Author: Judi Curry

“Espresso Cucina”
1776 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-224-2227

This restaurant was closed far too long and was missed by many patrons of the area. I am happy to report it has reopened Wednesdays through Mondays.

The restaurant has been cleaned up nicely, and although much the same as the old “Espresso” there are subtle differences in the new surroundings. For one, it looks much cleaner than the old restaurant; it has a little more ambiance than it used to.

Old Townhouse Restaurant
4941 Newport Avenue
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-222-1880

It has been years since I had a meal at the “Old Townhouse.” I am not sure why we stopped going there, but I am sure it had nothing to do with the food. I think more restaurants opened in the area and we started going to some of them.

The place, on Sunday, was packed, and there was a line waiting to get in when we left. .

By Judi Curry

So, is the drought over in OB? If you have driven down Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in the past three months you would sure think so. I stopped driving down this street months ago when there was construction going on and I had to take detours.

Guess what? There is still construction going on and the street is like a floating river.

By Judi Curry

At the risk of alienating a lot of people, I am absolutely incensed by the City Council naming a day after Peggy Shannon for the “harassment suffered by the mayor of San Diego.” A day in her honor? For what? What did she do that was so honorable? Stop a thief? Adopt orphan children; Save people from a burning building? Fund a scholarship for children that can’t afford to go to college?

She is having a “day of honor” so that the city does not have to pay out any money from the harassment of the former mayor? She is having a “day of honor” because she told the world about the mayor’s flirting with her? She is having a “day of honor” because she “. . . had butterflies in her stomach because she didn’t know what was going to happen the next time the mayor came to her desk”?

There was reportedly a hit and run on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Saturday evening, Feb. 15, about 5:15pm.

Neighbors saw the aftermath of an incident where apparently a vehicle hit a woman walking her dog as she was walking along the west side of the street – and then the vehicle took off, not bothering to stop to see what injuries if any they had caused.

“Antique Thai Cuisine”
3373 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-222-0689

I have frequently had lunch at the “Antique Thai Cuisine” restaurant in the Midway section of San Diego. Their lunch specials start at $5.99 and it is easy to have a satisfying lunch for under $8.00.

This evening I had to take one of my students back to the airport so that she could begin her journey back home to Sao Paulo, and my other student – Felizia – and a friend – Warren – wanted to see her off. Since it was dinner time when we began to return home and Felizia saying she really liked Thai food – and since we were on Rosecrans anyway – my car just automatically drove into the Antique Thai parking lot.

The dinner menu is pretty much the same as the lunch menu, but different prices –and a few items that are only available at dinner.

Every now and then my name crops up on one or more of the dating sites that I used to belong to and I receive correspondence asking if we can chat, go out for coffee, or… Here is a quick tale from last night:

Brian and I had been corresponding for several weeks; talked a few times on the phone and he asked me to join him for dinner at the “Olive Garden”. Since my student was going out for dinner, I agreed to meet him and asked him what he would be wearing. He told me he would have on a western shirt and Levi’s. We agreed to meet at 6:00pm.

Eager volunteers work long hours recreating Cabrillo’s galleon at Spanish Landing

Editor: We covered the building of the San Salvador by San Diego volunteers back in May of 2012 and posted a photo essay of the wonderful reconstruction of the Spanish galleon. Here, Judi Curry continues our coverage with a special focus on the women volunteers, the Women of the San Salvador.

By Judi Curry

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is building a $5 million replica of San Salvador, the galleon Cabrillo guided here in 1542 when he became the first European to explore what is today known as San Diego Bay. The museum has dedicated a construction site for the ship which was donated by the San Diego Port District on public land at Spanish Landing, 2 miles from where its main collection of historic vessels are docked on North Harbor Drive.

Thirty-five months have passed since the keel was first laid in March of 2011. This three-masted galleon, totaling 88 feet of beautiful wood will weigh 200,000 tons when completed. Plans call for the ship to open as a paid attraction in 2014, when it joins the museum’s other ships at the nearby embarcadero.

The Habit Grill
3455 Sports Arena Blvd., #104
San Diego, CA 92110

Just what the area needed – another hamburger restaurant. My favorite has been “Raglan Public House” ever since it opened, with “Hodad’s” and “In and Out Burger” second and third. Yes, I have tried the other “new” ones in Liberty Station; in Mission and Fashion Valley, but Raglan’s still comes out on top to my palate.

I picked up my granddaughter Molli at school today and rather than take her to my house for dinner until her mother picked her up, I decided a fresh, young palate would help me with my review. We went to “The Habit” because it is new to our area; it is in the Ralph’s/Target shopping center; and is across the road from PetCo – all places I needed to stop at after she was picked up.

From the side that we came into the parking lot from it appeared to be closed, but when I drove around to the front of the building it was open, albeit dark. The first thing I would suggest is better lighting along the side of the restaurant. There is an outside patio, replete with space heaters, but the lighting is still bad.

Several years ago, as a new widow, I wrote an article about how lonesome it was to watch the Super Bowl without a companion to discuss it with. I have made it a point from that time on to always be with friends when the biggest game of the season plays. Today was no exception.

As the oldest of my group today, I was interested in the other comments about the commercials and the Half-Time shows. There was quite an age gap between us, and I was curious about their responses. As a group, there was total agreement that the game lacked excitement. Since I was the only one that wanted the Seahawks to win, I found that I had to temper my enthusiasm when the Seahawks scored the safety; when the return man from Seattle ran the ball the length of the football field; when Denver fumbled and the Seahawks recovered – how many times was that? – you get the picture.

Embargo Grill
3960 W. Point Loma Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-786-7522

There are so many new restaurants opening up in San Diego that it is hard to decide which one to try out first. Since I was going to meet a young man to interview in Pt. Loma, the Embargo Grill seemed like a good place to try out.

The restaurant is located in the old “Longs” shopping center on the corner of West Point Loma and Midway Ave., where the Soup Plantation, the Halibut Shop, Denny’s, CVS, etc., are located. I hope that the location is not a bad omen, because the restaurant that used to be in the same location, “BGR” was one that I rated highly – at least the first time I was there. The Embargo Grill is in the same place, and unless I am mistaken, even the furnishings are the same.

At the last meeting of the Midway Planning Board meeting last Wednesday, several people gave power point presentations of what they thought the area might become in the future. It is amazing that there has been little, if any, flack from these presentations.

For example:

1) It appears that the “Salvation Army” and the “Pier One” leases run out in a few years. It is said that Pier One wants to do some building improvements, but with the short time remaining on the lease they do not want to invest money and the City has stopped their negotiations. The City says that they want to wait for the Sports Arena lease to run out and see what might occur there. It is interesting to note that the lease does not run out for 10 years!