Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Mango's avatar

Mango

Mango is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Hannah Montana: The Movie

I admit that Hannah Montana wasn’t my first choice of movies to go see, but I had some free passes and I figured, how bad could it be? Turns out that it wasn’t bad at all and it was really pretty terrific. I know a lot of adults out there are groaning at the thought of having to take their pre-teen daughters to see this movie, but if you go, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I think I may have even developed a little crush on Billy Ray Cyrus. He sang a beautiful, bittersweet song called “Back to Tennessee” that made me want to go out and buy the soundtrack. If you enjoy country and western music, you will probably like this movie. There’s also a nice cameo by Taylor Swift, who performs “Crazier”. Obviously, Billy Ray Cyrus is Miley Cyrus’ dad in real life, but thankfully, even though this movie is not real, he comes off as totally genuine. I felt so bad for him when he was on “Dancing With the Stars” but this movie made me forget all about that. Billy Ray’s great and he even did a little bit of dancing. I was unfamiliar with Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana’s music until I saw this movie and now I think I “get” why all of the kids like her so much. I really enjoyed her song, “Hoedown Throwdown” as well as “Butterfly Fly Away” which she sang, as a duet, with Billy Ray. Unlike the TV show, which is kind of fluffy, with regards to the dialogue and scenery, this movie was very well done and some of the scenes that were shot in the Kentucky countryside were breathtaking. Take a chance on this one.
— April 21, 2009 11:40 a.m.

Sipz Fusion Café

Spring forward. Spring roll. One of the best things about Vietnamese food is cool, fresh spring rolls. Sipz Fusion Café offers two different kinds of these little vegetarian delights with their sheer rice paper negligees. The “Fusion Rollz” filled with carrot, jicama, basil and soy “beef” strips are hearty and filling. The “Fresh Summer Rollz” with lettuce, mint, bean sprouts, vermicelli noodles and tofu and are lighter and probably the more exemplary version. Both are served with homemade peanut sauce. They also have “Crispy Rollz” which are the fried version, sometimes referred to as egg rolls in other Asian restaurants to distinguish them from fresh spring rolls. Many places serve egg rolls, but Sipz’s “Crispy Rollz” are especially tasty. They’re definitely crisp, and not greasy or soggy. These cabbage filled tasties are the kind of thing that one craves in the middle of the night. All menu items at Sipz are 100% vegetarian, and many selections are totally vegan, including all of their desserts. Plus, Sipz is a veritable soup heaven! They have at least nine different varieties of vegetarian soups, including Pho, which is traditionally a beef-broth noodle soup, and Tom Kah, the velvety tart and savory coconut soup infused with lemongrass and ginger, but with no meat, fish or fowl to fowl it up. Then there are the “Bowlz”. There are salad bowlz, rice bowlz, noodle bowlz and main bowlz. Sipz features mostly Vietnamese and Chinese dishes served with mock chicken, beef or fish (even mock shrimp) tofu, or simply vegetables. The “beef” with broccoli and the walnut “shrimp” are two of my favorites. You will need to ask for plates if you want to share. They don’t mind. Sipz recently added vegetarian sushi to their menu, something I’ve yet to try. Guess I’ll have to spring back.
— April 5, 2009 5:09 p.m.

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader