Restaurant Review

Soi-OB Thai Street Food
1916 Cable St.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-230-5885

By Judi Curry

When this restaurant first opened, Soi-OB Thai Street Food, my foreign language student – Hitomi – and I were there the first week. We both really enjoyed what we had, and went back several times until she moved to Los Angeles in July.

Last night I decided it was time to try it again, so went on-line to set up a delivery of a few items. Now that I do not have any students, I am not trying as many items as I did in the past. However, tonight one of my tenants – George – was home and he joined me in my tastings.

I ordered a Tom Kah Soup, with mild spices, and just vegetables.

Diego Marquez
“The Marketplace”
619-672-5911

By Judi Curry

Several years ago, my daughter bought me a very pretty, glass bird bath to attract more birds into my back yard.

For months I loved watching the birds come and drink from the bowl or take a bath when the weather was warmer.

And then, one day, a “murder” of Crows landed on the glass bowl and quickly toppled it. And from that day on I have been searching for another bird bath.

I found that many of them were built very flimsily; and knowing that not only do I have crows that have heard that the water is good at the “Curry Household” I have been providing several different hawks with the same good water so it is imperative that the bird bath be strong enough to handle several large birds at one time.

Pick Up Stix
3365 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-758-9041

By Judi Curry

As far back as I can remember I have always cooked for many people.

Beginning with my family of 5 – three daughters, husband and myself, trial and error was the key to breakfasts and dinners.

Later on, as my family grew to 18 grandchildren and the number of foreign language students that I have hosted – 598 – (not all at the same time!) I developed many different recipes that eventually made way into the three cookbooks that I authored. I always had “guinea pigs” to try the new concoctions that I was developing. I made it a point not to serve the same meal to my foreign language students for at least 6 months!

Now, because of COVID, several of the English Language schools that I dealt with have closed. One of the remaining schools placed a student with me on October 31, and he was a great guy. However, he is only 19 and really didn’t want to do his learning “on-line” and I did not feel safe from COVID by having him live here. After he told me that he “discovered” Black’s Beach, I asked the school to move him, and with his agreement, it was done. And so I find myself with no one to cook for, talk to, or even do laundry for.

Are they Or aren’t they? That is the question.

By Judi Curry

I received a phone call this morning telling me that the recycling center at Pat’s Liquor Store at 5096 Voltaire was closed. That there was a YELP review that said it had been closed for awhile, and there was no place left to recycle cans, bottles and plastic left in Ocean Beach.

I told my caller that I didn’t think that was right; that the “YELP” review was probably referring to the old recycling center next to Stumps. She thought I was wrong.

So, I called Pat’s Liquor and had a delightful conversation with Basil, the owner of the liquor store, who said that the recycling center was very definitely open, from 11:00am to 5:00pm six days a week.

By Judi Curry

Recently, as some of you might remember, I wrote an article about the influx of rats that have inundated Sunset Cliffs and our neighborhood in South OB.

In that article I mentioned the amount of trash that is being generated by people having parties on Sunset Cliffs; food trucks parked in the parking lot selling food to passersby; walkers, joggers, runners, and bicycle riders that finish their snack – or their picnic – and just walk away from the trash that they have generated.

A situation has a new concern for me and others in the Sunset Cliffs area, that I have not mentioned, primarily because it happened after the article appeared.

A few days ago as I was driving south on Sunset Cliffs towards my home, when in the lane going north there had to be at least 100+ people riding their bikes.

By Judi Curry

Nightly since before July 4th, my southern Ocean Beach neighborhood has gone to sleep and been awakened by the sound of firecrackers. I can count on one hand how many nights this has not been the case. They start early and go on until the wee hours of the night.

Frequently there are large parties with cars parked in the Sunset Cliffs parking lots, with cars parked on Sunset Cliffs itself, and with cars parked on all of the side streets leading to the ocean. Those cars that are parked in the lots almost always have lights with them to shine on the revelers dancing, smoking, and shooting off firecrackers. (Please notice that I purposely use the word “firecrackers” – not fireworks.) Yes, sometimes fireworks are used, but usually it is M80s that echo off the water’s edge and project all the way up to Santa Barbara Street. (Just ask people that live near the Thursday Club.)

Restaurant Review

Soi-OB-Thai Street Food
1916 Cable Street
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-230-5885
www.SOIOB.COM

By Judi Curry

Hitomi and I had heard a lot about the Soi-OB-Thai since they opened. I like to give a restaurant a chance to get out the “kinks” before I eat there and review it. However, today Hitomi could wait no longer and so we went to the computer and looked up their menu. (She had heard about their North Park location so convinced me that they knew what they were doing.)

There is a very extensive menu, including starters, a variety of soups, pan fried noodles, curries, salads, rice dishes and SOI specials. They have one dessert listed – “mango and sweet stick rice.” It is seasonal, so not always available.

We decided to start with an appetizer, and selected an order of “Shrimp Wraps.” ($7)

Rubio’s Coastal Grill
3556 Rosecrans St.
Suite 101B
San Diego, CA 92110
619-223-2631

My First Review in Many Months and It Isn’t a Good One

By Judi Curry

Because of Covid-19, I had elected not to eat at any of the outside restaurants, nor have any food delivered to the house. Since I am in the vulnerable age group I felt it was safer to just stay at home and try different recipes for my 4th cookbook. I have pretty much followed that routine until yesterday. What changed my mind?

The other day was “National Avocado Day”! I love avocados. In fact, I have two productive avocado trees in my back yard, but they are not yet ready for picking. “Rubio’s” had a promo of “free chips and guacamole” if you purchased other items. How could I turn that down? (I make a wicked guacamole; Hugo’s makes a good one also. Do not like the one at Sunnies because it is too salty for me.) Since I received the notice about the “freebie” earlier in the week I found myself edging closer and closer to ordering on-line and having it delivered.

By Judi Curry

Within the past few weeks, Sunset Cliffs has become a more dangerous place to live than ever before. Dangerous because of the noise and air pollution; dangerous because of possibility of more accidents, both “cliff-wise” and automobile wise; more dangerous because our first responders will not be able to fulfill their job because of the additional traffic on the road. Yes, I am angry; upset, tired and irritated.

Let’s start with the new 4 way stop signs on the corner of Pt. Loma Avenue and Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

I counted 29 cars stopped at the corner going north after the sunset yesterday. Prior to that I watched people speed up once they passed the stop sign, going south to watch the sunset. I watched people on motor scooters and bikes ignore the signs completely and just go through them while cars were making turns onto the same road as the riders.

I watched – and hoped – that there was not an emergency because if there was there would be no way that our first responders would have been able to respond because there was no place for the lines of cars to go. They could not have pulled over; chaos would have reigned. But just because there were no accidents yesterday,

By Judi Cury (written on June 4 )

As a mother of three, grandmother of 18 (including 5 “greats”) and as an opponent of people owning guns for reasons other than hunting, I am faced with something I never thought I would have to reckon with in my lifetime.

I can already hear people saying “what about the 2nd amendment?” and my answer is that that amendment was written a long time ago, when carrying a gun was a safety measure. I have never been able to fathom people carrying rifles, for example, for purposes other than hunting for food to put on the table. I am violently opposed to killing animals for trophies; I am opposed to people killing people as well. I am against most guns of all kinds.

Two things happened today that have caused me unrest – along with the Corona Virus, and the horrible murder of George Floyd. I received the following message this evening:

“Tomorrow is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, when people across the country will wear orange to show that they are part of the fight against gun violence in America.”