Food and Drink Blotter – January 2023
Shake up your sandwich routine with this book by a local author. (Courtesy photo)Sandwich maniaSales have been brisk for the December release of “Classic Rock Sandwiches,” a photo-heavy recipe book written by North Park resident Cheryl Dagostaro.The author and entrepreneur owned the Classic Rock Sandwich Shoppe on North Park Way for 10 years until closing it in 2021. She also runs Pet Tenders, a pet-sitting business she started 40 years ago.Dagostaro’s book contains 101 recipes for all of the sandwiches customers enjoyed at her eatery, which reflected her love of classic rock artists and everything associated with the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Each sandwich is named after a musician or band. They include such creations as the turkey-ham based “Hendrix High” with cranberries and wasabi mayo; the “Rockin Joplin” with “Bobby McGee” spread; the “Sultry Stevie” using rotisserie chicken and pineapple-habanero sauce; and the turkey-avocado “Beatlemaniac” adorned with mixed greens and raspberry-chipotle sauce. Color photographs accompany all of the entries.In addition, the 183-page collection features recipes for 17 salads and several crafty spreads. “I’m 50% sold out since releasing the book shortly before the holidays,” said Dagostaro. “Sales are continuing and I get inquiries daily. So there will be a second printing.”Priced at $35, the book is available at Verbatim Books in North Park (3793 30th St.) as well as through Instagram (@classicrocksandwichshoppe) or by emailing to crss1969@aol.com.Designer chocolates in Little ItalyCrafty confections by a former fashion designer (Photo courtesy Grain & Grit Collective)A toothsome, new tenant has arrived to the Little Italy Food Hall, bringing with it highly crafted chocolates, seasonal bon bons, and luscious caramels.Sweet Petite Confections is the brainchild of clothing designer and chocolatier Michelle Lomelin, who is known for applying her sense of fashion to the making of her treats in terms of colors and packaging. Her flavor profiles vary in a product line that also includes candy barks and cookies.Lomelin is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and worked in the industry for nearly 20 years. After changing career and entering into the world of chocolate-making, she opened business in Bay Park and most recently expanded to this location. 550 W. Date St., 619-707-1383, sweetpetiteconfections.com.Italian powerFettuccine dressed up in pistachio-basil sauce and burrata cheese (Photo courtesy Al Dente)A group of restaurateurs experienced in Sicilian and Neapolitan cuisine has come together to open Al Dente, a University Heights newcomer that offers traditional Italian dishes with modern twists.The team hails from those connected to nearby RustiCucina and the newly opened Zama in the Gaslamp Quarter. Among their more inventive dishes are mushroom-encrusted elk chops, wild boar sausage in white wine sauce, and sole stuffed with fresh herbs and cheese. From the homemade pasta selection, there’s oxtail ravioli, spaghetti with pork belly and creamy egg yolks, and fettuccine embellished with basil-pistachio sauce and burrata. The restaurant is open from 4 to 10 p.m., daily. 4207 Park Blvd., 619-546-9288, aldentesd.com.Latte with a side of wellnessA unique coffee shop in Normal Heights (Facebook)The Normal Heights collective with an irreverent spelling, Modrn Medicin, is up and running with a menu of latte drinks spiked with Ayurvedic-medicine spices meant to pacify and harmonize our doshas, known otherwise as “energy centers.” The bright, inviting cafe offers six different latte Ayurvedic concoctions, plus other coffee drinks, teas, hot chocolate, and sweet and savory eats. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available. 3349 Adams Ave., 619-800-8056, modrnmedicin.com.Cool chocolateDr. Bronner’s partners with 800 farmers in Ghana to plant trees that complement each other and do not require toxic chemicals to grow. (Photo courtesy Dr. Bronner’s)Dr. Bronner’s released a new flavor of their luxury vegan 70% dark chocolate bar line. Cool Peppermint Cream is the latest addition to the Magic All-One Chocolate sold at retailers nationwide. The family-owned company gives a nod to its legacy of peppermint products with the flavor.“Peppermint is synonymous with both my grandfather and the company he founded,” said Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s. One legacy the chocolate line breaks away from is the history of exploitation associated with the chocolate trade. In keeping with Dr. Bronner’s tradition of all-natural and ethically-sourced products, the organic ingredients that make up the chocolate are farmed using regenerative organic farming practices that benefit the land and the farmers that till it. Cocoa from Ghana, cocoa butter from Congo, coconut sugar from Indonesia and bourbon vanilla from Madagascar make up a guilt-free bar with spectacular flavor. The caramel-colored peppermint filling makes this flavor a stand out even among a line of delicious options. For more information, go to drbronner.com/pages/magic-all-one-chocolate.Worth the Wait?After years of anticipation for the opening of the Gaslamp Quarter location of Tacos El Gordo, we offer you a summary below of the shop’s pros and cons based on our visits and those by trusty sources. The taco joint originated in Tijuana during the early ‘70s and later branched into Chula Vista, where it became wildly popular. Its arrival into urban San Diego occurred a little more than a month ago after numerous delays involving permit holdups, work code violations and the pandemic. 783 Fifth Ave., 619-955-8220,tacoselgordobc.com.Pros: The al pastor pork shaved from the vertical spit is juicy and very flavorful. The carne asada street tacos contain tender pieces of mildly seasoned meat cooked over charcoal. It’s among their signature proteins.If you’re a fan of lengua (beef tongue), tripa (tripe) or sesos (brain), you’ve come to the right place as the items are cooked using techniques that originate in Mexico from generations ago.French fries come in three different sizes. The adobada (pork) is a little spicier compared to other tacos shops. Bring it on!Tortillas are fresh and made onsite.Service is generally fast.Cons:The street tacos are sporadically under-filled with meat.Placing advance orders by phone can be difficult because the staff doesn’t always answer.Given its central location and devoted cult following, lines can stretch out the door, especially in the evening.If you’re accustomed to paying under $2.50 for street tacos elsewhere, such as carne asada tacos for example, it will cost you $3.75 here. Although they are a tad wider than at other places.The post Food and Drink Blotter – January 2023 appeared first on SDNews.com.
Elegant Cambridge Manor
Located close to Harvard Square and the Charles River, this handsome Georgian Revival residence has been gorgeously updated for a lifestyle of exceptional comfort andelegant entertaining. Complete with a literary pedigree, the historic-district property combines luminous, open interiors with expansive decks, a large yard and a 34-footcovered porch for congenial indoor-outdoor gatherings.High ceilings, wide-plank wood floors and subtle arches are highlighted by impeccable craftsmanship throughout. The grand three-story foyer, with its hand-crafted curvedstaircase, opens to the formal dining room, which has a service pantry, and the formal living room. Through a wide, arched doorway is an enormous family room with abeautiful marble fireplace, built-in bookshelves and cabinets and an adjoining wet bar. The family room opens onto the covered porch as does the chef’s showcase eat-inkitchen, which features an island with bar seating, marble countertops and a wide bay of windows facing onto the backyard. One floor up there are three bedroom suites, including the primary, which is a tranquil retreat complete with fireplace, walk-in closets, lavish en-suite bath and access to the massive wraparound deck overlooking the backyard. On the next level are two morespacious en-suite bedrooms, a corner office and a second large family room with a fireplace. The home’s lower level comprises a play room, a huge media room, anexercise room and a guest bedroom.Situated on a quiet street in the heart of the Old Cambridge Historical District, close to Longfellow and Riverbend Parks, Cambridge Tennis/Skating Club and Harvard Square,this distinguished estate offers the finest legacy quality reimagined with the features and conveniences of a sophisticated 21st century lifestyle.View the complete listing by Gail Roberts, Ed Feijo & Team of Coldwell Banker Realty in Cambridge.The post Elegant Cambridge Manor appeared first on Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Blog - Luxury Home & Style.
Downtown News roundup in the new year
San Diego County Bar Association acquires Downtown office building for $6.83 millionCBRE arranged the $6.83 million sale of 330 A Street, a single-story office building in Downtown San Diego, to the San Diego County Bar Association. The seller was 330 A Street LLC.The 9,000-square-foot, single-tenant building was initially constructed in 1962 and completely renovated in 2011 into its current creative office design, adding a rooftop terrace. The building is situated on a 10,000-square-foot parcel on the northwest corner of Fourth Avenue and A Street.Jeff Oesterblad and Marc Frederick of CBRE’s San Diego office represented the seller Street in the transaction. Tom Nicholas and Jack Blumenfeld of Colliers represented the buyer.UC San Diego launches Intersections event series at Park & MarketThe Guggenheim Theater (Photo courtesy Bycor)UC San Diego Park & Market announced today the launch of Intersections, a new interdisciplinary event series, presented by UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, taking place at the multi-tenant, mixed-use business, arts, and educational office building in downtown San Diego’s East Village. Starting in January 2023, a number of Intersections events offering new, diverse takes on traditional ideas and forms in a variety of disciplines, from artistic performances to educational lectures will take place at Park & Market’s state-of-the-art Guggenheim Theatre. Intersections is curated by Andrew Waltz, Director of Arts Management at Park & Market. Upcoming Intersections events include a concert series curated and hosted in partnership with leading ethnographer-artist Yale Strom, which will offer authentic explorations of global music. “Intersections fits directly into the mission of Park & Market, which is to forge connections between people, artists, educators, businesses and innovators both in San Diego and worldwide,” said Waltz. “We are thrilled to be working with curatorial partners including Yale Strom in order to bring world-class artists, writers, leaders and experts to our world-class venue. Even more exciting is the prospect of introducing San Diego audiences to ideas or approaches to traditional forms they might not otherwise encounter in a live space, in lineups they may not previously have imagined, all with thoughtful narrators to guide them through the experience.” The upcoming Intersections concert series will be hosted by violinist Yale Strom, one of the world’s leading ethnographer-artists of klezmer and Romani music and history. To find out what events and performances are coming to Park & Market, please visit parkandmarket.ucsd.edu.Immersive WNDR museum to openInsideOut by Leigh Satchwitz +flora&faunavisionsWNDR Museum, an unparalleled immersive art and technology experience, will open in San Diego Wednesday, Jan. 11. The new San Diego location will be WNDR’s second–ever location, part of a nationwide expansion from its flagship Chicago location. Located at 422 Market Street, the 15,000–square–foot museum will disrupt and redefine the traditional museum experience by inviting guests to fully engage with artworks and multi–sensory installations created by cutting edge artists, collectives, technologists, designers and makers. WNDR San Diego will feature more than 20 exhibits created to ignite guests’ senses through breathtaking experiences. WNDR San Diego will be home to localized versions of popular exhibits found at WNDR’s flagship Chicago location alongside pieces by internationally acclaimed artists such as Keith Haring.As guests travel through WNDR San Diego, they will be taken on a multi–dimensional journey where they will serve as an extension of each creator by interacting with various installations. Dance across Brightlogic x WNDR Studios’ Lightfloor and watch it react to your every move. Proclaim “what you know for sure” with WNDR Studios’ The Wisdom Project. Step into a garden house and weather the storm in the U.S. debut of Leigh Satchwitz +flora&faunavisions’ Inside Out. WNDR San Diego will also feature a VR installation created by digital artist OseanWorld (Osean) and inspired by the WNDR collection of Yayoi Kusama. Each door is a portal to a virtual interpretation of these Kusama works as translated by Osean. Coding and mechanics built by 3D artist Iron Biscuit.No two visits to WNDR Museum are the same. WNDR San Diego will consistently curate its experience by leaning in to cutting edge technologies to enhance existing installations as well as add new immersive experiences year–round.Tickets to the new museum are available at www.WNDRSanDiego.com.New reading challenge at city librariesStart off 2023 with a new book and join the San Diego Public Library’s (SDPL) Winter Reading Challenge. This year’s theme is “All the Feels” to encourage readers of all ages to explore how reading affects their emotions.“The new year is a great time to read something you enjoy, whether that’s discovering a new book or picking up an old favorite,” said Library Director Misty Jones. “We hope the Winter Reading Challenge encourages people to visit their local San Diego Public Library location or check out the online catalog to find something engaging and inspiring to start 2023.”The Winter Reading Challenge runs from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, 2023 and is open to readers of all ages.Participants can earn prizes by completing a combination of five books, five hours of reading or literacy-based activities, like attending storytime at an SDPL location or sharing a favorite book with a friend. Upon completion, readers will be eligible for prizes including a “design your own” lunchbox or a cooler lunch bag.Participants can register online and view a list of recommended books and activities by visiting sandiego.gov/WinterReading. Registration is also available in-person at any SDPL location and participants can visit the SDPL calendar to find storytimes and book discussions near them.Rebecca Church appointed judge on the San Diego County Superior CourtRebecca Church, 42, of San Diego County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the San Diego County Superior Court by Gov. Gavin Newsom.Church has served as an assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California since 2015.She was an associate at Duane Morris LLP from 2012 to 2014 and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ruben B. Brooks at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California from 2008 to 2010.Church earned a juris doctor degree from the California Western School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lorna A. Alksne. Church is registered without party preference.San Diego Hardware celebrates 130th anniversarySan Diego Hardware celebrated 130 years in business in December! San Diego Hardware stands as the oldest family-owned and 10th-oldest business in San Diego and continues its tradition of unmatched hardware expertise and one-on-one customer service.The company survived the pandemic and has expanded with a new online shopping site to let customers shop from the comfort of their couch, order samples and have them delivered or go to the store for a “grab and go” shopping experience. The online site also allows San Diego Hardware to expand its reach across the country.The next generation of store leaders Bryan Haynsworth (the son of co-owner Bill Haynsworth) and Hannah Fleming Haynsworth (the daughter of co-owner Rip Fleming) took several years to develop the online site, painstakingly working to create an online marketplace to display the store’s thousands of decorative hardware items.Military spending in San Diego grows by 4% to $19.3 billionMore than 115,000 active-duty service men and women now call San Diego home; they work alongside 3,000 military reservists, and 29,000 civilians directly employed in federal Defense jobs, according to the San Diego Military Advisory Council’s latest military economic report prepared by the Rady School of Management.This year, Defense-related contract spending in San Diego grew by 4% to $19.3 billion, funding another 209,000 jobs. Significantly, all of these people generate additional economic activity as they live and spend within San Diego.When the multiplier effect from this spending is considered, the total Defense contribution to the Gross Regional Product (GRP) grew by 1.8% to $56.2 billion and is responsible for 356,000 jobs. Because of the volatility in our economy through 2022, the best estimates of the San Diego’s GRP place it between 0-4 percent growth, which means that the Defense contribution remains a stabilizing 24.5 +/- 0.5 percent of total GRP. Strong, dependable, and resilient; the Defense economic sector is a vital component of our local economy.City launches storefront improvement program for small businessesSmall business owners who are looking for a way to refresh their business might have a solution with the City of San Diego’s Storefront Improvement Program which offers free professional design and financial assistance to improve the curb appeal of local storefronts. To qualify, businesses must be located in the City of San Diego and have a valid business tax certificate. Applicants also must be a commercial occupant of the property and have a street-level and street-facing property. The program is open to businesses that employ 25 or fewer people. “The Storefront Improvement Program is one of the most effective and straightforward ways the City can help small businesses, by putting improvement dollars back in the hands of the owner,” said Christina Bibler, Director of the City’s Economic Development Department. “It was created specifically to help offset the cost of making businesses look nicer and has resulted in transformative results for over a hundred small businesses throughout the past decade.” The program offers 10 hours of design time with a licensed professional and reimbursement of half the project cost up to $8,000. If businesses are located in the SD Promise Zone, a federally designated area, they could qualify for a 30% increase of $10,400 in project costs. Applicants must identify what improvements they’d like to make, goals the improvements will achieve and how much they’d like to spend on the project. Each applicant must also include two high-resolution photos of the current look of the building with their completed applications. To apply, business owners may visit sandiego.gov/economic-development/business/starting/improvement.Seaport San Diego wins GOLD Award for designSeaport San Diego has been honored with a design award, the latest milestone for the transformative redevelopment proposed for the Downtown San Diego waterfront within the Port of San Diego.The $3.6 billion project is currently preparing to enter the environmental review process, a critical step for any large development.Now, the project team has been presented with the 2022 ICSC GOLD Award for Evolving Innovation and Aspiration in the New Developments category.ICSC highlighted Seaport San Diego’s design for dramatically increasing coastal access, recreational space, activities and water views of San Diego Bay while providing improved commercial fishing facilities and creating unique features including an iconic observation Tower, Aquarium, Learning Center and Blue Tech Innovation Center.California doubling the number of EV chargers with $3 billion investmentThe California Energy Commission has approved a plan for nearly $3 billion in funding for 90,000 new electric vehicle chargers in the state, accelerating the state’s transition to clean transportation. That’s a 30x increase in funding from 2019 levels.The funding will double the state’s charging network from 80,000 publicly available chargers to 170,000, keeping the state on track to achieve its goal of 250,000 chargers installed by 2025.The funds support the deployment of thousands of zero-emission trucks, school buses and transit buses to deliver clean air benefits and good paying jobs to neighborhoods across the state, and especially to communities hit hardest by the impacts of pollution from trucks and buses. At least half of the funding will benefit low-income and historically disadvantaged communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.San Diego a Safe City for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse youthIn response to the local and national escalation of violence and hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community— specifically the transgender community— the San Diego City Council approved Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Stephen Whitburn’s resolution declaring San Diego a safe City for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse youth on Dec. 12. The resolution was drafted with community partners TransFamily Support Services and Transgender Health and Wellness Center located here in San Diego, with support from The CenterThis year has seen an unprecedented wave of bigotry and violence towards the LGBTQ+ community in the form of both hate crimes and hateful legislation. The Trevor Project in their most recent survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health reported that 37% of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse youth have been physically threatened or harmed due to their gender identity. 93% of transgender and nonbinary youth voiced concerns of being denied access to gender-affirming medical care due to state or local laws. “At a time when Transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse youth are facing staggering levels of discrimination and violence, we must remind everyone that our city is committed to equal justice for all and supports a safe and inclusive environment free from discrimination,” said Council member Stephen Whitburn. “To those who continue to perpetuate hate and bigotry on our citizens, I want to be clear, you will not intimidate us, you will not scare us, and you will not defeat us. We will continue to be a City that welcomes everyone.” The post Downtown News roundup in the new year appeared first on SDNews.com.
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