Cucina Basilico Italiana for Tasty Cuisine
Plus: LV News Briefs, Trash Study Open House Held in LV, LV Playground Concerns, and Welcome to Wonderland Production Closing this Weekend
The Linda Vista Update
We often ask our readers to send us ideas for stories or to suggest a restaurant for us to try out. We decided to revisit a suggestion we received in December from one of our food connoisseurs who sent a note about her favorite restaurant which she thought we would like. It is called Cucina Basilico, and although it is not in Linda Vista, it is not far. Since most of you travel out to Aero Drive to Walmart or Dollar Tree, we didn’t think this would be too far for a good meal. (3755 Murphy Canyon Rd, Ste I, Daley Square).
We looked at the website and as there were many non-meat menu items we decided to go there for lunch. They are only open for lunch Wednesday thru Friday from 11 to 2. They are open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday 4:30 to 8:30. You can make reservations, and that would probably be a smart move for dinner - not so much for lunch. We went about 12:30 and got seated immediately.
Cucina Basilico is a charming venue with a homey Italian vibe. It is not large, but very comfortable with counter height tables, regular tables, and tables with booth style seating on the side walls. Their website says they specialize in homemade recipes from northern Italy and that they make everything from scratch. The food is real with no preservatives. They promise a truly Italian experience.
Our server told us they have been in this location about 11 years. She brought us a dish filled with samples of different types and colors of pasta, including pepper spaghetti, gnocchi, fettuccine and some others, to show us what they had available. Don’t try to eat them as they are not real food.
The menus which you can view online, contained a variety of dishes both for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu included many salads including mediterranean, salmon, spinach, and more. They have a daily soup, appetizers such as caprese, bruschetta and polpette, panini on homemade “Piadina bread” (an ancient Italian flatbread), such as vegetarian, mortadella, chicken, salmon, prosciutto, mozzini, and several others. Their homemade pasta included pesto, Ragu Alla Bolognese, marinara, arrabbiata, and can be enhanced with chicken, sausage, shrimp, mushrooms or salmon. Gluten free is available. Many of their dishes are vegan and/or vegetarian.
We were started out with a bowl of warm freshly baked rolls and a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Delicious! Steve ordered the Mozzini panini sandwich, and I ordered the soup of the day, pea soup. It was a soup kind of day - it had just started drizzling and was cool.
The panini was different from the traditional panini in that instead of being pressed, the ingredients were put in the warmed flat bread and rolled. The Mozzini consisted of fresh mozzarella cheese, spinach, caramelized onion, lettuce and pesto mayo. When it was served, it was a large sub-sized sandwich cut into two plump halves, easily enough for the two of us. The piadina bread was delicious and all the ingredients fresh, plentiful and healthy tasting. Steve loved it and could not have eaten the entire large sandwich himself so we shared.
My pea soup was served with a cute heart on the top made with olive oil much like Starbucks does with their coffee. It was reasonably priced, arrived steaming hot and was very flavorful. Steve and I also split the soup so we each had a wonderful and healthy meal for a little over $20.
They brought us a dessert menu, but we didn’t even look at it because our tummies were full, so I can’t tell you what they had, except to guess tiramisu and cannoli. The dinner menu is more extensive, and you can check it out on the website. The prices are also included. You can call ahead and pick up your order and they also do catering.
We really enjoyed our lunch and urge you to try this charming place. The staff were friendly and helpful. It is a little out of the way, but worth it for the great Italian meal you will get. Thanks to the LV Update subscriber who recommended it.
LV News Briefs:
—LV Planning Group Election Results: The LV Planning Group held its annual election this past Monday. New members elected to the Group included Patrick Bazzi and Jonah Bimshas. Group incumbent members re-elected included Christopher Beesley, Marcos Camargo, and Jenny Carroll. Other members comprising the Group include Alex Chipman, Christina Gambino, Judy Ha-Guevara, Kim Heinle, Brian Lovell, Felicity Senoski, Christine Weinstein, and Miles Morris as USD Rep.
—Bayside Community Clean-up: Bayside Community Center will holds its monthly community clean-up on Sunday April 6 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. Volunteers meet in the Linda Vista Library parking lot (2160 Ulric Street). Contact tortiz@baysidecc.org for more information about volunteering.
—Spring Egg Hunt: The Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center will hold its annual Egg Hunt on Saturday April 5 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Festivities will include a jumper, crafts, music, a bunny, and egg hunts. Location: LV Recreation Center (7064 Levant Street).
Trash Service Study Open House Held in LV
In an effort to educate and collect feedback as part of an on-going Trash Study, representatives from the City of San Diego conducted an Open House this Tuesday evening at the Linda Vista Library for residents of City Council District 7. The Open House was one in a series of meetings being held city wide during March and April to engage residents in discussing potential new fees for residential trash and recycling services. The results of the Trash Study, to include shared resident feedback, will be presented to the City Council before the Council members vote to either adopt the fee proposal as written, reduce the amount funded by fees, or decide not to impose fees at this time.
The Tuesday night meeting was well attended by residents who appeared extremely eager to express their opinions regarding the proposed trash service fees. The meeting attendees were expecting a traditional presentation followed by a question/answer session. However, the meeting took the form of an Open House in which various stations were set up in the library community room and patio area with informational charts and City representatives available at each station to both confirm and clarify information and listen to/collect recommendations from District 7 residents.
An overwhelming number of attendees expressed dissatisfaction with the City’s current proposal to charge a $53.00 monthly fee for trash collection, maintaining the City pulled a misleading “bait and switch” tactic by initially promoting a monthly fee of $23.00 when the proposed measure was on the ballot. Residents also argued that the City was too focused on proposing an expensive, unnecessary “world class” trash service, while insisting that fewer, less expensive trash collection features could result in lesser priced fees. Some resident complained about the new trash service requiring the hiring of approximately 140 new City employees in light of the current pension situation. There was also concern about what kind of financial assistance to assist in paying the monthly fee would be offered to those who qualify for such a program.
A majority of residents were concerned that their feedback would be ignored by the City Council, and that Councilmember minds were already made up regarding the issue. However, City representatives emphasized that the Trash Study intends to “continue the conversation” and “collect feedback” that will be given serious consideration by the final decision-makers.
As part of the Open House, City representatives pointed out some of the new services to be provided when the new fees are implemented to include:
· Reliability improvements to support on-time pick-ups and reduce missed collections.
· Community drop off events for hazardous waste and electronics.
· Bin repairs, replacement delivery at no extra cost starting July 1.
· New trash bins and recycling bins (with smart chips installed to identify properties) starting January 2026.
The potential new fees and City trash service would apply to eligible single family homes and residential complexes of four or fewer units.
The City Council is expected to vote on the issue in July. District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo attended the Open House and spoke with several district residents.
If you missed this meeting, please click HERE to see where and when the next four Open Houses will be held
LV Resident Advocates for Safe Playground Equipment
We all expect our neighborhood parks to be beautiful and safe havens for local families—public venues where people of all ages, and especially kids, can frolic in a pleasing environment without any worry of imposing physical dangers. Unfortunately, one long-time resident of Linda Vista has identified what may be considered a potential threat to the safety of our children. At the very least, her observations and opinions regarding one particular feature of the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park (located at 7064 Levant Street) seem to highlight the inferiority of the park’s playground equipment in relation to similar equipment positioned at other City parks.
Margarita Castro is a veteran member of the Linda Vista Recreation Advisory Council and an enthusiastic advocate for several LV parks. She is voicing concern regarding the poor state of playground equipment at the LV Neighborhood Park and wants to raise awareness about Linda Vista families getting the short end of the stick when it comes to playground equipment, the kind that can be counted upon to be relatively new, neat in appearance, and free of unhealthy pathogens. Her concerns are focused on three aspects of the park’s playground area.
First, she wants to draw the public’s attention to the quality of the seats on one of the swing sets. A close-up look at the bucket-style seats shows what appears to be an excess amount of mildew on them. As Castro remarked, “What parent would what their children sitting on those seats?” Due to her lobbying efforts the Park staff recently replaced one of the seats, but there is apparently no money in the budget to replace the rest. Based on one Playground Equipment web site, a bucket-style seat can be purchased for $165.00, with discounts given when more are purchased. In the meantime, Linda Vista parents are stuck with placing their kids on the old mildewy seats, but as one other Linda Vista resident recently commented, “ I don’t think the parents in La Jolla would tolerate these seats for a second.” Linda Vista parents have been observed placing Pampers and Huggies on the seats prior to placing their children on this swing set.
Second, Castro is deeply concerned about the surface of this playground area. It is covered in wood chips (unlike the modern rubberized, cushioning surface installed in new City parks) that are unable to hide the original surface material installed twenty some years ago. The original surface material is periodically hidden by the wood chips, but it appears that the leaky water drainage system underneath the playground continues to deteriorate the material and serves to unearth it, especially after rainy days. Upon looking at the playground area, it sometimes looks like a strange, grotesque growth reminiscent of an eerie Stephen King novel in which the growth eventually devours the village town folk. After filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the City, Castro went the extra mile in researching the installation of the playground equipment and found/communicated with the original installation company to try to determine if the exposed material may be dangerous. She has not been able to confirm if this is a possibility, but she is contemplating taking a material sample and using her own money to submit the sample to a lab that can make that determination.
Finally, she is also concerned with the condition of some of the other playground equipment in the area (i.e. bars that kids hang from) that more than qualifies for a new paint job.
Of course, there is that small matter that revolves around money. Castro does not blame the local Park staff for the condition of the equipment . “They do what they can with what they are given,” she commented. “And I have spoken to the director of the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, but he says there is no money in the budget for replacing this playground equipment.”
She added that the San Diego Park Foundation had originally budgeted money to improve the playground equipment, but that money was eventually diverted to another park project. This leaves the current playground equipment situation without a benefactor that can provide the necessary funds. At $165.00 a seat, perhaps an organization like the Linda Vista Town Council can step in and organize a fundraiser—one which promises a seat to be named in honor of anyone donating $165.00. In light of the City’s current budget woes, we can’t expect the City to cover the cost of a new playground surface any time soon. We can only hope Stephen King writes a novel titled “The Playground that Ate Linda Vista”, that the movie is adapted to a screenplay, and that a portion of the eventual multi-million dollar movie proceeds goes to the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park budget.
Welcome to Wonderland’s Fun Nonsense
You might say we already experience enough silly nonsense and a host of illogical rules in our regular lives. However, if you want your nonsense and illogic served with a strong dose of entertaining humor, singing, dancing and acting, then I suggest you attend a performance of Welcome to Wonderland put on by the Linda Vista Theatre Arts program. The final two shows of this fun musical production will be held this weekend at the Linda Vista Recreation Center, located at 7064 Levant Street.
The musical production is under the direction of Parks and Recreation staff member KJ LeCesne. Along with the support of dedicated adult volunteers, the cast and crew of this program are made up of local kids, their ages ranging from 8 to 18; they have been practicing for months, investing many hours of rehearsal to hone their skills and entertain local audiences as part of a program sponsored by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Based on last Saturday’s evening performance, all those hours paid off with a show that kept the audience both chuckling and admiring the exceptional talents of every youngster involved with the program.
The story follows the traditional wacky plot and premise of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but updates the 19th century tale with contemporary style tunes and witty dialogue references to current day pop culture. The entire 35-member cast and crew did a great job Saturday night, but there are several key performers who stood out performing in the spotlight. Foremost was Luna Desyllas in her role of young Alice. The talented eleven-year-old delivered each line with extreme poise and appropriate expressions. Her strong, sincere presence on the stage allowed the other actors to emphasize the comical and bizarre nature of their own roles. The duo of Nandi Duplessis-Nunley and Goddess Duplessis-Nunley did an outstanding job of making the audience laugh while playing the non-sensical roles of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (or was it Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee?). Ella Yepiz helped to establish the tone of the show with a frenetic rendition of the March Hare. Kole Cortez was excellent as the Mad Hatter, a completely non-sensical character evoking mayhem. Katelynn Vilchis played a scary, tyrannical Queen of Hearts. Caroline Kortman and Ryleigh Aspinall helped narrate the story as the Cheshire Cats. And Skyler Purcell-Birchmeier, Janine Perry, Jayla Ballog, Lily Wasiluk, and Addison Torres effectively brought in contemporary sassy chatter in their roles as the Girls of the Golden Afternoon. There is fun, entertaining singing and choreography interspersed throughout the production.
In addition to the young cast and crew, deserving of special recognition are the imaginative background set designs and costumes.
If planning to attend one of the shows this week, we recommend you get your tickets fast as available seating is limited. Click HERE to obtain ticket details.
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The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting, and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.
Hi, I read your story about the LV playground issues and the swing seats. How many new seats would be needed? And if they were purchased as a gift, would the City install them? Thank you!