starlite

starlite is the new tim mays-owned restaurant in middletown. everyone's been saying how great the place looks and it is a truly unique atmosphere inside. there's a big sunken square bar in the center of the room, exposed beams in the ceiling, incredible stone work on the sides of the room, a funky chandelier, dark wood hexagon entry-way, 60's-style woodwork and retro light fixtures. out back is a fantastic-looking patio, which was packed with diners and folks hanging at the great-looking bar out there.

it was late, so we had the bruschetta and burgers, which were both very good - my burger was perfectly cooked medium-rare and was tender and full of flavor. i had the starlite mule martini, which is "100% Organic Rain Vodka, Cock n’Bull ginger beer, fresh lime, bitters, served in a copper mug", and the best martini i've had in a long time. while we ate, we had time to notice the sorely lacking dj - the music consisted of tim walking over to the dj area and turning up the volume on a johnny cash wannabe playlist. clearly a dj would have improved the feel of the place. and the crowd was a weird mix of 944-type folks, hipsters, and a small group of mission bay wiggers.

another fine addition to the growing collection of restaurants that show off some really impressive design.

maximo park at casbah

we saw maximo park at the casbah last night and it was a great show, for what i saw of it. with two opening acts we figured (ok, our friend who used to play there figured) they wouldn't start until midnight. so we rolled in after a fun late dinner at starlite lounge and after one song i heard the singer say, "we'll play another song or two for you". wtf? on our way in, whey i asked how long they'd been playing, the guy at the door said "15 minutes" (admittedly, a smart thing to say). oh well, it was probably for the best, given that i dragged jay and david to the show.

they did play several more songs, and a couple for the encore. the band put on a very energetic show - the lead singer made the most of the small stage and the crowd was singing along with many songs. highlights included "apply some pressure", and the encores, "sandblasted and set free" and "graffiti". i'd read that they had a rep for being really good live, and they delivered with very tight playing; Paul Smith's vocals were surprisingly clear and robust for the last night of a tour. plus, the volume level was about perfect and i was impressed with the overall mix. i'll have to check them out next time they're in town, and be sure to catch the whole set.

how can we serve the rich better?

by giving them their own mega yacht slip, right on a prime part of the bay! (top pic) well, not "giving" of course, but the city stands to make some big bucks by taking one of the last open stretches of west-facing bayfront, just north of the star of india boat, and installing 8 moorings for super (100-400 foot) yachts. what's particularly galling about it is that the slot in question is directly across from the san diego county administration building, a fine example of 1930's art deco architecture and one of the most attractive buildings downtown; on the building (and in the middle picture above) are the words "the noblest motive is the public good". while the county is not in charge of the land in question, its message provides a head-smacking lesson on what government used to represent in this country (the building was built as part of the roosevelt's wpa program) versus what it does now - sell out to the rich. how does this project in any way further the public good?

one argument would be that by bringing in revenue, it will benefit the city, and in theory, the public. but don't we already do that all over the bayfront, with the rental car parking lots and the parking meters everywhere? not to mention the restaurants and touristy boats that fill in the rest of harbor drive here? and while it will be neat to see these big behemoths (i'm talking about the boats, not union tribune publisher david copley suntanning on his mega yacht), can't we do it somewhere else?

here's an idea - move the car rental lots to pacific highway, where they belong. take that land and convert it to a mega yacht rich prick hangout. pay for the conversion with jacked-up slip fees. of course, that would mean borrowing money, and the city's in big-time debt... scratch that.

well, let's hope it's not a done deal. meanwhile, down harbor, the broadway pier is closed, being fortified so it can return to its role as a... parking lot! (bottom pic) not one pier that sticks into the harbor is available for public park use. and finally, further down broadway, what is up with the former old police headquarters project? i see that construction is set to start in mid-2007, but nothing appears to be going on there, or about to. of course, when you attempt to rip off your future tenants (like diane powers, who used to hold the lease on old town's bazaar del mundo, which is a ghost town now), causing them to pull out, what's the big rush?

kebab shop in east village

the kebab shop is located on 9th just north of market downtown, next to valentines mexican restaurant. it's been open for a few months now and i finally stopped by today after a long bike ride. the lamb shawarma i had was delicious, with thick strips of juicy lamb inside a big telera roll (their website has pics). the saffron rice was good, but i wished i had ordered one of the several side dishes, like the tabouli or eggplant. still, my weary body from the ride had been rejuvenated for a mere 9 dollars. it's surprising that there aren't more low-cost options like this, even in east village (please don't count the mexican place on 10th that doesn't even cook their food onsite). can't wait to get back there.

free flaming lips show

ut street is reporting flaming lips will headline the free southern comfort music experience festival. it's being held in the parking lot next to petco park, where street scene had its last (and most successful) show downtown. while the lips' show seems to be the same schtick every time, it's still fun, and this one is free.

bleu boheme open

chowhound says it opened over the weekend, and there's a review up on yelp. i really like what they did with the old green tomato space, especially the revamped outdoor seating and the metal sheeting on the front of the building. hopefully we'll get over there soon, but it's a busy weekend with friends in town, the maximo park show at the casbah, and dinner at starlight lounge before the show. then we're off thursday to vancouver for the fireworks competition and pride there, and to just enjoy how awesome the city is.

last weekend was busy too, with san diego pride and a friend's wedding. the parade on saturday was fun, it had been a few years since i went. we were on 6th when it wrapped up, so we went to the nearby tractor room for lunch, which unfortunately was mostly brunch... but the burger is always good there. and the tractor room bloody mary i had was perfect. first time i'd eaten inside there and it's fun to see the happening bar scene, and get the true hunting lodge vibe. our friend david knows the owner from way back, and he said they're opening new hash house restaurants in kansas city and dallas. i'm sure they'll love the huge portions there.

on sunday we went to the festival since jay wanted to see erasure. not my kind of music but a fair deal since he's going to maximo park with me. after the festival closed down we walked down the streeet to modus for some excellent cocktails, good food and middling service. it was a sunday though...

wahhh my ears hurt

no surprise here: Viejas Moves Concerts From Embarcadero Venue. why did they even bother to book the shows there in the first place?

second pinkberry coming to san diego

this one will be in the new hard rock hotel. we drove by the hotel, still under construction, this weekend and it looked kind of generic. hopefully the guitar-shaped pool will add some funkiness to the building.

flowers for little italy

the ut reports $200k is slated for flower planters and hanging baskets in little italy. the neighborhood, which already looks great on its main streets, will expand its current floral display with the added money. there's some disagreement over whether city redevelopment money should be used for this, but i think it's well worth it - why not have lush displays like those seen in seattle (pictured above), vancouver and victoria, for example? this can only add to the tourist influx and desirability of the neighborhood, and will likely more than pay for itself.

one interesting note in the article is the $1000 trash cans the redevelopment agency paid for a while back. i never really thought about how good they look compared to the fugly concrete ones around downtown, but it was money well spent in my opinion. just two more good things going for one of the most rapidly-changing neighborhoods in the city.

innovative architecture

i bitch about boring san diego architecture a lot on this blog, so it was nice to see city beat print an interesting article this week on fearless architects in town. i really like the "on grape" project by sebastian mariscal, which is shown above in the bottom image. in fact, little italy has several buildings featured in the article, including another favorite of mine, the essex lofts, designed by mariscal's former associate (or mentor?), jonathan segal. this is the building with all the cool art on the east side, quite close to the southbound side of interstate 5 as it slices the neighborhood.

segal has designed several great-looking projects, including k lofts near the ballpark downtown. i recently saw one of the units in this project listed for sale at around 700k, if i remember correctly - how cool would it be to live there?

hopefully some of the larger builders downtown will take a few cues from these guys when designing their projects. one example of this would be constellation's stella project in middletown (or "5-points" if you want to call it that). i love the great big windows on each unit.

maybe downtown san diego's delayed maturation is a good thing, considering there is some really innovative thinking in architecture right now, and it can be done on prime lots that aren't too costly to build on (yet). remember, most of these buildings will be with us for years to come - something i'm reminded of whenever i travel to my hometown, albany ny, where the sterile empire state plaza, built in the 60's, bleakly eats up both prime real estate and any kind of human interaction.

so, there's many things to be excited about in san diego's building boom - to paraphrase art brut, "modern architecture makes me want to rock out"!

battling the baptists

we went to the padres game downtown tonight with our neighbors and enjoyed a beautiful san diego evening. jay had gotten the tickets a while ago through work, but we found out recently it was to be the night that the local baptists walked off their concession jobs at the stadium, because the padres were acknowledging it was gay pride night at the same game as a padre cap giveaway to kids. they don't like the homo-gay being around the impressionable ones, promoting their sinful "lifestyle" and all. so i whipped together a crappy sign that said "i'm a gay uncle" and headed down to the front entrance after jay and my neighbors went into the game (thanks for the support guys!).

there were about 20-30 people from the ministry, all wearing red shirts with a big "save our kids" phrase on them, handing out pamphlets. also there was [closet|nut]case james hartline. i joined some counter-protesters across the sidewalk from them. it was all actually pretty civil, and i had some funny conversations with the baptists, who feel anybody who's not a christian is going to hell. one guy said that's it's basically chaos wherever there's no christianity, so i asked him, "what about japan? they're not christian". to which he agreed, yeah, they're pretty orderly over there. no shit!

he also asked me if i babysit my nephew - to which i replied, "why, do you think i'm going to molest him"? he said "well yes, or vice-versa". my nephew is 3 - what does that even mean?!

revealingly, these folks actually insist they are not pushing their beliefs onto anybody, but then tell me i need change my sinful lifestyle, and question my (lack of) religious beliefs.

there were plenty of supportive people who said positive things when they walked past, and i chatted with some of them. a tv cameramen and a padre staff member also thanked me. a couple of people took pictures with me. surprisingly, not one person said anything negative, considering i'm basically holding a sign that says i'm a big queen as they walk into a macho sports event.

after a while i folded my sign up, threw it in the trash, and went in to the game. but the protesters wouldn't be enjoying this game, they were too busy making their hateful point. just what god wanted, i'm sure.

kensington vine visit

finally got to kensington vine the other night, we joined our neighbors from across the street and walked around the corner to enjoy a nice variety of wines, some appetizers, and their great thin-crust pizza. i love the laid-back atmosphere inside, with downtempo music playing in the background. there's actually only 3 tables in there, with about 7 seats at the bar, so it feels pretty intimate. there's several tables outside, which were all full when i drove by last night around happy hour time ($5 wine glasses and apps). i had a full-bodied shiraz from australia which really complemented the bruschetta appetizer. i sampled our dining companions' cabernet and chardonnay and they were good too. a great addition to kensington.

starlite open

casbah owner tim mays' new starlite restaurant/bar/lounge is open in the old 6 degrees lesbian bar location. some friends of ours went last week and said it was just like being in an nyc restaurant. very cool 70's-ish design, great food (although a bit spendy), and a decent-sized outdoor patio done up nicely. hoping to get there soon and provide some more info.

"your tower is too penis-y"

never forget that san diego is full of closed-minded people. today's example is found in a union tribune article about opposition to the shapery park tower downtown that looks too much like a penis. after the mundane pei cobb freed tower was announced for 700 west broadway, you'd think city leaders would be open to some more daring design. guess again. a consultant to the ccdc says it looks too much like a phallus and should be modified. the developer counters by saying he's going for a flower petal look. whatever it is, it's a big improvement from earlier versions. btw, their website says there will be a 40th floor restaurant/bar, which should add to the limited high-rise dining options in the city.

my favorite quote from the article was the audience member who was "appalled". whether it's turning down the opportunity to convert the miramar facility into an airport decades ago, or embracing boring architecture over innovative design, san diego consistently shows its small-town mindset.

cowboy star update

according to san diego metropolitan magazine, cowboy star will be opening in september, and will include a restaurant, bar and butcher shop. the fireplaces and exposed beam ceilings would seem to make this a unique place to eat in east village. and i'm sure the folks moving into the mark condominiums around the corner will appreciate the butcher shop.

royal india downtown

had a great dinner last night at royal india restaurant in the gaslamp. it's on market at 4th, where bayou bar and grill used to be. it's elegantly decorated inside, and has several tables just off the sidewalk, but unfortunately there were no 3-tops ready when we got there.

royal india had some of the best indian food i've had in a while - the chicken karahi curry that i had (chicken and green peppers in a spicy red curry) was perfect, and the spinach naan i used to mop up the sauce was very tasty. good samosas too - although they misunderstood us and gave us 3 orders of these, i was glad they had. the chicken tikka masala that jay and our friend mike had was quite good also.

i read on the yelp site that they validate horton plaza parking here for free (beware a few of the "reviews" on that page for this place), but that's just during the daytime, apparently. no problem, it was fun to walk up 4th to the drugstore there for a pack of gum that earns 3 hours of free parking (without validation: $18) with everyone out on the streets.

incidentally, we did see a huge line for the new bar in the ivy hotel. on broadway also had a big line for that hour (10 pm). not so much: martini ranch, which seems to be suffering from the presence of all the new, less-tired clubs it's competing with.

summer hits the coast

today was the first weekend day of the year where the air temp at the beach was well into the 70's, and the ocean temp nearly as warm. so jay and i headed to coronado to hang on the beach and enjoy the ocean. summer comes late to san diego but when the july fry hits (right on time this year), it's the best time of year in my opinion. some fun waves and not-too-cold water, considering it's usually a few degrees cooler there than other nearby beaches. thanks to jay for the pics as usual...

what 1.25 mil buys you in coronado

sure, it's only steps to the bay and awesome views of downtown san diego, but the asking price on this house on i avenue in coronado is quite an eye-opener. once you've torn it down and replaced it with your mcmansion i'm sure it will be worth every penny.