I get to eat out a lot. But to look at it another way, I have to eat out a lot. Like anyone else, I have those …

Cheesesteak isn't the only food from Philly

A lot's been said about Giorgino's cheesesteaks — after all, the sign over the Golden Hill shop boldly claims to have the best in town. But there's been another item on the menu that's aroused …

Getting to know you, Afghanistan

I doubt I'm alone in associating the word kabob (or kebab) with coastal Mediterranean countries — the skewered meat typically served alongside pitas and tahini, or tzatziki. However, Mira Mesa's Ariana Kabob House offers a …

For better or worse: the late-night Cali burrito

Burritos are tough to write about because they're not photogenic. That probably says more about what people want to read than it does burritos. But some nights, when the bar shuts down and a stomachful …

Fruit smoothies, superfoods and breakfast on the run

As quickly as the past several years of gentrification took over South Park, one problem lingered: access to organic produce. Crack parks became dog parks, empty buildings became restaurants and restaurants became fusion restaurants, and …

Cheese plus steak doesn't always equal cheesesteak

I heard some Philly boys were serving up cheesesteaks in National City, so I set my hopes to high and hustled that way, past a half dozen dilapidated mini malls and food chains. Across from …

Quiche envy in South Park

With crêpes, quiches, coffee and no shortage of charm, Café Madeleine gives Francophiles in South Park a destination to aim their morning strolls. The classy little shop pays attention to the small details while catering to the big picture; namely, that locals needed this sort of adorable little outpost to catch up with friends over light fare and hot beverages.

New York style delis aren't supposed to be street legal

New York associations aside, packing a deli into a food truck actually kind of makes sense. It's tough to do better than a sandwich for functional street food. These guys make their own mustard and dressings, use fresh artisanal breads, and their pastrami is legit. Their traditional NYC-style sandwiches work, but skipping any grilled options will probably net you a better lunch.

Wings were not meant to be seen by daylight

It looks like a fast food restaurant, and operates like a fast food chain, but it focuses almost exclusively on wings, by all rights a bar food. Yes they serve beer and have a TV on, but the place would never work as a sports bar, and doesn't actually serve food quickly enough to qualify as convenient. It is extremely cheap though.

Fish and chips with dogs and ducks

The nicest pond-side seafood dining in La Mesa is this sister restaurant to the better-known harbor location. A comparable menu and pricing avails its customers of fresh seafood at fresh seafood prices. While it doesn't break the bank, you do pay more for atmosphere than quality of preparation. That said, "pleasant" doesn't begin to describe its patio dining.

The wild scene of the Gaslamp's new Werewolf

I hate to pigeonhole a place, but when you stake out a central-Gaslamp location, write the word "Shots" in giant letters along the back wall and name it Werewolf, you've pretty much decided to cater …

Serving soul food since the beginning

"Ain't nothing fancy about this place except me!" says Barbara Harris, the ebullient and charismatic lady behind Sister Pee Wee's Soul Food. And she's right. If anything's changed about the modest lunch- and dinner-counter over …

Still Crazee after all these years

We're a hamburger town in a hamburger country, and whether it's fast food or fine dining, most of the American-style restaurants in the city include a burger on the menu. Hell, some of the Asian …

The unimaginable depth of Japanese cuisine

I love Japanese food, and I have eaten a lot of Japanese food. But if a recent visit to Izakaya Sakura proved anything, it's that I've developed a sort of Japanese comfort zone, and it's …

Little Saigon's alternative to burger-and-fries

As of last summer, the stretch of El Cajon Blvd. between Highland Avenue and Euclid is officially known as Little Saigon. Unofficially, it's long been known as the best place to go in search of …

The Mission Hills Greek District?

At the nexus of Hillcrest and Mission Hills, on Washington Street, in the generically named Mediterranean Café, a sign reads "Good food takes time." A block over, the fast food franchise Daphne's California Greek doesn't …

Shaded deck seating apparently worth the wait at Krakatoa

I keep waiting for Golden Hill to finally give up on Krakatoa. The converted craftsman coffeehouse is plenty inviting, with a shaded wraparound deck and ample parking in the back. But it's slow. The frustrating …

This is not your independent food truck

It looks like food truck design must be the next commercial art boom. A lot of these guys are clearly paying special attention to how their business gets represented in mural form on the side …

Coffee vs. cupcakes on restaurant row

I'm not often a dessert guy, and will often walk right past Heaven Sent without a second thought about what kind of cakes might be on display within. However, I am a coffee guy, and …

A cure for the common hungry drunk

If you lived in Japan, any local place you can think of with the words "Public House" in its name would be called an izakaya instead. The relatively casual type of Japanese restaurant may basically …

Ripe North Park embraces unheralded sandwich toppings

You look for a couple of things when you visit a sandwich shop. Occasionally, a place will stand out by making its own meat, or offering exotic cheeses. A lot of places impress thanks to …

A salad from the most unlikely source

The "other white meat" has been enjoying quite the golden age in American cuisine. Bacon, which has always been popular, has been elevated to iconic status, praised daily on Twitter and prevalent on bumper stickers …

Sunset Cliffs — whose paradise is it?

Following a month that saw a violent carjacking and excessive tagging, residents of the normally quiet neighborhood of Sunset Cliffs have been left to wonder whether urban blight is going to be a persisting problem …

February 28, 2014
Eating burgers in boat country

Shelter Island may be rightfully perceived as the domain of boat owners and fresh seafood restaurants, but every community needs a reliable burger and beer spot, and in this little corner of Point Loma, it's …

Pet almost abducted from Grape Street Dog Park

On Wednesday, February 19, what seemed to be an attempted dog-napping at Grape Street Dog Park was thwarted by park regulars, who stopped the would-be perpetrator in the parking lot. More than one eyewitness claimed …

In for a sandwich, out with a slice

From the outside, The Market Place looks like a convenience store four or five decades past its heyday. But, like other nearby fixtures Hobnob Hill and Nunu's, the place must have been doing something right …

Wasted water in Bankers Hill?

City efforts to replace the water mains in Bankers Hill have subjected residents to road and lane closures in the past few weeks, but it's the water runoff streaming down Fifth Avenue that has residents …

February 20, 2014
A marketable-adjective bistro takes over

I never made it to Café Paris, but there's enough Francophile to me that I'd looked forward to it. Wine and small plates can be just the thing some evenings, even if you have to …

Drinking soda at a bottle shop

Juan Miron and Kevin Ho seem intent on feeding beer drinkers. Their MiHo Gastrotruck established a following by parking outside breweries and bars, serving street food to happy hour denizens and craft beer fans. Now …

Münich's surfers

Sitting near the base of the Alps in southern Germany, Münich's nearest coastline would be where Venice slowly sinks into the Adriatic some 300 miles away. But while one might make the case a gondolier …

February 16, 2014
Balboa Golf Course clubhouse to expand?

On February 12, the Golden Hill Planning Committee unanimously voted to deny support of a proposed extension of the Balboa Golf Course clubhouse. All present members of the community advisory group took issue with the …

Success amid a surplus of tofu houses

It's probably best to make something clear up front: I am not reviewing the popular Convoy Street restaurant Tofu House. I visited a different establishment named Convoy Tofu House. Okay, they're both on Convoy, both …

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