Pesto Italian at Mission Valley Center
Plus: LV News Briefs, Upcoming Pumpkin Painting Event, Design for LV Gateway Sign Commentary, Upcoming Trunk or Treat Event, and Looking for Additional Signs of Fall in LV Area
Seems like we have been enjoying European cuisine for the last few weeks. We reviewed Mimi’s, La Clochette, and Pinocchio’s Pantry. France and Italy seem to be our countries of choice. And, now we are back to Italy reviewing Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen at 1652 Camino del Rio North, next to CAVA and across from Nordstrom’s Rack at the Mission Valley Shopping Center.
In checking their website, I found out they pride themselves on locally sourcing all their ingredients and food made to order. Additionally, it says their West Coast spin on traditional Italian fare will stir your taste and feed your soul. With my soul badly in need of being fed, off we went to give it a try. They are locally owned and operated.
The restaurant has inside and outside dining and a cute bar called Limoncello. Their menu includes pastas, panini, pizza, calzone, salads, and more. They have a happy hour with reduced prices and a loyalty club you can join for specials.
The restaurant features counter service. A board out front tells you what their specials are that day. We noticed a special that included a half panini and soup for $17.95. Since Steve wanted a panini and I wanted soup, we decided to be economical and order the special to split. A fountain drink also comes with the special. They give you a number to place on your table and then you are served your meal. The staff was very friendly.
Their menu included many items that are meatless and Steve went for the Italian Farmer’s Panini which included roasted eggplant, zucchini, roasted red peppers, arugula, and herbed ricotta. The soup of the day was Butternut Squash Soup with croutons.
Steve enjoyed the panini and he did let me have a small taste. The bread was crusty and tasty and the veggies grilled just right. Though we had never had ricotta on a sandwich, we both like ricotta and it gave the panini a bit of pizzaz. It was very good. The butternut squash soup was excellent. It was mostly pureed, but had small pieces of squash and spices, and the croutons were also seasoned. The small cup was filling, but I could have eaten a large bowl it was so good.
They are also known for their garlic knots which I will try on our next visit. They have a kids menu, hot drinks and great looking desserts including tiramisu and cannoli. They also have a full bar.
The restaurant was almost empty when we got there for an early lunch, but soon was buzzing with diners who came to enjoy lunch at the more traditional time. There was a friendly atmosphere, and it was relatively quiet. The restaurant is open to the outside so you can do a bit of people watching.
I think you will enjoy this restaurant if you like Italian food. Maybe next week we can get out of Europe and try another continent.
LV News Briefs
—USD Student Housing Increases: A recent article reported that the University of San Diego, located here in Linda Vista, has plans to increase the number of student housing units aboard its campus from 2600 to 5701. The plan has been approved by the San Diego Planning Commission. The plan received earlier approval from the Linda Vista Community Planning Board.
—Drop Off Your Ballot: Registered voters can return their mail ballot for the November Presidential General Election to any one of 150 official ballot drop boxes located around the county. The Linda Vista ballot box is located in front of the Linda Vista Library at 2160 Ulric Street. The Registrar’s official ballot drop boxes are red, white and blue and feature the Registrar’s logo along with the County seal. All boxes are labeled “Official Ballot Drop Box” and made from high grade, heavy gauge stainless steel. Each official ballot drop box is designed to prevent physical damage and unauthorized access to mail ballots. The boxes feature double-locking access doors, anti-pry door jambs and other anti-theft construction measures. The Registrar’s ballot retrieval team is responsible for collecting ballots inside the box.
—Kearny High Football: The Komets visit Clairemont High School for a game this Friday October 18. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
—USD Football: The University of San Diego Torero Football team takes on Marist College this Saturday October 18. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
—LV Community Garden: If you are curious about what is going on at the new Linda Vista Community Garden, you can take advantage of the garden’s volunteer/visiting hours that are held each Monday (4:00 pm to dusk) and Wednesday (9:30 am to 12:30 pm). Additionally, Seed Starting classes are held the third Friday of each month (12:30 pm to 1:30 pm) at Bayside Community Center.
—SDPD Volunteer Opportunity: Looking for a way to be involved and make a difference in your community? Perhaps joining the San Diego Police Department’s Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) is what you are looking for. The commitment is not overwhelming and can provide a sense of purpose to your day. SDPD Community Relations Police Officer David Surwillo posted the following video link so you can see if this is something which might interest you https://www.instagram.com/joinsdpdnow/reel/DArRODtO2ch/
Upcoming Community Event
Pumpkin Painting this Saturday
One of our favorite Linda Vista residents—Bree Partington— will conduct another of her fun family activities this Sunday. In recognition of the season, Bree will hold her 3rd Annual Pumpkin Painting in the Park event in Mission Heights Neighborhood Park (5000 Acari Street) on October 20 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Everyone is invited. Bring your own pumpkin! Paint and brushes will be provided. Check out the flyer below for details.
We are happy to report that Bree’s last activity—which included her participation in the Porsche Pours and Pups held last month in Kearney Mesa—raised over $8,000 and got 7 pups adopted and fostered!
Commentary
Are the Signs Always Greener?
We all know the old saying…The grass is always greener on the other side. That’s how some people in Linda Vista feel about the Convoy District over in Kearny Mesa. That area has become famous as a result of all its Asian restaurants. It’s the place to go to enjoy great Asian cuisine, as well as other bars and cafés. The corridor along Convoy Street has become a destination for people in the San Diego area. And on top of all that, the Convoy District recently obtained one of the most prominent of San Diego distinctions—its own neighborhood gateway street sign.
Many people here in Linda Vista look at the Convoy District and ask…How come we can’t be a popular destination like the area up the road? And why can’t we have our own “Linda Vista” neighborhood gateway street sign? However, after reading a recent article in the San Diego Union Tribune about the growing pains being experienced by the Convoy District, I am glad our neighborhood has maintained its quiet, unassuming ways. Nevertheless, there is one aspect of being famous that I still think we should insist on having, and that’s a neighborhood gateway street sign.
The SD Union Tribune article titled “New sign, bike lanes and big plans come to Convoy Street — but businesses aren’t entirely sold”, published on October 15, described a Convoy District that is too congested with traffic, does not possess enough parking spaces due to bike lanes, has businesses losing money because of the parking situation, and is expected to become a much more dense neighborhood based on the official community plan for many more apartment buildings in the coming years.
We certainly don’t want those kind of problems in Linda Vista. And yet, it appears to me the only way we can get a neighborhood gateway street sign hanging over Linda Vista Road—one that will impressively greet visitors as they drive into our community—is to become a big-time, high density commercial destination. I am hoping there is indeed another way we can stay true to our quiet, Linda Vista unassuming ways, and still acquire that sign.
Just in case that is a possibility, the Linda Vista Update went ahead and commissioned an impressive design plan for a neighborhood gateway street sign that would be positioned on a pedestal in the middle of Linda Vista Road, in between John Baca Park and the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. Unlike the City, we don’t have $250,000 to commission an architect or artist to come up with an initial design that might end up sitting on the shelf for the next twenty years because the city has no money to fund building of such a street sign. Instead, we went to the local universities, screened possible student design candidates, and found a particular student who was on the verge of flunking out of his design class—turns out he needed to complete a project to obtain extra credit and avoid failing his class and getting kicked out of school, which means he was so desperate he did the design for us and only charged $11.29.
He put all his creative forces to work to come up a worthy design. As you can see from the design rendition he completed (as depicted in the photo located at the beginning of this article), he did a great job. That Linda Vista sign placed on a pedestal would be a welcome addition to our community. So creative…so colorful…so impressive. It seems to be made for Linda Vista Road. It’s even more colorful than the one on Convoy Street. And the way he made the letters look like they were printed on children’s A-B-C blocks would effectively symbolize all the great educational institutions present in Linda Vista. The off-kilter alignment of the letters is meant to symbolize what A-B-C blocks would look like if assembled by a kid. It’s all about symbolism, you know?
How much would such a design cost? No need to worry about that now, readers. What’s more important is that everyone agree on this street design. Then we can start with the fundraisers…bake sales, pancake breakfasts, raffles, spaghetti dinners, illegal poker games, crypto currency, etc. We will have all the money raised in no time. Construction can then begin. And then we Linda Vistanistas will stand proud!!
Upcoming Community Event
What Does Fall In Linda Vista Look Like?
We published an article a couple weeks ago that described Fall in Linda Vista as consisting mainly of opportunities to purchase popular Pumpkin Spice products from local merchants. In the absence of cool, brisk weather, we tried to make the point that autumnal seasonal distinctions here in our community are not that dramatic.
However, we succeeded in finding a few more local features that highlight the change of seasons in Linda Vista. The first of these features includes the big leafy trees lining both sides of the segment of Linda Vista Road near the Alcala Knolls/Francis Parker School area. Driving up the road and viewing the changing colors of the leaves on these trees. you might think you are on the East Coast. Very colorful!
Second, you can go down to the far east end of the Mission Valley Center Mall parking lot and see all the pumpkins at the Pumpkin Station amusement area (it’s where the inflatables are normally located). The Pumpkin Station venue attempts to display an old fashioned countryside or farm area version of Fall right in the middle of high density Mission Valley. While there kids can check out baby goats at the petting zoo, ride a small train, and jump on the inflatables (after buying tickets, of course). If you are a parent of very young kids I think you can convince your children that they are not in Mission Valley but visiting farmland in Pennsylvania (depending on how gullible your kids are, and how smooth talking you are).
Finally, we took a trip up to Bay Park to visit the Coronado Brewing Company tasting room. They serve hard cider and we thought this was a perfect way to note the arrival of the Fall season. Apple cider is considered by many to be a signature beverage of autumn. In the tasting room you have a choice of Cranberry Cinnamon Cider, Nice and Dry Cider, and Super Fruit Cider (with blueberries). We both tried the Nice and Dry Cider and found it to be very tasty and not too sweet.
We will continue to search for more evidence of Fall in the Linda Vista area. In the meantime, we hope you get the opportunity to enjoy the activities noted above. And, of course, there’s always a plethora of pumpkin spice products to choose from.
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