Author: Judi Curry

Margarita’s
4955 Newport Ave.
Ocean Beach, 92107

For many years I have “boycotted” Margarita’s restaurant in Ocean Beach. I felt that when they opened their doors, they were unethical in the way they left another establishment that employed them for many years. As I heard it from the former employers, the new owners of “Margarita’s” left taking original recipes and staff from their establishment, and, if fact, set up the menu and environment similar to the one they had just left.

Editor: Our columnist Judi Curry was selected to join the National Tour because of her insights into dog behavior which she often expresses in her column “The Widder Curry”. Judi declined to join the tour outside San Diego but attended the kick-off event and filed this report.

Tour Coincides With Veterinary Annual Convention in San Diego this Week

No, this isn’t an article to appear in the “Sex in San Diego” column. Rather this is the beginning of a National tour beginning in San Diego to help animal owners tackle behavior problems and help save pets.

Sundara
1424 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
619-889-0639

Have you ever driven down Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and seen a very small café with a few tables outside teeming with customers near the corner of Point Loma Avenue? The name of that restaurant is “Point Loma Beach Café.” This review is not about that restaurant; rather it is about the Sundara that shares the space from 5:00-10:00pm every night except Tuesday.

Although no longer a bike rider because the roads around Ocean Beach scare me, I usually support those people that have the nerve to ride their bikes along Cable, Sunset Cliffs, and Bacon. But my sympathy ends when I follow the rules and the biker doesn’t.

A case in point: I was traveling down Cable Street towards a meeting on Voltaire when I came to a stop at Santa Monica and Cable, …

Raglan Public House
1851 Bacon Street
Ocean Beach, CA 92107

Who could have imagined that my review of “Chili’s” would cause indigestion from some of our readers. My, my! So I decided to take myself and a female friend back out into the streets of Ocean Beach for redemption. My friend, a visitor from Ohio, had read my earlier review of “Raglan” and wanted to try it. I had been back three times since my review of Raglan, so decided a “rereview” was necessary to calm people’s gerd and anxieties.

It must be pointed out that each time I have returned to “Raglan” I was pleased with the service; pleased with the quality of food, and pleased by the friendliness of the wait staff. But today I approached my dining experience a little differently.

At the spur of a moment my neighbor called and asked if I wanted to share a meal with him. After a 30 second deliberation I said yes. But…it was Wednesday in Ocean Beach – Farmer’s Market Day – so we decided to leave our neighborhood and venture onto Sports Arena for a dinner at “Chili’s.”

We were greeted by the receptionist who saw us coming and she went over to assist us in opening the heavy doors. (Did we really look that feeble or does she do that for everyone?) She sat us at a table; told us the name of our waitperson – Gail – and within seconds Gail was there to take our drink order.

Three weeks after the fact, the banking giant fixes its own error.

On June 8^th, I wrote an article about how my foreign language student, Monica, made a withdrawal from her checking account leaving an additional amount of $300 in her account. The following day she went to make a $20 purchase from her account only to have it denied because there was no money left in the account. After a frustrating talk with the bank manager, the $300 was put back into the account a few days later and we were told that Wells Fargo would do further investigation into the matter.

This is an update on what happened:

On June 28^th a call came to Monica from the Supervisor of Security at the Wells Fargo headquarters in San Francisco. Her name was Sheila. She originally would not talk to me, even though Monica had given them permission to do so. I had to wait until Monica came home from school. Putting Sheila on speaker phone, Monica iterated that I had permission to speak for her, and the conversation began.

Everyone I talk to tells me that “getting old sucks”. Sometimes I think that if I didn’t have doctor appointments spread throughout the week, I would stay home and do nothing. This week was no exception, because I spent one day at the Ophthalmologist’s office and two days in Urgent Care. When I said I was looking for a man this is not what I meant!

Since Ocean Beach and Pt. Loma have begun to have the streets paved, a mysterious sign has appeared that should be discussed. On the new paving is a picture of a bike – a “two wheeler” every block or so. And on a pole near the decal, is the following: a picture of the decal and these words under it: “May Use Full Lane”. You have to be kidding?

The Auto Scrubber
3405 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, 92110

Different Kind of Review – It’s a Wash!

Eating out several times a week is not helping me maintain my “girlish” – ok, “matronly” – figure, so I thought I would try reviewing something else that didn’t put the weight on. As I pondered what it might be, it came to me that I had told my beautician just this morning that I needed to have my car washed. I asked her where she went – her shop is just across the street from the GENIE Car Wash so I thought she would mention it. She surprised me by telling me that since she lives in Escondido she has her car washed closer to where she lives. Imagine living in Escondido and driving to Ocean Beach to work 4 days a week!

Shades
5083 Santa Monica Ave.
San Diego, CA 92107
619-222-0501

I have never done a review of “Shades” restaurant. I don’t know why not. It is one of my favorite Ocean Beach Restaurants; I am a member of their “Regular’s Club” – spend $100 and get $5 off your bill. (The nice thing is that the $100 does not have to be spent at one time because it is accumulative.) Whenever I have out of town guests I always take them to Shades. The view is magnificent; the food is good; and the noise level is bearable.

I probably would not be doing this review now if the service was not so slow that afternoon when one of the members of my widow support group and I went there for lunch. It was the 3rd anniversary of her husband’s death, and Shades was always a favorite with her and her husband. We arranged to have lunch together and then go up to Ft. Rosecrans to “visit” with our husband’s. (They are in one of the walls fronting the bay and very close to each other.)

Originally published in the San Diego Free Press

Banking giant can’t explain money mysteriously missing from student’s account.

In some of the articles I have written for the OB Rag and now the San Diego Free Press I have alluded to having foreign language students living with me to hone their English speaking/writing skills. I have housed over 350 students since 1992 and currently have a 29 year old Korean young lady and a 19 year old Swiss man living with Buddy and me.

This story revolves around Monica, my lovely student that has been with me for over seven months. Her English is very good but she does not think so. Listening and interpreting is still difficult for her but she loves to learn and is very bright. She wants to return to Korea and become an English teacher or a translator. I think that both are doable because she is so eager to learn.