Brand new artwork enlivens a familiar place on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
For over a year the small food concession at the foot of the Embarcadero Marina Park South Pier has been vacant. JJ’s Sunset Deli by the Bay shut down at the end of 2014. So I was surprised during my walk today to see another business has finally moved in! And I learned the new eatery with the same cool patio has been open for only four days!
Burgers, Bait and Beer looks like a great, relaxed place to kick back. The guys I met were very friendly. And the light salad I had was really good. I’m told their hamburgers are superb. So I guess I’ll have to try one next weekend!
Burgers, Bait and Beer can be found at the foot of the Embarcadero Marina Park South Pier, behind the San Diego Convention Center!A pair of standup paddleboarders have passed under the Embarcadero Marina Park South Pier, one of my favorite places to visit on San Diego Bay.This cool artistic heron is part of the decor at the new outdoor cafe, tackle and bait shop.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk. Once in a while I happen upon an unexpected discovery!
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Here are a dozen more funny signs and sights that I’ve spotted in downtown San Diego. Since many of these photographs were taken around the Gaslamp Quarter with its many restaurants and bars, it isn’t surprising that a popular theme is Eat, Drink and Be Merry.
A crabby sign. Eat me! Bite me!Two funny, silly mannequin heads in a shop window.Some call it bitching. I call it motivational speaking.Please leave quietly. Let the neighbors sleep.A sign warns: Beware of Little Monsters.Sea NileThe National Beer Pong LeagueThis alien lifeguard in a yellow hard hat is about to be clobbered by Superman!People who say “It’s the thought that counts” give shitty gifts.I distrust camels and anyone else who can go a week without a drink.One hundred percent of scientists agree that alcohol is a solution!
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People walk along narrow outdoor deck of Anthony’s Fishette, a popular casual dining spot for half a century in downtown San Diego.
Their 50 year lease is almost up. Anthony’s Fish Grotto on San Diego’s Embarcadero will soon be no more. They are to be replaced in 2017 by the Brigantine seafood restaurant. A golden era that produced many wonderful, irreplaceable memories is coming to a close.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve lingered in ecstasy at Anthony’s outdoor Fishette, which is adjacent to the more formal indoor restaurant. Except when I was a child, I’ve never eaten in the restaurant. But outside, on the deck, inhaling the ocean breeze, listening to the cries of circling seagulls, squinting into the sun and feeling its warmth on my face–I’ve devoured acres of tasty french fries and oceans of fish.
Millions of people around the planet have golden memories of the place. This is my small photographic tribute to Anthony’s outdoor Fishette. I stopped by for a delicious grilled tuna melt sandwich late yesterday afternoon.
Over the years, many of the people who have worked at Anthony’s Fishette gave me a friendly smile or hello. To them, I say thank you.
You have until January 31, 2017 to enjoy this true San Diego tradition and treasure, and to say thank you.
Front of Anthony’s Fish Grotto as seen from Harbor Drive. In early 2017, this iconic San Diego restaurant will be demolished.Smiles are typical at Anthony’s Fishette. So is sunny outdoor pleasure and yummy seafood.A photo through glass of the small boat dock and blue San Diego Bay as a glowing sunset nears.A reflection in window of Anthony’s Fish Grotto of the setting sun. A golden era is coming to a close on San Diego’s waterfront.Possibly the best outdoor seating in all of San Diego. Just above the lapping water, with a sweeping, wonderful view.Passing by Anthony’s Fishette one fine January day. I’ve walked past perhaps a thousand times.Countless millions of fond memories have been made here.
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A variety of dried food hangs from the ceiling. The kitchen of the Commercial Restaurant museum in Old Town is a place where visitors are transported back in time.
There are dozens of cool things to see in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. I’ve barely scratched the surface so far with my blog.
For example, there’s a small free museum right next to the central Plaza de Las Armas called Commercial Restaurant. A rather dull name, but a very interesting place jam-packed with history!
The small recreated restaurant shows what life was like in the mid 1800s, back when San Diego was downright tiny. The Commercial Restaurant is comprised of two rooms: one contains the dining area, the other, the kitchen. Originally called the Casa de Machado y Silvas, the house was built by José Manuel Machado and given as a wedding gift to his daughter María Antonia, and her husband, José Antonio Nicasio Silvas. The simple adobe building was converted into a modest restaurant by its owners in the early 1850s. Today it stands as one of the five historic adobes in Old Town San Diego.
I’ve provided a bit more info in the photo captions!
Photo shows the Commercial Restaurant museum, which is free and open to the public in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.La Casa de Machado y Silvas in Old Town San Diego was turned into Commercial Restaurant, then later renamed Antonia Restaurant.Bienvenidos. Come inside. See the recreated Commercial Restaurant. Established in 1854 within the Casa de Machado y Silvas, a home built in 1843. Museum open 10-5.The dining area of the Commercial Restaurant. This is was what it was like to eat in style in the mid 1800s. Many exhibits along the walls recall the history of old San Diego.Art on one wall depicts the grinding of corn. Other nearby maps and graphics show how food is related to our city’s history.
In the mid 1800’s, when New England travelers arrived by ship to Old Town, they sought out a dining establishment serving meals like they would find at home, including stews, soups, crackers, bread and cow’s milk. Over the years, exposure to native Kumeyaay cooking influenced the European diet and became integrated into the region’s cuisine.
As a captive labor force under the Mission system, the Kumeyaay performed their tasks using traditional tools and methods of preparation as a way to continue their cultural identity.Display case contains artifacts used in the daily life of San Diego residents almost two centuries ago.Shelves in the Commercial Restaurant contain old jars, goblets, bowls, bottles, plates and more.It was 1948 when a secret hiding place was discovered in one of the adobe’s window wells. Within the niche were two documents relating to life of an early Old Town San Diego resident.
Historical documents discovered by archeologists hidden in the Casa de Machado y Silvas shed light on the life of San Diego resident Allen B. Light. He was also know as the “Black Steward”. Allen arrived in California during the 1830s, aboard the sailing ship Pilgrim, the same vessel that brought Richard Henry Dana Jr. who would later write Two Years Before the Mast.
One document was “a sailor’s protection”, which proclaimed Light was a “coloured man, a free man, and a citizen of the United States of America”. The second document was his commission from the Mexican Governor of Alta California to investigate illegal sea otter hunting along the coast.
A peek into the recreated kitchen next to the dining room. Cooking was rather primitive in early San Diego.A table full of peppers and vegetables. What life was like many generations ago, in the kitchen of Old Town’s Commercial Restaurant museum.
At the Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills, they thank you for making it weird.
Today I went on yet another long walk. This time through Mission Hills and Presidio Park. I’ve managed to collect so many photographs in the past couple weeks that there are about a dozen blog posts waiting to be written! Good grief!
Better get to it!
Check this out! I was walking through Mission Hills at the intersection of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton when I realized I simply HAD to blog about the Meshuggah Shack.
This crazy cool shack is where folks in the neighborhood can grab espressos, lattes, teas and miscellaneous yummy noshes. Their website proclaims: Welcome to the insane asylum . . . Enter at your own risk! Their motto is No Kvetching! Some of their crazy offerings include Crackhead Chai Latte, Ian’s Make You Wanna Hula, and Teresa’s Sin and Salvation. I think maybe by now you get the idea.
Meshuggah Shack has proven to be so popular, they’ve opened a second location in East Village in the Quartyard project. But the original in Mission Hills is WAY cooler!
The Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills is celebrating 5 years of completely unabashed zaniness.There are all sorts of odd things dangling from the ceiling, clinging to the walls, and cluttering shelves.Crazy stuff includes bizarre knickknacks, dolls, a disco ball, a dinosaur, and almost anything that seems absurd, irreverent or just funny.More odd, fun objects.Enjoy your snack or beverage outside at this cool corner of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton.Pillars supporting the crazy shack’s roof are covered with a mosaic of tiles, mirrors, mugs, shells, you name it. As you can see from the lights, it was around Christmas when I took my photos.The Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills is very hard to miss! Hungry?
Please help Stuff the Bus to fight hunger in San Diego!
San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is getting ready for their 8th Annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive!
You can help fight hunger in San Diego by collecting non-perishable food and by spreading the word in advance!
On December 5, between 9 am and 2 pm, MTS buses will be parked in front of Albertsons and VONS stores throughout San Diego County. The objective will be to fill the buses with food to aid the hungry! Your friends, business or organization can collect canned goods and other nonperishables and help stuff a bus, or you can purchase preselected grocery items inside the stores. When the event ends, the food will be transported to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, which is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County.
Click here for store locations, the food items needed, and other important details!
Come on San Diego! Let’s jam those buses with love!
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People who love to eat are always the best people. Julia Child
I spotted these funny pictures and quotes on some windows in the Horton Plaza shopping mall food court, in downtown San Diego. I’m not sure if this particular eatery closed down or is soon to debut. I saw no sign. But I had a good laugh!
If you are what you eat, then you might as well eat something good. RatatouilleLife is grate!Bake the world a better place!Rock and Roll (some dough).
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The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier was the place to eat an awesome pancake breakfast this morning!
This morning a very cool local event took place. The annual Ocean Beach Pier Pancake Breakfast was held near the end of the long OB pier!
Proceeds from the breakfast are used to fund the OB Food and Toy Drive, which benefits many families in the beach community who could use a helping hand. This tasty event is put on each year by the Ocean Beach Town Council!
Enjoy a few photos!
The Annual Ocean Beach Pier Pancake Breakfast raised funds for the Ocean Beach Christmas Food and Toy Drive.The Ocean Beach Town Council puts on the cool event. Some people bought tickets at the foot of the pier from Team Pancake members!Here comes the OB Pier Pancake Breakfast Shuttle!A long line of hungry folks waits near the much-beloved Ocean Beach pier cafe, which has been a cool place to go for many years.Various tables in front of the WOW Cafe had sumptuous, mouth-watering goodies ready to eat.A few people were lucky to enjoy breakfast right at the edge of the pier. This might be one of the most scenic dining spots in San Diego!These hungry guys have their hands full of super yummy pancakes, eggs and sausage!There was even live music just outside the pier’s unique cafe high over the Pacific Ocean.Tables were arranged near the end of the pier for the special, super popular annual event.I tried not to stare drooling at the food as I walked nonchalantly by.Speaker of the California State Assembly Toni Atkins is a powerful politician, but she’s addressing a Queen! Toni said she’s happy to be back in San Diego, where it’s cooler than Sacramento.Unfortunately, I had already eaten breakfast. Looks delicious!
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Typical early morning deliveries in Little Italy include kegs of beer and boxes of spirits.
Another early morning stroll. Today: through Little Italy. Trucks were lined up on India Street, delivering to many popular restaurants. You like Italian? You like a friendly neighborhood with history and character? This is the place to go.
Food delivery truck advertisement promotes San Diego Restaurant Week, September 20-27.Pulling the dolly up a ramp, getting ready to retrieve potatoes and other fresh ingredients for a tasty Italian meal.Plaque in sidewalk on Date Street declares: A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat. Old New York ProverbA second plaque further down the sidewalk proclaims: Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso. Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick. Spanish ProverbLittle Italy street banner shows actor Danny DeVito enjoying a drink.An umbrella and chairs that will soon be arranged for casual alfresco dining.Lady inside Little Italy eatery is busy preparing for another delicious day. Buon Appetito.
Classic images of Greeks and ancient Greece are sprinkled about the festival venue.
I enjoyed a wonderful long walk this morning. But it seems my poor old brain forgot some important information. Because when I arrived at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church at 3655 Park Boulevard, I learned that San Diego’s big annual Greek Festival wouldn’t begin for over an hour!
I was allowed to walk about the area behind the church where the festival takes place and snap a few photos. Folks were setting up tents and preparing food. All the people I spoke to were very friendly. According to one, this annual festival is about 40 years old! The three day event features Greek food, music and dancing, and draws thousands from around San Diego. It will be open until 10pm tonight, and again tomorrow from 11am to 8pm.
My legs wanted to continue walking, so here are some photos of morning preparations…
Each year a big Greek Festival is held at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church.An hour before the event opens, preparations are being made for coming crowds.Flags, decorations and colorful wares are a feast for the senses outside St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church.Orthodox religious icons displayed by one tent include familiar Christian symbols.Icons of Mary and infant Jesus appear as if they’re gilded in the San Diego morning sunshine.Looking up at the church from the parking lot behind it, where the festival is held each year.Lots of people will be following the arrow to Greek coffee and pastries.One fun area contains tables, umbrellas and eventually yummy food. Unfortunately, I was much too early!Pita bread is stacked up waiting at one end of this Greek Deli tent.An ancient scene seems to have sprung from the pages of the Iliad. Are those Greek warriors stirring up some Nescafé?
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