Local Turkey Choices for Thanksgiving Day
Plus: Coffee with a Cop Announcement, LV News Briefs, MC Properties Owner Presents at Meeting, Tecolote Canyon Construction Project Update, and Turkey Giveaway at Bayside
Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner. At this time of the year, you will hear conversations that include such questions as “Do you brine?” “Do you get fresh or frozen turkey?” “Do you put your stuffing in the turkey or bake it in a casserole dish?”“Have you ever had a Turducken?” “Where do you get your Thanksgiving turkey?” “Do you buy a prepared dinner or make it all yourself?”
Well, we can’t answer some of these questions since we do not eat meat, However we were intrigued by all the possibilities, and thought we would do some investigating of what is available for celebrating the Thanksgiving meal in the Linda Vista area.
We started at good old Ralphs, everyone’s favorite grocery store. Ralphs has quite a variety of options for Thanksgiving. There you can get a whole Kroger turkey for about 79 cents per pound. Of course this is whole frozen so a 10 to 12 lb. turkey would cost less than $10. Butterball all-natural turkey is about $1.99 per pound, so a 16 lb. one would cost about $35. You can also find turkey breast, smoked turkey, thighs and legs and more. You can pre-order and pick up a complete holiday meal (including choice of protein (turkey, ham or prime rib), maple pecan sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy) for $75 to $100. These meals are good if you don’t know how to cook, are serving 6 to 8 people, have a small kitchen, would like to spend more time talking with guests than cooking, and want less stress. All you do is heat and serve.
Another popular favorite for holiday meals is Honey Baked Ham. Although they are famous for their ham, they also have a selection of smoked or honey baked turkey breast. Honey Baked has a location on Genesee Avenue near Balboa Avenue, but you can also order online and have items shipped to you. If you order to pick up, note that the couple days leading up to a holiday are extremely busy and you may have to wait in line on the street for some time, even though you have ordered in advance. Their honey baked turkey breast is $12.89 per pound. A whole turkey will run about $75.00, which serves about 10 – 12. They have smoked, roasted and cajun. They also have sides such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry salad, yam souffle, pies and more. The sides at the store may be fresh. If you order items shipped, they will come frozen. They also sell complete meals which could run you about $125 to $177 depending upon whether you get a ham meal, a turkey meal, or both and they all include sides. You don’t have to worry about the taste of the items as they will all be delicious and cooked just right. No stress, no worry, just a little expensive.
A third place we wanted to talk about is Siesel’s Meat and Deli on Ashton Street in Bay Park. This is a great place for meat lovers, and if you haven’t been there you should make a point to go. We visited recently and had a very nice conversation with the Assistant Meat Manager, Connor Novy, who gave us quite a bit of information on turkey and also turducken. Their turkeys are all fresh and not frozen until after the holidays. The turkeys are local (within 8 hours of San Diego) and the Diestel turkey is $5.99 per pound and has not gone up in a few years. They have a wonderful store and deli which will sell you many of the sides you may need for your holiday meal. They also sell brining kits to make brining easier, if that is what you want to do. The other meats Connor said that are very popular during the holidays are ham including double smoked ham, glazed spiral half ham, rib roast, sausages and more. He also explained to us exactly what a turducken is and how it is prepared. Apparently it is very labor intensive as they remove all the bones from the turkey, duck and chicken and then layer different stuffings between the flattened layers of birds. They then stitch it up so all you have to do is cook it and eat it. But you’ll have to open your pocketbooks wide. Turduckens range in price from $125 for small to $195 for large because it does take a lot of time to get the turducken oven-ready. Sounds very intriguing.
Of course, you don’t have to break your bank for Thanksgiving. In addition to the above, you can purchase a bundled turkey dinner at Walmart for about $55 which includes a frozen turkey and ingredients for side dishes (29 items) and will serve 8. This is about $7 per person. Target dinners serve 4 for $20 including a frozen turkey, stuffing and cans of green beans and cranberry sauce. Then you have the satisfaction of preparing the meal yourself.
If you really don’t want to cook, you can purchase restaurant meals at many places including Denny’s, Mimi’s, and even Costco has a $180 turkey dinner for 8 to 10 people which includes turkey breast, rolls, six sides and 2 pies.
And last but not least, if you are vegan, check with Whole Foods or Sprouts for their version of Thanksgiving dinner with vegan dishes such as mushrooms en croute and other healthy sides. There are also salmon dinners for those who are meatless but eat fish.
The important thing is that it is a time to get together with family and enjoy the meal and be thankful for your life and those you love. With options running the gamut, you have no reason to skip over this holiday. There is something for everyone.
Upcoming Community Event
Save the Date for Coffee with a Cop
The Linda Vista Update is partnering with our SDPD Western Division Community Relations Officer David Surwilo to hold a Holiday Coffee with a Cop gathering. Come join your neighbors, District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, Western Division’s Captain Dobbs, and your neighborhood police officers at this event, which will be held Thursday December 5 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am at the Linda Vista Library (2160 Ulric Street).
No agendas or speeches, just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns and get to know the officers who patrol your community. This event is open to all Western Division’s neighborhoods so come, grab a coffee and donut, and join us for some casual conversation.
Coffee and donuts will be provided by the Linda Vista Update. We hope to see you there.
LV News Briefs
—USD Soccer: The University of San Diego Soccer team plays in the first round of the NCAA Division I Championship tournament tonight at 7:00 pm at Torero Stadium. The Toreros will play UC Davis. A win tonight will send USD to play Duke University on November 24.
—Bayside Gardening Seed Class: The Bayside Community Center’s Environmental Learning Center will hold its next monthly seed class on Friday November 22 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The class will be held at Bayside's Community Room (2202 Comstock Street). The subject of this month’s class is Root Crops - Carrots, Radishes, and Beets. The class and materials are free. Please contact this email to RSVP for the class: azink@baysidecc.org
—Linda Vista Community Planning Group: The LV Community Planning Group will hold its November meeting on November 25 (6:00 pm) at the American Legion Post 731 (7245 Linda Vista Road). You can check out the meeting agenda HERE. The public is invited to attend. Community Planning Groups advise the City on land use-based community goals and development proposals.
—Civics Contest: Assemblymember Chris Ward is sponsoring his second annual Civics Contest for fourth, eighth, and tenth graders who live in the 78th Assembly District. Check here for contest details: https://a78.asmdc.org/civics-competition
—Mission Valley Mall Makeover/ Expansion: A proposal by boutique commercial real estate firm Retail Insite envisions transforming the Mission Valley mall into a mixed-used retail and residential hub called “The Valley.” You can read about this story by clicking HERE.
MC Properties Owner Speaks at LV Town Council Meeting
Affordable housing and the availability of parking are two of the most pressing concerns facing Linda Vista residents these days. Last night’s general meeting of the Linda Vista Town Council featured a guest speaker who has played a central role in affecting the status of these two issues. Becky Barrera Hunt, president of the Linda Vista Town Council, introduced Mike Contreras, owner of MC Properties (a property management company) and Ekim Builders (a construction company). MC Properties is one of the largest property owners in Linda Vista. Contreras gave a presentation about himself and his construction and property business. In doing so, he enlightened the audience of community members about what he has done to revitalize housing units in various Linda Vista neighborhoods, and how he believes his projects have made Linda Vista a better place to live. He currently owns a total of 900 rental units in Linda Vista.
A native of Linda Vista, he attended local elementary/middle schools and graduated from University High School, and then eventually from San Diego State University with a degree in Civil Engineering. However, Contreras quickly became a fan of buying and renting property in the local area. He bought and fixed up property developments in Linda Vista to include the Astro Vista apartment complex on Ulric Street, a place in which he made major improvements. He then began buying and flipping Linda Vista houses during the real estate downturn that the country experienced in 2009. He described the process as taking “old houses and then making them better.”
He subsequently bought Linda Vista land and built the Pacific Heights complex on the site of the old Bank of American building on Ulric Street. And he soon afterward built the new 5-story (60-unit) V building that sits on Ulric Street across from the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. He explained these two apartment complexes share a parking area with adequate parking spaces that do not place demands on local street parking.
Continuing to look toward the future, he has bought the property on Linda Vista Road which currently houses the Tire Express shop, where he plans to soon build a 92 unit apartment complex there which will feature studio apartments for $2200.00 a month. He assured the crowd that he plans on building underground and surface parking at this site in spite of the fact that City zoning laws do not require him to build any parking spaces (because the apartment complex is within a half mile of a bus stop). As he explained, he knows that Linda Vista does not have the commuting infrastructure of a place like New York City, and that people who use public transportation “cannot carry groceries for a half mile.”
Contreras is also currently building two apartment complexes on Ulric Street, one of them a five-story building. One is expected to be finished at the end of April, and the other in the middle of June.
Contreras mentioned the 2019 controversy in which he was accused by local renters of being a “slum lord.” The controversy started when he bought the Morley Apartments and then remodeled them, which resulted in having to raise the rent. However, he defended his actions by emphasizing that his revitalization of Morley Apartments involved a “high quality” fix-up project, and that based on the associated expenses, he could not afford to keep the rent at the same old levels.
Some of the other apartment complexes he owns include the Westgate apartment complex on Linda Vista Road and the Parkview apartments on Fulton Street,
He explained that his properties in Linda Vista currently range in rent from $1500.00 for a studio apartment to $3300.00 for a three-bedroom apartment. He credits his 70- employee organization with having the ability to effectively maintain the quality of the apartment complexes.
Anticipating the concerns of the meeting audience, he closed his presentation by emphasizing that he works hard at maintaining a balance between the demands of building and those of providing available parking and is successful at making that balance work.
Audience members left the meeting much better informed of Linda Vista real estate and infrastructure issues and concerns, and about the role that MC Properties continues to play in the community.
Tecolote Canyon Construction Project Update
According to Darrel Madison, Chairperson of the Tecolote Canyon Citizen’s Advisory Committee, there has been one big development in the trunk sewer line project controversy, first reported in this newsletter in our October 5 issue. The heritage sycamore tree located at the front of the Tecolote Canyon Nature Center, previously scheduled to be cut down, is now set to be saved.
Madison credited the advocacy, cooperation and collaboration between the community and city that contributed to this decision. We wrote about coordination between citizens and city officials/contractors in the October 24 issue of this newsletter.
However, Madison also noted that “Other locations in the canyon are still endangered by the Sewer Replacement Project, such as this 200 yr old memorial sycamore so beautifully commemorated in this amazing video by a concerned trail user https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6nqMc0sN0, the Native Plant Garden, and a very large mature Forest Grove of 70’ cottonwood, sycamore, maple, and live oak trees further down the main trail, planted by volunteers 40yrs ago as habitat for the Least Bell’s Vireo songbird, one of several endangered species in Tecolote Canyon.”
Madison also commented, “It’s my understanding that city engineers are working hard to find solutions that will allow us to keep these well-loved and high value features, but let's not take anything for granted. The construction is just beginning on this massive multi-year capital improvement project that has the potential to impact our canyon, and the future experiences of community members, in a number of ways. Cooperation, communication, and some careful consideration during its implementation is what’s needed now.”
Turkey Giveaway Conducted at Bayside
On this past Friday November 15, District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo teamed up with union members of San Diego Carpenters Union 619 and Bayside Community Center staff and volunteers to present 100 turkeys to local residents.
“The holiday season is all about giving back to our friends, family, and neighbors,” said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo. “Thank you so much to Bayside Community Center and Carpenters Local 619 for their partnership and generosity to make this event an annual tradition.”
The funding for the turkeys was provided by San Diego Carpenters Local 619, the local union representing carpenters. Local 619 has provided the funds for this event in each of its four iterations, from 2021 to the present.
"One of San Diego Carpenters Local 619's core values is giving back to our community," said Jesse Garcia, President of Local 619. "We're proud to partner with Councilmember Campillo and Bayside Community Center to make sure that one hundred families in need are able to celebrate Thanksgiving with a turkey dinner."
In addition to turkeys, residents also received fresh produce provided by Bayside Community Center.
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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.
We will be taking off Thanksgiving Week. Our next issue will be published December 5, though before that time we will send out a reminder or two about Coffee with a Cop.
We wish all of our readers a Happy Thanksgiving!