New Salvadoran Restaurant Opens
Plus: Tecolote Canyon Nature Center Re-opens; the Linda Vista Bump Leaves Residents Puzzled; Upcoming Community Events; and Foster Kitten Update
If you are looking for a taste of Central America, we know just the place for you to go. It happens to be right here in the Linda Vista area (a few steps away in Kearny Mesa). And it’s a great place to find delicious pupusas!
A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread made with cornmeal or rice flour and has been declared the national dish of El Salvador. This Central American country even has a special day to celebrate the pupusa! It is stuffed with one or more ingredients including cheese, loroco buds, refried beans, pork or shrimp. This dish is typically accompanied by curtido (spicy cabbage slaw) and salsa and eaten by hand.
Now that you know what a pupusa is, you probably wonder where exactly you can go to get authentic, delicious pupusas. Well, we are here to tell you just that.
One of our loyal readers of the LV Update mentioned to us that there was a new Salvadoran restaurant in the area on Mesa College Drive, close to Homestyle Hawaiian, another place we reviewed in a previous post of this newsletter. The new restaurant is called Cuscatlan San Diego, and features Salvadoran cuisine and more. We decided to pay the restaurant a visit and check out what it had to offer. Our thought was to do a review on their pupusas as we knew they are a staple of Salvadoran culture.
The restaurant is very attractive with tables spaced for social distancing and sparkling clean. We saw the Covid prevention features we have become used to including hand sanitizer, plexiglass partition at counter, etc. We then encountered Juan, who we learned is the owner of the restaurant. There is a similarly named restaurant in Escondido and Juan said that one is his brother’s. He said his family came to the US from El Salvador when he was 16. They first bought a pizza restaurant in Escondido and gradually changed it to include Salvadoran cuisine. He told us the Escondido restaurant remained open during the pandemic for carryout and managed to keep most of their employees working, which is an indication of the quality of the food.
This new Linda Vista area restaurant has been open about a week. We asked Juan about the name, and he explained that Cuscatlan is a department (State) in the middle of El Salvador. Juan mentioned that Cuscatlan is also the name of El Salvador’s famous soccer stadium.
We looked at the menu and were not surprised that it included many Italian dishes after hearing their first restaurant was a pizza restaurant. The menu is very extensive with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. They have lunch specials, sandwiches, appetizers, soups, entrees, salads, and desserts. They have many Salvadoran dishes such as Pollo Guisadi (stewed chicken with potatoes), Camarones Cuscatlan (sauteed shrimp in tomato sauce with onions and bell peppers), and Pan Relleno con Pollo (french bread stuffed with chicken , coleslaw, tomatoes and cucumbers, and many more items that look very interesting,. They have deep-dish pizzas including Philly cheese steak, BBQ, Hawaiian and veggie. You can create your own deep-dish pizza from a long list of toppings. Check out the entire menu on their website.
But we did come here to review pupusas, so let me tell you about them. The list is long. Pupusas with cheese, with jalapeno and cheese, chicken and cheese, beans and cheese, pork and cheese, pork beans and cheese, zucchini and cheese, mushroom with cheese, shrimp with cheese, chicken with chipotle and cheese, pepperoni with cheese, and more. They are all $3.50 — very reasonable. For the hungrier, they have a 10” Pupusa Loca for $12.95 which contains all the ingredients. Since we were not accompanied by our young carnivore sidekick, we did not try that one (perhaps another time), but stuck with a few meatless varieties.
My husband had the Frijoles con Queso and the Camaron con Queso. His favorite was the Frijoles and Queso. He said it was delicious, nicely flavored, and he will surely get it again.
I ordered the Hongos con Queso as I really love mushrooms. I also love eating food with my hands so I enjoyed my pupusas very much. They were tasty and filled with lots of mushrooms. I also tried a Queso pupusa which I liked as well. Maybe next time I will try the zucchini and cheese.
The pupusas were served with a delicious spicy cabbage slaw and several types of salsas, both spicy and mild. Steve had spicy, I had mild. Both very good.
Juan said the cheese he uses in his pupusas is a combination of mozzarella, Monterey jack, and queso. I can tell you that it was very tasty and complemented the other ingredients very well. The pupusas were well filled and cooked just right. They are reasonably priced and two is more than enough for a meal.
We urge you to try this new restaurant. We are lucky that more diverse eating establishments are opening here in the Linda Vista area to meet the needs of our diverse population. Say hello to Juan and tell him you read about his restaurant in the LV Update. Both he and his wife are very friendly and will gladly tell you about the different items on the menu to make sure you have a happy dining experience.
Cuscatlan San Diego Restaurant
7516 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111
858-707-7003
Monday 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Fri10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sat10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sun10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tecolote Canyon Nature Center Re-Opens
Do you consider yourself an expert on all things Linda Vista? If so, then you may not be surprised if I told you that Tecolote Canyon was formed during the Pleistocene Epoch. You probably already know that the top mesa around Tecolote Canyon, 250 to 300 feet above today’s sea level, was cut by the surf about 700,000 to 800,000 years ago. I’m assuming you know how long a typical Coastal Rosy Boa Constrictor grows. You surely know that coastal sage brush only grows in certain parts of the world, like right here in Tecolote Canyon. And there is no doubt you are aware the Kumeyaay tribe members who used to live in Tecolote Canyon relied on grounded acorns for nutritious meals.
Now, if all this comes as a surprise to you—if perhaps your knowledge of all things Linda Vista did not happen to include the area of Tecolote Canyon—then you might want to spend some time visiting the newly re-opened Tecolote Canyon Nature Center. You’re guaranteed to pick up some interesting information about this community gem. The Nature Center, closed for many months during the COVID pandemic, is now operating under limited hours. It offers visitors an opportunity to gain a better understanding of modern day Tecolote Canyon (to include its plants and wildlife), how Tecolote Canyon served as a home for the Kumeyaay, and how the canyon was formed long ago. It is located just beyond the Tecolote Canyon Recreation Center, at the main entrance to the trail.
The Nature Center’s indoor exhibit area conveys this information through the use of various visual and text descriptions. It also features a new Diorama presentation (built during the time the center was closed for COVID); this diorama shows how the canyon looked during the time it supported the Kumeyaay. This exhibit area also has a trio of live snakes that are common to the canyon, allowing you a close-up but safe way to see some wildlife. One interesting display shows how the Tecolote Canyon ecosystem is restored. I enjoyed the geological information on the nearby Rose Canyon Fault Zone—a reminder to make sure my earthquake insurance is up-to-date.
To the rear of this indoor area is an outdoor patio that is used for instruction, an indoor classroom, and further to the rear a replica of a Kumeyaay village, along with a native plant garden.
So, if it’s been a while since you visited Tecolote Canyon, or if you’ve always wondered what kind of native plants grow in this area, or if you have some time to spend before going on a hike, or if you prefer studying the canyon without going on a hike, then stop by the Tecolote Canyon Nature Center and take in the exhibits. If you have any questions regarding the canyon, Center Director Marla Gilmore will be happy to help you out.
Tecolote Canyon Nature Center
5180 Tecolote Rd, San Diego, CA 92110
858-581-9944
Current Hours:
Sunday Closed
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Thursday Closed
Friday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
What’s with the Linda Vista Bump?
What’s with the Bump? No, I’m not talking about that silly disco-era dance from the 70’s. I’m talking about the Linda Vista Bump. If you haven’t heard about the Linda Vista Bump in the Road, don’t feel too bad. I had never heard about this odd landmark until last week, when one of our newsletter’s more enthusiastic readers brough the Bump to my attention.
The Bump is located smack dab in the middle of Linda Vista Road, in between John Baca Park and the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center (within a few feet of the Bank of America ATM and the Eleanor Roosevelt plaque). I find it hard to believe, but until last week I had driven past the Bump a million times and never noticed it. You may have done the same.
As you can see from the accompanying photos, the Bump consists of two crumbling, decrepit, long-ignored half-circle asphalt structures barely emerging above the street surface. Since it’s located here in Linda Vista, I really don’t like to think of it as “crumbling” or “decrepit”—I suggest we refer to it as “ancient”, like an “ancient ruin”, or as an “object of antiquity”. That sounds classier. At first glance, the Bump looks like it might have at one time (a very long time ago) served a purpose related to pedestrians crossing the street. But some residents are not so sure about that.
There is certainly an element of mystery attached to the Bump. What exactly is it? Where did it come from? How long has it been there? Why is it in such a worn condition? Why has it not been maintained by the city?
After talking with several Linda Vista residents, I’m not so sure the Bump’s background should be considered in any way “pedestrian”. I think the Bump may actually be something much more exotic and significant, perhaps even a site meriting historical importance, just like an ancient ruin from some bygone era, which some residents think it might actually be.
I recently asked several Linda Vista residents the question…”Hey, what’s with the Bump?” They went and checked it out.
Here all the theories that were offered up. Some explanations are more “our there” than others, but I recommend you keep an open mind as you read along, and then wait to see what any further research reveals.
Top Ten Theories Regarding the Linda Vista Bump
1. It’s the remains of a supposed ancient Druid ceremonial site. Rumor has it that if you stand there on the day of the Vernal Equinox, you can see the sun rise directly over the Sab-E-Lee restaurant. Coincidentally, ”Sab-E-Lee” in the Druid language means “Tasty Food.”
2. The Linda Vista Bump is all that remains from the special VIP seating platform built for Eleanor Roosevelt’s legendary 1942 visit to the then new Linda Vista shopping center.
3. It’s actually the partially paved-over rim of a very small, dormant volcano. (We hope it remains dormant)
4. It was the site of San Diego’s ill-fated first and only traffic toll booth, a long ago attempt to raise funds for the city of San Diego. Unfortunately, the toll booth was purchased by the city of San Diego from a shady New Jersey construction firm for an exorbitant price. The toll booth was never occupied and was soon dismantled after it was discovered to be full of asbestos and covered with lead paint.
5. The Linda Vista Bump was an early 1950’s failed first attempt at what eventually turned out to be the Linda Vista Skateboard Park. The dimensions weren’t quite right, and the concept of what constituted a fun skateboard park in the 1950’s was dramatically different than today, but give those 1950’s engineers credit for trying.
6. It is a sealed off excavation mine entrance, left over from the long-forgotten Linda Vista Gold Rush of 1843. “There’s gold in that thar’ mesa” was the rallying cry that attracted so many prospectors to this area.
7. It is a UDO. A UDO is more commonly known as an Unidentified Decaying Object. I heard the Air Force maintain a highly classified file on UDO’s.
8. It is the burned-out ruins of what was once an attempt to attract tourists to Linda Vista by mimicking the popular Mission/Pacific beach fire pits. City planners eventually decided a fire pit in the middle of a busy road was not a good idea.
9. Supposedly, during Jeff Bezos’ (or was it Elon Musk’s) very brief and little-known time growing up in Linda Vista—way back in the 1960’s—he began building a small rocket launch pad and swore that he would someday return to go into space from this very site on Linda Vista Road. Regrettably, the precocious lad forgot all about this crumbling site once he became a rich adult.
10. The bump was originally built to symbolize Linda Vista’s pre-World War II era population/housing boom welcoming slogan…“Linda Vista—just a bump on the road to the Pacific Ocean.” This overly humble slogan was discarded after the war, and the bump on Linda Vista Road was intentionally ignored as an embarrassing remnant of an earlier, simpler time in our community’s history.
Readers, if you have any other theories regarding The Bump, please forward them to this newsletter. We will be glad to publish them. In the meantime, let’s hope funds from the pending Federal infrastructure bill don’t end up sweeping away the Bump before we learn the true story.
Upcoming Community Events
—Backpack Giveaway: Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber’s office reports the following: “Please join us on Saturday, August 14th, for the ninth Annual 79th Assembly District Backpack Giveaway! Between 10 am – 1 pm at Horace Mann Middle School, we’ll be giving away 1,000 free backpacks filled with school supplies for the upcoming school year and sanitation kits to prepare students for in-person learning. There will also be a free vaccination clinic, free helmet fittings and helmets, and more giveaways! To ensure that we have an accurate count, we ask that you complete the registration prior to the event. To register, you may visit: https://bit.ly/ad79backpacks. Please note that registration will close 3pm on Friday, August 13th. Masks and social distancing will be encouraged during this event.”
—Soccer Match: The San Diego Loyal SC plays its next home game on August 14 at 7:30 pm. The Loyal will play the Tacoma Defiance. Home games are played at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. Click here for ticket information.
—ROBOTHINK Video Coding Class Commences: A video coding class will be conducted at the Linda Vista Recreation Center beginning August 16. See the poster below for more details.
—The Circus is Coming to Town: The Fern Street Circus will be at the Linda Vista Recreation Center on Saturday August 21. This free performance will be held at 2:00 pm.
—Community Clean-Up: The next Bayside Community Center Community Clean-Up will be held at 10:00 on September 12. Volunteers meet in the Linda Vista library parking lot. If possible, let Bayside know in advance that you plan on volunteering for this task.
Foster Kittens Adopted
We are happy to report that the two kittens we had been fostering for the SD Humane Society (mentioned in last week’s newsletter) were adopted last Saturday. They were adopted a couple hours after being made available to the public. Another SD Humane Society success story!
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The Linda Vista Update publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities.
Wow!!!! This review of Cuscatlan has me starving! So excited to visit it. Thank you for the suggestion! And I laughed so hard at the bump theories, I couldn’t catch my breath. Excellent theories! 🤣🤣🤣I never noticed it either. I’ll make sure to ask my neighbour as she has lived in Linda Vista since 1933 right by there. If anyone would know, she would. She is constantly talking about the neighbourhood memories. Her husband helped build many of the military housing in the 1940s on our block near Montgomery Middle and Linda Vista Elementary. They didn’t have a car back then so they walked to the store. She remembers when the shopping Center was built and when Eleanor Roosevelt came. Her stories (and her 66 year old daughter’s stories) always have me captivated. Growing up as an African American family, they saw it all. She’s been trying to find old photos of the neighbourhood for me. I’m hoping to get them framed once she finds them.