Mexican Food at Fashion Valley Mall
Plus: Checking out Best Views in the Area, News Updates, Kearny High Football, Kearny High Female Athlete Recognized, Upcoming Fundraiser Event, and Big Foot Expedition Planned
Sometimes when we are having trouble finding a restaurant to review, we look down the hill toward Fashion Valley Mall and see if there are any new restaurants, or ones that we have not yet tried. The folks down at the Fashion Valley Mall recently remodeled the food court area, and I hadn’t been to see it but wanted to do so. We heard of a Mexican restaurant called Blanco Cocina + Cantina and although it has been there a few years, we had yet to try it, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and kill two birds with one stone by checking out the remodel at the mall and having lunch at Blanco Cocina.
If you haven’t been to the FV Mall lately, you should go and see all the changes. We have written about all the high-end stores that are opening there and the changes to the second floor are really worth noting. There are new seating areas in the food court area with lounge chairs and sculptures that enhance the look. It seems that the kiosks that proliferated the area in front of the theater and restaurants are gone, and the look is very classy.
Blanco Cocina advertises itself as a tacos and margaritas kind of place, but it is much more. It is right across from the AMC theaters and parking in the last back parking garage brings you very close. You can either use the bridge across the road or come in on the first floor and use the escalator. The restaurant has a very large outdoor eating area, as well as an outside bar. They take reservations, which I would suggest depending on when you are going. We made reservations and got seated immediately. The restaurant is part of the Fox Restaurant Group which also includes True Foods. They are in many states including Texas, Arizona, Tennessee as well as California. Even at lunchtime, the restaurant had a lively vibe and a steady stream of diners arriving while we were there.
The menu is extensive with Starters, Cheese Crisps, Salads, Tacos, Enchiladas, Fajitas, Burritos, Bowls, and of course Margaritas, craft beers, and many other drinks both alcoholic and non.
Steve chose a traditional cheese enchilada with grilled onion, guac, ancho chili sauce and sides of rice and beans. I chose Grilled Mexican Street Corn with mayo, cilantro, lime, and cotija cheese. Although mall food is often not the most healthy choice, the food at Blanco felt very healthy. Perhaps that is because of the owner’s insistence on fresh local products and their relationship with True Foods. Starting with the complimentary chips and salsa, I knew this would be a good lunch. The chips were light and crisp and warm. My grilled street corn was excellent. Although I have never before asked for this particular dish with the kernels taken off the cob, I did so this time. It made eating it so much easier, and the flavors were just perfect. Just the right amount of spiciness and the dish tasted light but was very ample.
Steve’s plate was very full. Everything looked good, and I took a taste of the enchilada which was excellent. Steve thought everything was tasty, and he ate everything on the plate. He also enjoyed one of the craft beers on tap. The service was very good. The prices are what they are most places. Not cheap, but we enjoyed the meal, and thought the price was worth it. An LV Update readers recently suggested ou restaurant reviews mention noise levels; in this case, we ate outside, so the noise level was low, and we were able to converse easily.
Based on our visit, I strongly recommend you take a stroll down the hill and look at the changes to the mall and while you are at it, have a margarita and taco at Blanco Concino + Cantina. We think you will like it.
Checking Out the Best Views On a Summer Day
One of the benefits of living in Linda Vista and the neighboring communities is the amount of great views that we get to enjoy on a typical sunny and clear San Diego day. This is to be expected since the name Linda Vista means “beautiful view”, and being situated on a mesa certainly allows all of us residents the opportunity to frequently gaze out from different vantage points and see the rest of the city from a unique perspective.
This past week we took a drive around the area to see some of the magnificent views from our favorite vantage points and remind our readers of what one can see from high atop our communities. It is so easy to become jaded and take the views for granted; we saw it this week as our duty to point out a few views to help everyone fully appreciate one of the wonders of the place we live.
We started off my driving up the road to the top of the Bay Park area. We pulled into the parking lot of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church located at 1945 Illion Street. This vantage point offers one of the most expansive views of Mission Bay and the ocean. As you can see from the photo above, it definitely presents a breathtaking view, one worth taking visiting relatives and friends if you want them to catch the scenic essence of the local area. You can get to this site by taking Knoxville Street off of Morena Drive, and then going west until Knoxville transitions to Illion Street past the Gardena Street Intersection. It is a very steep drive up Illion. Go there on a clear day and take plenty of photos.
The second place we visited was the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology building located on the University of San Diego (USD) campus. We entered through the door leading to the building lobby and walked across to the outdoor patio. From there we took in the view that took in the western part of Mission Valley and extends to Point Loma and the San Diego Bay. There are some benches and chairs at the patio that will allow you to sit and think deep, meditative thoughts while taking in the beautiful view. There are many fantastic views on the USD campus, to include views of Mission Bay and Tecolote Canyon, but this vantage point also provides a comfortable, convenient venue to take in the view.
Finally, we drove east to the large and still growing Civita development above Mission Valley to see what kind of view was offered. Once in the development, we drove up the appropriately named Via Alta street till it meets up with Franklin Ridge Road. This area sits above the northern most part of Civita Park. There is a small parking lot up there. We parked the car and then walked across the street to enjoy the view which covers a large part of the beautiful park and then extends across Mission Valley. To fully appreciate this view it helps to know that the area in the foreground used to be a quarry while the area in the background used to be dairy land.
As we mentioned previously, our communities have a number of superb views, but these three always seem to stand out. If you have your own favorite, send us a photo and a quick summary so we can share with the rest of the LV Update readership.
Local News Briefs
—Westbound Friars Road: The City of San Diego has announced that westbound Friars Road from Napa Street to Sea World Drive will continue to be closed to vehicle traffic through the end of 2024. Crews will continue to perform ongoing work that requires the current traffic control configuration for Morena Pump Station project construction.
Construction notices are posted on morena.purewatersd.org
—USD Campus Selected as Most Beautiful: The University of San Diego was recognized by the Princeton Review as having the most beautiful campus in the U.S. You can see the top-25 listing of campuses here.
Kearny High Komets Begin Football Season
Summer won’t be over for three more weeks, but the Kearny High School varsity football team is already set to play its second game of the 2024 season. The Komets will host Monte Vista High School (Spring Valley) this Friday, August 30 at 7:00 pm.
Kearny opened up the season last Friday night by playing at Mission Bay High School. The cool ocean breeze, along with the scenic venue set against swaying palm trees and a beautiful sunset, provided a nice setting for a Friday night football game. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers got the best of the Komets by a score of 34-6.
In that game, standout Kearny quarterback Brodie Stump threw 30 times for 15 completions, one touchdown, and a total of 185 yards. Zaiden Gravely was Brodie’s favorite target with 11 receptions for 126 yards. Additionally, Jaylin Hill had 3 receptions.
Hill was also active on defense with 2 sacks.
Kearny was hobbled by the fact the team has only 22 players on their active roster. Seven other players are currently ineligible. As head coach Jeremy Stump commented, “This is impacting our depth and experience on the field. The ineligibility of seven players is a significant challenge for us, but we are determined to persevere and develop our remaining roster”
Looking ahead to this week’s game, Coach Stump added “We are focusing on improving our consistency and execution of the fundamentals…As an inexperienced team, we are continuously working on building our skills and experience.”
Kearny High Girls Flag Football Player Recognized
Each week the SD Union-Tribune Sports Page recognizes top local high school athletes for their recent performances. This week, the U-T noted the outstanding performance of Kearny High student Kamara Ellis for her outstanding performances in two games. We offer Kamara congratulations and wish her good luck for the rest of the season.
Upcoming Fundraising Event
Local Linda Vista realtor and community supporter Bree Partington is once again partnering up with the Porsche Club to conduct another Porsche, Pours and Pups Fundraising Event on September 21. Last year’s event was highly successful and so they are conducting an encore event. All of the proceeds will go to the Del Mar Dog Rescue. Check out the below flyer for details on how to sign up and attend.
Commentary
A Cheap Linda Vista Vacation
Just the other day as I was strolling around my block I ran into Jack, one my more eccentric neighbors. I asked him what he was up to, and he broke into a smile. He told me that he and his family were about to go on a vacation trip.
“Lucky you,” I said. “Where will you be traveling to?” I recalled last summer when he and his family traveled to AREA 51 in Nevada to look for evidence of extraterrestrial space ships captured by the U.S. military. And the summer before when he and his family went hiking along the New Mexico and Arizona deserts looking for evidence of the mythical goat-eating creature commonly referred to as the Chupacabra.
He replied, “This time we’re going to go on a Big Foot expedition. I have my family all excited about the possibility that if we keep our eyes and ears open, we might experience a real authentic Big Foot sighting.”
“Wow,” I said, without revealing to him that I didn’t really believe this creature actually existed. “That’s sounds very exciting. Will you be headed up to Northern California, or perhaps the forests of Oregon and Washington?”
Jack grimaced and responded “No, the price of gas is too expensive right now to travel that far. Instead, we’re going to go on what I am referring to as a “budget” Big Foot expedition. It’s what these inflationary times call for.”
“And where” I asked, “does that kind of budget expedition occur?”
He pointed up to Ulric Street and said, “Follow me.”
Once on Ulric Street, we walked uphill about a hundred feet and then came to a stop on the side of the road. He looked both ways for traffic, and then I followed him to the middle of the road.
He pointed down at the concrete, where I eyed what I assumed to be numerous “potholes” and cracks and deep grooves in the road.
“See?” Jack said. “This is evidence of Big Foot. Look at those big footprints. How else can you explain these big indentations?”
We then walked across to the other side of the road and saw even more large potholes…or were they really Big Foot footprint indentations? I wasn’t so sure now. Based on the number of potholes…or footprints…chances were good this was one busy Big Foot thoroughfare (if Big Foot actually existed).
I shook my head, near speechless and mumbled with a healthy dose of skepticism, “I don’t know. Are you sure these aren’t just potholes?”
He then took out a photo and said “Here is a picture I got off a somewhat reputable internet site that shows a picture of a Big Foot footprint (see photo above at left). Now look at the supposed pothole (see photo above at right). Notice the resemblance?”
I looked down at the ground and then back up at the photo. He had a point, I thought. I did see some kind of resemblance, if I looked at a certain angle and used quite a bit of imagination. And besides, I thought, if these were really potholes, wouldn’t the City have fixed them by now? There had to be a reason why these giant imprints had been ignored…perhaps in the name of science, or maybe tourism?
He added, “For our vacation, I figure my family will just set up tents and camp along the hillside here for a week. At night we’ll come out and wait to see if Big Foot makes an appearance. And the good thing is I won’t have to spend too much money on this trip. Besides, I hear the weather along Ulric Street is nice this time of year.”
Later that night, I thought more about Jack’s unique vacation plan. I admired his desire to save money on this vacation, and by refusing to drive all the way up to the Pacific Northwest he was indeed leaving a smaller carbon footprint on this earth, in favor, perhaps, of a larger Big Foot footprint.
Of course, my doubts about Big Foot’s existence and that this species might be living somewhere along Ulric Street still lingered, but I figured there has to be a good reason why the City leaves those big holes on the street. In fact, after thinking of all the potholes I’ve seen around town, I started to think there might be numerous Big Foot creatures all over San Diego, not just on Ulric Street. I got the distinct feeling our fair city might just be the Big Foot capital of the world.
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Emalyn:
Thanks for the comments. We appreciate your forwarding the newsletter and getting the word out.
Steve Rodriguez
The potholes are obviously not a result of the “big foot”. Back in 97 when a container ship from Jurassic Park landed downtown, it was discovered that the baby T-Rex escaped. However, the T-Rex was never located because the issue was reported through GetItDone. I contend that the potholes are the result