This weekend saw the hosting of Taste of North Park, a four-hour dash throughout the entire neighborhood where, for the price of a $30 ticket, one could sample the tastes, beverages and/or sights of 52 different businesses, restaurants, clubs and galleries. Easily reached by foot, and defiantly contemptuous of chain stores, it was an opportunity to try some new places, revisit others, and generally stuff oneself with tiny morsels. my theory was that if we spent less than two minutes at each site, we could hit all 52 stations between 1 and 5 PM. Needless to say, I was being cheeky. We hit 22 sites, including a fair share of the restaurants. I think our stomachs shut down somewhere around site number 16 or so.
As befits the arts-centric nature of the neighborhood, nearly every restaurant and bar features fine examples of local art on the walls, nearly all of it for sale and constantly rotating. I found this to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of the event - the ability to check out trends and local artists as we stopped into numerous dining establishments. The above photo was taken at the Sea Rocket Bistro, our first stop, and somewhere I've long wanted to check out. Specializing in local and sustainable seafood, with an ever-changing menu and a strong selection of craft beer and wine, we were both delighted by the warm oyster samples, swimming in just the right amount of melted butter.
Some establishments moved their tasting areas into the street. Ranchos Mexican Food even set up an entire band to serenade passers-by while the brave ducked into the massive line waiting for an extremely generous helping of vegetarian-friendly ranch style cooking. Down the street, the folks at Zensei Sushi were rapidly going through tasty rolls and wasabi-spiked dipping sauce.
When the proprietor of the nearby Cardamom Bakery (the chive and cheddar scones were expertly flaky and soft) saw me maneuvering for a photo of their hand-painted sign, she encouraged me to go around the alley and snap a shot of the large mural, which she claimed was "even better". She was right.
Taverns, bars and clubs also joined in for Taste of North Park. The Bluefoot Bar and Lounge offered a choice of house-prepared drinks. Our sophomore days in college long behind us, we passed on the Kamikaze Shots and sampled some flavored vodka.
Mosaic Wine Bar was a classy joint with expert interior design and winding corridors, with benches and booths designed, it seemed, in the interest of maximum necking potential. The small slices of pear-and-Gorgonzola pizza offered up were delightful, although the 2$ extra-charge glasses of mediocre red wine were neither worth the cash nor the effort.
A perfect helping of creamy mac-and-cheese and a nice splash of Belgian suds helped make our stop at Toronado a memorable one. A favorite watering hole of mine since they opened last year, Toronado seems to have greatly expanded their menu since I'd last visited, while continuing to amaze with their adventurous, diverse and wonderful draft list. I've never even started to explore their labyrinth of bottled beer...someday.
More excellent local and draft beer choices could be found across the street at Ritual Tavern, although the main offering for Taste of North Park was a small bowl of their locally famous Shepherd's Pie, in either the lamb or the vegan variety.
The walls shone with art at even the smallest establishments, such as the below example, found at Junz Teriyaki & BBQ, at which I drowned my rice and noodle salad with far too much of the wonderful Thai Sriracha "cock sauce".
Helping to soothe the fire from the Sriracha were the cooling mango -flavored frozen yogurt dishes from Yog-Art. Alas, the dozens of freshly-diced toppings on display were not part of the $30 entrance fee, and so we left our icy desserts un-topped.
After a solid month and a half of above average temperatures, we were relieved that Saturday was a remarkably cool day, with plenty of sunshine but cool breezes that reminded us that fall was finally arriving to the southland.
The walls shone with art at even the smallest establishments, such as the below example, found at Junz Teriyaki & BBQ, at which I drowned my rice and noodle salad with far too much of the wonderful Thai Sriracha "cock sauce".
Helping to soothe the fire from the Sriracha were the cooling mango -flavored frozen yogurt dishes from Yog-Art. Alas, the dozens of freshly-diced toppings on display were not part of the $30 entrance fee, and so we left our icy desserts un-topped.
After a solid month and a half of above average temperatures, we were relieved that Saturday was a remarkably cool day, with plenty of sunshine but cool breezes that reminded us that fall was finally arriving to the southland.
One of the more pleasant interior spaces we encountered came in the rather cavernous spaces of U-31 Bar and Lounge. I imagine it fills up come the twilight hours, but I enjoyed the open spaces, the echoing sounds of the Mac-enabled DJ onstage, the plentiful displays of local art (including a two-part octopus project that Jane fell hard for) and an attractive wall of liquor. I hear rumors of surly doormen from online reviewers, but it might be worth a return visit.
Neither of us had ever visited Splash Wine Lounge before, but we had heard of the concept, in which a pre-paid plastic card allows the visitor to sample the available wines through a self-serve format using, I guess, hydraulics. It might be a gimmick, and I imagine the place fills up uncomfortably on weekends, but it wasn't hard to envision having a good time at the place.
I'm not sure I'll be going back anytime soon to our last food-and-beverage stop anytime soon, but Bar Pink was, at the very least, an excellent way to wrap things up. Although the drinks
existed in that realm known as "sickly sweet," I enjoyed the intense darkness inside, which helped to banish all that California sunshine in the name of glowing elephants and sparkling dance balls.
existed in that realm known as "sickly sweet," I enjoyed the intense darkness inside, which helped to banish all that California sunshine in the name of glowing elephants and sparkling dance balls.
Our very last stop, as the clocks struck five, was the charming Pigment gallery, a place after my own heart due to its prominently carrying an oversized coffeebook volume on folk environmental art (a volume I purchased after visiting the exhibit itself at the Kohler Museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a few Christmases ago). We ended up making a few purchases here, including an evocative print by artist Amy Paul of a ghostly airplane making a steep ascent over a recognizably San Diego street scene - an image that immediately conjured up the reality of our time living under the flight plan in Ocean Beach.
In hindsight, 22 out of 52 wasn't embarrassing at all.
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