Pink Candles at Ridgemont High: July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

MJ's revisits

I'm trying to "backfill" my posts. The magic of blogging that makes it seem like I blog everyday but I don't.

This particular visit to MJ's was when I met Mary and Jake...

last NOVEMBER! What? Ha ha...yes, this was languishing in the queu then forgotten...

Return to two customized Pizza Places - Pizza Studio & Project Pie + shakes from Which Wich

A couple of months ago, we were out and about in the Gaslamp where we visited two coffee shops (one not-so-great, and the other one of THE BEST)...

Before heading home, we got a quick bite over at Pizza Studio...

Return to Stone Brewing Co, Liberty Station

This post's photos is courtesy of my better half, Bert...

featuring his recent meetup with a former co-worker who recently relocated back to San Diego...

Well-Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar

Day Two of our Summer Road Trip...

featuring the lovely hydrangeas from Thane's front yard. We bade farewell to Thane, Ysquared and the kids.

and then headed off to our next adventure. But first, as was necessary and hell, because we were on vacation, it was time to get some coffee...

Java Beach Cafe at the Zoo

There's that Doggie Diner head once again...

It's across the street from this place...

our breakfast destination...

"Powering the Arts" Sculpture & "Konoids" at the J Street Marina, Chula Vista Bayfront Park

In the local section from this past Saturday's paper..

Bert and I wanted to check out the new sculpture at the J Street Marina...

so we did just that the next day...

Return to the Mission Hills Nursery plus the new North Park Nursery

Last weekend Bert and I did a quick visit here...

He hadn't been before and I was curious to show him the vegetables and get his opinion on what to add to our garden...

OB415 sunset

We made a quick return to SF's OB...

just a few blocks away from our place...

A duo of desserts at Juniper & Ivy

From Harbor drive up to Laurel..

I'm not sure what species those primates are (not gibbons, maybe howler monkey?) but this was at the train stop.

We lucked out by finding parking on Kettner not even a block away from our dessert destination...

Zymology 21

[Update - This place is CLOSED as of April 2016. However, their booths with the hexagonal quilting live on at Cafe 21 on Adams]

Friday night was date night...

TC was at a youth group retreat and after dropping her off, we headed to the dreaded Gaslamp Quarter.

to give Zymology a try...

Chi Extraordinary Kitchen

I saw on Eater SD that a new Thai eatery had opened on Adams...

Chi Extraordinary Kitchen is located across the street from the Adams Ave liquor store; the same lot that houses Cafe 21...

Return to Dark Horse Coffee in North Park

Saturday morning and we were seeking caffeine...

We'd been to Holsem Coffee so many times it's not even funny so I thought to give Dark Horse another shot...

George's Zoo Liquor Deli

Along Sloat Blvd, near the Zoo grounds is this interesting roadside oddity...

This interesting bit of Americana is known as the Doggie Diner head (a designated San Francisco landmark as of 2006; the head dates back from the early 70's from the original Doggie Diner located at 46th and Sloat; it is now on the median of 45th and Sloat across from the SF Zoo).

and you can't miss it!

Velella Velella! Back to SF's OB

This was our last day before we headed back down to San Diego...

It was time to kick back in SF's own OB before calling it a night...

Green Acre, Campus Pointe location

A few days after we got back from our trip, I had a lunch meet up with Dennis of A Radiused Corner

I'd bumped into him a few months ago while doing errands in Kearny Mesa. Lunch was his choice and it turned out to be near his work.

Down the street is the second location of Green Acre, which has a lovely garden near the parking lot.

Return to Pollyann Ice Cream

I resolve to finally tie up loose ends with our trips from last year and earlier this year. Picking up where we left off, lunch was at the now defunct Win Fook (which is now boarded up, sadly)...

(a postcard I picked up from Establish, a gift shop on Noriega St.)

Over on the corner of Noriega and 38th is Pollyann Ice Cream, the third incarnation of the neighborhood's beloved ice cream shop.

We hadn't been here since our 2011 trip. They had changed things up a tiny bit (repainted)...We wanted a little snack before heading back to the beach.

A trio of ethnic markets - Seafood City, Ranch 99 and Zion

Gosh, I'm here almost every weekend I think this was later afternoon or something when it wasn't crowded...

Trying to find parking at Seafood City on a Sunday when everyone is there after church is qite the task, but at least their parking lot is more spacious than Ranch 99's...

Return to The Purple Mint Bistro

From thunder, lightning and heavy rain yesterday to this...

(on the 905 heading west) Clear skies!

But how long will they last...

because we saw the thunderhead clouds in the distance...

as we approached our lunch destination in Grantville...

Return to Bruxie Waffle

[Update - Closed as of October 2016]

A walk across the "new" bridge across College Ave...

led us to Bruxie Waffle which Bert hadn't been to yet...

it was nice not having to worry about parking because getting out of the parking lot is basically asking yourself to be t-boned...

Rain, the Pond 20 fence plus new donut flavors from Star Dust?

After doing a few errands down South, we figured we would try our luck...

and check if a certain donut shop in IB was open...

It wasn't that wet (yet) as we headed west on Palm Avenue...

Mango Mango

After seeing the new signage go up earlier this year,

I convinced my co-workers to try this place out...

Preview of the Sun and Sea Festival plus lunch at Aroma Thai

Earlier today, Bert took TC and her friend to IB for the Sun & Sea Festival...

They got a chance to see some of the sand sculptures before the judging tomorrow...

Trolley stops + SDSU

[The return of the Trolley Adventure posts from MLK 2015]

After our having drinks and a (horrid) pastry (it was vegan that's why) from James Coffee...we thought we would walk to the next trolley stop instead of going all the way back to the Little Italy stop.

We walked on Kettner for awhile and passed by some really sketchy places...

It's one thing to drive by it in the safety of your car and another to actually walk it...

Romesco's once again...

At the stroke of 12 noon, we found ourselves here...

hungry for lunch at what is probably one of the nicer restaurants in the Bonita area...

Places that are now closed plus dinner & a movie! Little Star Pizza & "Episode IV: A New Hope"

As we left Oakland and headed towards Berkeley,

we could see Sather Tower in the distance...

Rasputin Music

Not too far from Amoeba Records was yet another record store...

that Bert and I were eager to show TC.

A trio of bakeries - Moreliana, Mexico Lindo and Paris Baguette

This is a compendium of bakeries visited over the past month...

starting off with Moreliana Pan, my favorite panaderia in all of San Diego...

Amoeba Records, Berkeley

Now we were in Berkeley after having experienced hipsterdom in Oakland.

The afternoon was still "young" and there were two established vinyl pillars of the community to still visit. We parked near this brightly painted bathroom which happened to be at the historic People's Park.