Ketch
2614 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
619-814-8080

By Judi Curry

This is my 5th time having a meal at the “Ketch”. I’ve written two other reviews on it – one for the OB Rag in October 2018 which is available if you are interested in reading it.

This time members of my widow group got together to welcome one of our members back to San Diego, and it was up to me to decide where to go. I knew it was a cold and rainy day and we would eat inside, but decided to give the restaurant another try. I am happy to say that it was a nice experience.

We arrived on a Saturday at 11:45am. This presented a problem because we could only order off of the breakfast menu for the next 15 minutes. If any of us wanted lunch, we would have to wait until 12:00pm to place the order because the kitchen was not prepared to make both breakfast and lunch items. By the time we decided what we wanted to do it was lunch time and the decision was made for us.

Once again the menu has changed since I was there last. Things I would have liked to try were gone and new items were in their place.

The Old Broad Loses Her Cool

I have a birthday coming up in a few days. This is a BIG birthday and I have been trying to not think of it; just want the day to pass quietly without any attention being given to the day. Unfortunately that is not going to happen, in spite of two of my daughters on a trip to India and not being here to “commiserate” the day with me.

The remaining daughter has already asked me a dozen times where I want to go to celebrate; has asked me if there is anyone I would like to have join us, etc. And not only that, she was planning a party for me – more about that in another column – and she inadvertently sent me the guest list.

The Old Broad Shares a Story About 2 of Her Foreign Language Students

I have been hosting foreign language students since 1992. They come to the US to learn English, and live with me during their stay here. I am now on my 521st student – and I have to tell you – I am so proud of Lea, from Switzerland, and her friend Serena, from Italy, that I have to share the story.

Yesterday Lea and Serena found a wallet on B Street in Downtown San Diego. It wasn’t just any wallet; it had 24 credit cards, a driver’s license, and $400 in cash in it. They took it to an authority – not quite sure if it was a police officer or not – but they were directed to someplace else. It was late, and Lea brought it home.

The Old Broad Asks for Help

By Judi Curry

What does “Chase”, “Discovery”, “Bank of America”, “Amazon”, “Cox”, “Bank of PNC”, “Apple”, “Navy Federal Credit Union”, “Wells Fargo”, and “US Bank” have in common?

Probably nothing, EXCEPT that I received “phishing” letters from each of these institutions at least 4 times in 5 days.

Each one said virtually the same thing – and each of them were a scam. They look so authentic; the interesting thing is that I do not even have accounts at 6 of these institutions.

Where did they get my name?

By Judi Curry

Something happened this morning that I have feared for years. I am so disappointed how I handled it, and I am so grateful to the San Diego Police Department. This is what happened:

At approximately 6:25am I heard a noise but thought that it was one of my students. I live on a corner, and there is construction happening across the alley from my house and I thought they were starting work on the house early – again – and got angry. But then Shadow began barking – loudly – and in a tone that I have never heard him use before. I continued to get ready for the day, and still Shadow barked.

I finally walked to the kitchen and saw what Shadow was barking about. Standing at my back door was a young man – 21 or so; wearing a hoodie; and knocking at the door. Fortunately I have a metal screen security door and even if he had been successful in breaking into the back door, he could not have had access to the house.

The Old Broad Has Her Say

I Just Remembered Why I Stopped Shopping at Vons

The calls regarding the closing of ACE Hardware, Trader Joes, Vons, Ralphs, have been burning up the wires the past few days. At the request of one of my loyal readers, I decided to do an investigation as to what really was happening.

The first call I made was to ACE Hardware, where they confirmed that the store in Liberty Station will be closing by the end of February. There are all sorts of rumors as to why they are closing, but I was more concerned with the actually closing and did not go further with my questioning.

Then I called Trader Joe’s to find out if it was true that (1) they were closing at Liberty Station and (2) they were going to be moving to the Ralph’s store on Rosecrans. I was assured that neither of the rumors were true. They are staying where there are, and they are not moving to Ralphs.

Then I called Ralphs to see if they were moving. I was told that they were not going anywhere; that the store would be remaining as Ralphs.

Then I called Vons.

The Old Broad Writes …

Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery

Several years ago I wrote a number of articles about the deplorable condition of the Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery. (See here, here, and here.) At about the same time Michael Turko [ed: of the former “Turko Files”] also did a piece about the cemetery and between us the transformation of the grounds was amazing. Doug Ledbetter, the Director at the time of the articles, listened to us and within a year it was again a beautiful place to visit our loved ones.

Ed Ayub Physical Therapy
3145 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92110

I didn’t meet Eddy and his crew by going to his physical therapy office. Rather, I met Eddy and his wife Mary through their dogs – Boomer and Bella. They live around the corner from me and every day when I walked my Golden Retriever Buddy, his dogs would come to the fence to greet us. It finally came to the point when Buddy automatically turned into their gate and patiently waited for them to come out and greet him.

Eventually, Eddy and Mary came out to say a few words, and before you knew it Eddy had a treat – or two – for Buddy. Although Buddy couldn’t pay them back, I would bring a new jar of jam I had just made as a “neighborly” gesture. One day when Mary and I were talking she noticed that I was wearing a splint on my arm and asked questions about it. The next day she told me that Eddy wanted to talk to me about the swelling.

Fig Tree Cafe
Liberty Station
2400 Historic Decatur Rd., #103
San Diego, CA 92107
619-821-2044

One of the fun things about having visitors come to San Diego that have never been here before is introducing them to the variety of restaurants in the neighborhood. I used to think, when I lived in San Francisco, that I would like to start trying restaurants on Lombard Street and try a different one every day. I doubted if I would ever get to try them all because there were so many different ones.

San Diego does not have as many restaurants as Lombard Street, and restaurants seem to change more rapidly than they do in San Francisco, but there is still a huge variety of different tastes in our fair city.

So Friday Hugh and I decided to try the “Fig Tree Café” in Liberty Station.

The Old Broad

My Cable Company

I wonder if I will get as much flack over this column as I have with all the other ones I have written in the past two months. I have yet to talk to anyone that recommends their cable system, so I have a feeling that I may be treading well. We’ll see.

My cable provider is “Cox”. I have a bundle consisting of WiFi, Television and a Land Line. Someone asked me the other day why I needed a Land Line and my answer was “that is the way I find my cell phone.” Quite honestly I prefer talking on my land line. The reception is clearer; it doesn’t hurt my hand holding the receiver the way the cell phone does, and I can put it on my shoulder comfortably and still have the use of both hands. The cost is reasonable – $20.82 – at least compared to my cell phone.

But I am having some trouble with my landline since Cox went digital.

The Old Broad Speaks Her Mind

Pittsburgh

I was in Las Vegas when I heard about the shootings in Pittsburgh. It spoiled my entire trip. (Of course not being able to find a Blackjack table for under $10 a hand didn’t help my mood.)

I was raised in a Jewish Neighborhood – the “Borscht” belt in Los Angeles. My high school – Fairfax High – was closed for Jewish holidays. Although I did not go to Sunday School, most of my friends did; most of my friends were either Bar Mitzvahed or, if female, Bas Mitzvahed. I would go to the Synagogue with friends when asked to go with them, and attended many Seder’s on the holidays. I celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas, and have a Menorah and candles ready for this holiday season.

You would think that people would be safe in the “House of God”. The president’s idiotic comment that if there had been armed guards at the “Tree of Life” Synagogue there would not have been so many deaths.

Restaurant Review

Ketch (Revisited)
2614 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
619-814-8080

I reviewed the Ketch just after it opened for another publication and said at the time that if it was not good, or just mediocre – and I would not do a review of it, because I felt they needed some time to get everything together. However, it turned out it was very good, and I wrote the review.

The other day I had the opportunity to go back to the Ketch with a new friend, and, again I was not disappointed in the food. What I was disappointed about was that the menu had changed, and the item that I wanted was gone. Hugh said that he really liked Calamari, and on the menu was a “Calamari & Peppers” item.

Musing From the Old Broad

Move the Friggin’ Airport!

As another Saturday passes by and I am woken up by the incessant noise of airplanes taking off, I again wonder many things: Is the flight pattern different on Saturdays? I NEVER hear as many planes passing overhead on the weekdays as I do on Saturday. It is a continual noise that leaves me irritated, frustrated, pissed off, and angry.

When I purchased my house in 1966 the planes did not take off over my house. For those of you that say that the airport “was there first” …