Armando de la Torre’s residence at the Oceanside Museum of Art (made possible through a James Irvine Foundation grant) begins this holiday season. The grant is supposed to provide for artists to explore ideas of …

Everybody has been talking about Waypoint Public (3794 30th Street) since rumors first spread that the Bottlecraft people, and other partners, would replace the failed Linkery. Contrary to the UT’s assertion that it opened “quietly,” …

There must be something in the air, because exciting new bars and restaurants have been opening up left and right all over uptown San Diego. Coin-Op Game Room (3926 30th Street) might be the most …

Getting the doors open at American Voodoo (4655 Park Boulevard) in University Heights incurred many delays, chiefly because the owner wanted a full liquor license. Considering the amount of full bars on the block, however, …

For some people, Tex-Mex food is too gringo-fied, too Taco Bell. For others, it’s a chance to eat soft tacos wrapped in flour tortillas and topped with shredded cheese. That second group of people will …

My imagination went bonkers over Memelas (3001 Bonita Road, Chula Vista). One look at the sign that said TACOS + THAI + ROCK was all it took. Visions of hypothetical molé drunken noodles and chicken …

“I don’t know if I believe in monsters,” says Lauren Skinker, a 23-year-old painter living in Bonita. “I just like the idea of them.” Monsters, and all that which is generally fantastic, inspire Skinker. One …

The Philippines is known for wild street foods. Balut (usually much younger and soupier than the Vietnamese fashion) is probably the most famous, but the list includes all manner of intense little skewered and barbecued …

On October 12th, it will have been ten years since Joan Kroc’s passing. Despite that, it’s nigh impossible to spend a day in San Diego without encountering some dedication to the late fast food heiress’ …

“I’ll try not to be too verbose,” says Doyle Reno, “but it does take some explaining.” He’s trying to define his sculpture process, by which he completes large-scale works of art that he doesn’t see …

El Jefe says Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant (4050 Adams Avenue, 619-282-4413) has great hamburgers. He says they taste of the plancha, that it gives them that certain je ne sais quoi, like the one at Benny’s. …

Being Caitlin Rother sometimes means getting into some dark places. The San Diego author, a former investigative journalist for the U-T and other papers, writes narrative non-fiction about true crimes. Writing about the most heinous …

Paintings from Hill Young’s new series depict animal skulls surrounded by organic life. Flowers and vines spring from the wood of the panel, enclosing the bleached bones in a web of living matter. As a …

Painters blend and layer pigments to make their art. Musicians layer sound. Zane Zillner, working in his fantastic-smelling little office at Hapenstans Salon, layers smells. While he earns his living as a massage therapist, it’s …

Despite the fact that Lofty gets all the credit for fancy North County java, Café Ipé (970 North Coast Highway, 760-436-2233, rhymes with eBay) is equally serious about coffee production. The coffee shop has partnered …

Clark Silva’s acrylic-on-panel Rock Icons attract people’s attention with their simple color palettes and minimal designs. Each portrait captures an important figure in rock history, especially Silva’s favorite genre: heavy metal. The artist laughs knowingly …

A lot of artists might balk at the suggestion that their paintings were “very internet,” but not Linda Halsey. The artist, who lives in Imperial Beach, readily admits that the imagery of popular internet culture …

For this list, I have decided to use not great restaurants but great dishes. It gets a handle on ten local restaurants by looking at some of the best individual dishes I’ve eaten in the …

To paraphrase a certain late-twentieth-century alt-rock one-hit-wonder, Lisa Mendez wants to publish zines and rage against machines. The second part of that is an assumption based on the artist’s punk rock style, but the part …

Charles Page’s head is exploding with ideas. All the time. Whenever the Chula Vista artist opens his mouth, words fly out as he tries to explain whatever notion is running through his mind at the …

“I’m really shy about my photography,” says Zia Rodelo. “I don’t show it to just anyone.” 25-year-old Rodelo, who lives in University Heights, declined the offer of a gallery show in her hometown of El …

How’s this for a Cinderella story: Carly Newman is an “ethnic studies” major at USD and she never set out to make art, much less call herself an artist. As an intern at ArtLab Studios, …

In our city, so close to an international border, a book that deals with the harsh realities of immigration should not struggle to grip San Diego’s collective attention. Where contemporary tales of immigration might look …

Exagerated line drawings of her pet Boston Terrier, Ladybird, fill Kensington artist Heather Rae Morton’s home studio. She’s been living and working here since moving to San Diego from Philly three years ago. The fifteen …

Just starting out the evening and need to pre-game? Head to Kensington first. If beer’s your thing, Clem’s Tap House, which serves organized flights of fancy beers at reasonable prices. It’s more of a tasting …

Sandra Millers Younger’s new book, The Fire Outside My Window, is slated for release in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the Cedar Fire. That devastating natural disaster burned 280,000 acres, destroyed 2,800 homes, and …

San Diego painter and "builder of all things cool" has a sweet facility downtown that's immune to the effects of sun and moon.

San Diego author talks about her new book, Bodies of Water, getting lost in the past, and finding the seeds of a novel surprisingly close to home.

Performance art from Margaret Noble and Justin Hudnall explores generational narratives and struggles with family history.

Klaus Janson gives an insider's pespective on Comic-Con, revealing that there's a lot more to the con than movie stars and cosplay.

South Park artist paints love in many forms, dishes on the Camino de Santiago and The Real World San Diego.

North Park artist turns vintage objects into guitars, but he also builds high-end instruments worthy of art galleries.

Neon skulls and portraits of assholes artistically "booby trap" Fry's paintings.

If anything could metaphysically counterbalance the Snooty Asian (hip and in Hillcrest) it would be the Asia Cafe (4710 Market Street, 619-527-1917), which has iron bars on the windows and shares a parking lot with …

I’m always in search of a snack or a meal. I almost never go out with only drinking on the mind. If you ask me to happy hour, I’m going to ask, “Is there food?” …

Science Fiction Jazz wants to cut a full-length LP but they expect it will be tricky because of their improvisational nature.

Mexico’s artistic underworld visits Normal Heights.

“I went crazy writing this and it all came out,” says Jesse Eisner. “‘Esse Jeisner’ says all the stuff that is hard to think about and all the shit we don’t like to acknowledge.” Shit …

Did you hear the one about the triathlete who crashed and broke her arm trying to ride her bike down the sidewalk? I did. Heard it straight from the bruised party’s mouth at the third …

San Diego restaurants taste-tested for you. Eats for Freelancers | Spirit of Family Dinnertime | More Than Dish or Deal | Accessible Gourmet | Lunchtime in Kearny Mesa | Fried Chicken | Restaurants to Try At Least Once

Even if it weren’t my job to go out and look for new places to eat, I still wouldn’t be able to eat the same thing over and over again. I rarely visit any place …

Opening act Washed Out showed how a 1980s synth-pop sound, so in vogue these days, works well live. Despite the mumbled vocals, the textural polyphony of chillwave synthesizer tracks sounded marvelous through the amphitheater’s crystalline …

There’s no room for shoulder angels at Seven Grand. They already had their share. They’re afraid of the tartan carpet and the dark wood paneling. They panic at the sight of the wall of whiskey. …

Han Solo frozen at the Little Fish Comic Book Studio.

Summer is a great time to visit New Hampshire. In the spring, there are a lot of biting flies and it rains all the time. But once the warm, dry months of July and August …

There’s a “we don’t want you” vibe at Lancers, but it’s just pride.

If one bar is good, then two must be great, right? Drinking at JSix means getting to choose between the lofty heights of LOUNGESix or the street-level swank of the restaurant bar. Located in the …

Internet hype exploded around a feud between the Oatmeal — a webcomics and humor site based in Seattle and run by Matthew Inman — and FunnyJunk — a site that has a reputation for reblogging …

The party was on a Saturday night in Mission Hills. Celebrants were all members of the graduate school that’s part of the High Tech charter-school system that has branches in Point Loma and Chula Vista. …

Unforeseen Benefit of keeping up this Blog: It is hot outside and I am inside where it is (slightly) cooler. Since I am producing something--instead of the pre-blog days of just looking at craigslist for …