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

Drinking with G-Men

Freebies for folks in the right place at the right time

You have to notice it.

Walk through the inner plaza of Civic Center and it comes at you: Power, radiating from the surrounding buildings. The Servants of the People, making decisions on our behalf, from which pot-hole to fix next to who to give the next multi-million dollar development dough to.

(You're right, we do pile on them too much. But who can resist?)

So here I am, crossing San Diego Bay, okay, the plaza's mosaic map of San Diego Bay as it was in 1542, when Cabrillo sailed the Ocean Blue.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35419/

My sail is set for the one sign of life here at this time of night, Downtown Johnny Brown’s (1220 3rd Avenue, but actually in Civic Center's plaza, 619-232-8414), the green bar and eatery where your government drinks.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35420/

That is, not the exalted ones. They’re probably down at Dobson’s, a couple of blocks away. Here are your clerks, paper shufflers, and yes, some policy types come to finish off saying everything they never got to say at the weekly meeting.

Whatever, mere humanoids like me seem welcome too.

At least I have no trouble getting in.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35421/

And my nose has no trouble picking up the savory scents of roasting meat.

I make my way through people standing and sitting, half of them sparring, cliché for cliché, like there was no tomorrow. “That amendment should never have been amended!” “Moving forward…right-thinking people…vast majority…but he’s got the mojo, the backing of the Sixth Floor…”

Me, I’m obeying my nose. It leads me to this big pan underneath a chalkboard, not far from the bar.

And yeah! Somebody’s written on the chalkboard. “IPA Night: 21 IPAs & Complimentary Tri-Tip.”

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35424/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35422/

Huh. Guess this is it. I line up behind a couple of guys filling their plates, grab my own, fork on two slabs of the meat...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35423/

...and head for a table.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35426/

Two minutes in, half gone

Try not to look smug when the waitress brings plates to the couple next door, Derek and Taylor.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35427/

Their stuff looks pretty good. Difference is, heh heh, they're paying.

He (Derek) has fish tacos ($9.75)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35429/

...and she (Taylor) has wings salad, kinda crispy buffalo-style chicken salad ($11.50).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35428/

Now the waitress comes to me and I order one of those IPA’s from the board, the Pizza Port Man-Baby Wet Hop. Costs $5.75. Could have gotten a Sierra Nevada for $3, but hey, two steaks for $5.75 – and that means $5.75. Includes tax, seems – I ain’t complaining.

I think this deal is Fridays only. But they seem to have something going each day.

Hey, can't have government running on an empty stomach.

Now I jes’ sit back, ears burning, see if I can pick up the buzz on who's sleeping with who on the Sixth Floor…

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

You have to notice it.

Walk through the inner plaza of Civic Center and it comes at you: Power, radiating from the surrounding buildings. The Servants of the People, making decisions on our behalf, from which pot-hole to fix next to who to give the next multi-million dollar development dough to.

(You're right, we do pile on them too much. But who can resist?)

So here I am, crossing San Diego Bay, okay, the plaza's mosaic map of San Diego Bay as it was in 1542, when Cabrillo sailed the Ocean Blue.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35419/

My sail is set for the one sign of life here at this time of night, Downtown Johnny Brown’s (1220 3rd Avenue, but actually in Civic Center's plaza, 619-232-8414), the green bar and eatery where your government drinks.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35420/

That is, not the exalted ones. They’re probably down at Dobson’s, a couple of blocks away. Here are your clerks, paper shufflers, and yes, some policy types come to finish off saying everything they never got to say at the weekly meeting.

Whatever, mere humanoids like me seem welcome too.

At least I have no trouble getting in.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35421/

And my nose has no trouble picking up the savory scents of roasting meat.

I make my way through people standing and sitting, half of them sparring, cliché for cliché, like there was no tomorrow. “That amendment should never have been amended!” “Moving forward…right-thinking people…vast majority…but he’s got the mojo, the backing of the Sixth Floor…”

Me, I’m obeying my nose. It leads me to this big pan underneath a chalkboard, not far from the bar.

And yeah! Somebody’s written on the chalkboard. “IPA Night: 21 IPAs & Complimentary Tri-Tip.”

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35424/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35422/

Huh. Guess this is it. I line up behind a couple of guys filling their plates, grab my own, fork on two slabs of the meat...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35423/

...and head for a table.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35426/

Two minutes in, half gone

Try not to look smug when the waitress brings plates to the couple next door, Derek and Taylor.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35427/

Their stuff looks pretty good. Difference is, heh heh, they're paying.

He (Derek) has fish tacos ($9.75)...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35429/

...and she (Taylor) has wings salad, kinda crispy buffalo-style chicken salad ($11.50).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/13/35428/

Now the waitress comes to me and I order one of those IPA’s from the board, the Pizza Port Man-Baby Wet Hop. Costs $5.75. Could have gotten a Sierra Nevada for $3, but hey, two steaks for $5.75 – and that means $5.75. Includes tax, seems – I ain’t complaining.

I think this deal is Fridays only. But they seem to have something going each day.

Hey, can't have government running on an empty stomach.

Now I jes’ sit back, ears burning, see if I can pick up the buzz on who's sleeping with who on the Sixth Floor…

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A closer look at the trailer for 21 & Over

Next Article

Thai Pepper: Into the Hot Pot

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