So Many Sandwiches, So Many Choices
Plus: LV News Briefs, Money and the City of San Diego Government, the Rite-Aid Replacement Tournament Bracket, and Poem About the LV Plaza Shopping Center/Mall
The Linda Vista Update
We just reviewed local sandwiches venues in a couple of recent newsletter issues, but something happened that necessitated us doing it once again this week. A brand-new establishment just opened Monday of this week in the Fenton Marketplace area along the row where Oggi’s is located. It is called Ike’s Love and Sandwiches. It looked so intriguing we just had to give it a try.
In reading about this national chain sandwich shop on the internet I learned that the first Ike’s opened in San Francisco in 2007. Their website states that love comes before sandwiches at Ike’s and that they are in the love, respect, and appreciation business. The site talks about Ike’s Dutch Crunch bread with Ike’s secret “Dirty Sauce” along with stating they feature sandwiches for meat lovers, as well as vegetarian, vegan, halal, and gluten free eaters. Who could resist something like that? So off we went heading eastward down Friars Road for our regular Tuesday lunch.
The restaurant is very bright and airy and colorful. They have indoor and outside tables, and a long counter where you order your food. The area behind the counter is all open so you can see the many employees hard at work making sandwiches. The menu board is huge and features so many sandwiches, you may want to look at the online menu ahead of time to narrow down your choices. There were several people at the entrance to welcome you and said they would answer any questions customers might have. They said they can make thousands of different sandwiches, but we were steered to the list of vegetarian selections. The sandwiches all have clever names which are geared to Ike’s different locations or celebrities.
Since we were only interested in vegetarian, we got an explanation of some of those sandwiches. They told us one of their favorites is the Meatless Mike, with vegan meatballs, marinara, pepper jack and the usual lettuce and tomato along with the dirty sauce. However, Steve liked the name “Sometimes I’m a Vegetarian” so he ordered it. I ordered the “Handsome Owl.”
Steve’s sandwich included marinated artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, provolone, lettuce, tomato and, of course, served hot with dirty sauce. He ordered it on Dutch Bread. He said it was delicious, that you don’t think of artichokes on a sandwich, but that it just felt right and fresh and he enjoyed it very much.
Mine included vegan chicken, teriyaki, wasabi mayo, Swiss cheese, lettuce, served hot also with dirty sauce and on Dutch bread. Although I am not a fan of plant-based meat substitutes, this was quite good. I especially liked the tang of the dirty sauce which was a garlic aioli with some spices and seasonings that were excellent. The bread was super delicious, cut in half. I could only eat half, but Steve managed to eat his entire sandwich. We both agreed we would go back and try some of their other choices. The Dutch bread is outstanding – a thick white bread roll with a crunchy top. Yum. As a bonus they put lollipops in our bag.
We were amazed that there were so many patrons when the restaurant had only opened the day before. They must have some fantastic marketing. They also have other San Diego locations including Del Mar, Midway, Poway and Hillcrest, so people must already know them and were looking forward to trying out the new location. Although they started as a small sandwich shop in San Francisco, they are now all over California, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas and Utah.
We think you should give it a try. You are sure to find something you like. Besides sandwiches, they have non-alcoholic drinks and bags of snack items. Tell them you read about them in the Linda Vista Update.
LV News Briefs:
—Parks After Dark: The popular Parks After Dark Program continues this weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at the Linda Vista Recreation Center (Linda Vista Community Park) from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Fun and free activities for kids and families.
—LV Library Kids Activity: California State Park Ranger Story Time will be held this Saturday, July 19 (2:00 pm).
—Civita Park Concert: The Civita Park Summer Concert Series 2025 continues this Sunday July 20 with a concert by Cassie B. San Diego native, Cassie B brings a mix of pop, funk, rock and soul. The concert is free and begins at 6:00 pm. It is held at Civita’s outdoor amphitheater. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets.
—School Backpack Giveaway: Hope Lutheran Church will have a School Backpack Giveaway on Saturday July 26. See the below flyer for details
Commentary
Don’t Worry. It’s Just Money!
It’s all about the money!
That is the main message I derive when reading these days about San Diego City government. The City government has been in crisis mode these past few months as the City leaders and bureaucrats struggled to balance the estimated budget shortfall that had ranged as high as 258 million dollars. Money has also raised its ugly head when discussing the controversial new trash collection service, which the City revealed was going to be much more expensive for City property owners than previously projected two years ago.
We are talking about lots of money. Millions of dollars. And as the old saying goes about our free spending government elected official tendencies…”a million dollars here, a million dollars there, and pretty soon we are talking about a lot of money.” In light of all of this talk about City money expenditures, I think it is important that we place the monetary figures in the proper perspective. Once we do so, you may or may not agree with the City siphoning all this money away from us taxpayers. You might just say “It’s cool. It’s only money.” Or you might end up saying something like “I’m fed up and I’m not going to take it anymore.” I’ll let you decide on your own, but I believe it’s worth the effort of going through such a “perspective building” mental exercise to fully appreciate tax money spent and saved.
For example, earlier this week, the City Council voted to approve the replacement of all trash and recycling bins as part of the new trash collection service. The new bins will have tracking chips that the city insists will ensure greater service. Unfortunately, the replacement of all the old bins (750,000 of them) with fancy new ones will cost us taxpayers 65 million dollars. Yes, that’s sounds like an incredible amount of money to replace good bins. But look at it this way. Based on his current contract, that’s just two season’s worth of salary for Manny Machado. The Padres third baseman is a great player, but he only averages about 30 homeruns a year. Yet, for 65 million dollars we taxpayers will get 750,000 new trash bins. Think about it….60 total over two seasons versus 750,000. You can’t argue with these numbers. This seems like a bargain to me. And by the way, the study that the city commissioned to prepare for the new trash collection service cost 4.5 million dollars. That may seem exorbitant. But keep in mind, Jason Adam, a relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres is paid 4.8 million dollars a year. Turns out for roughly that kind of money you can get the services of an All-Star relief pitcher, or plans for a “world class” trash service. It’s all relative.
And regarding that previous 258 million dollar City budget shortfall…you might be surprised to know the Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest team salary in Major League Baseball at 321 million dollars. In comparison, that 258 million dollar City budget shortfall is relatively modest. Come to think of it, the infamous 101 Ash Street building fiasco cost the city 132 million dollars. Sounds really bad, right? Yet, based on the Dodgers team salary for 2025, the City could have just about bought and wasted money on THREE 101 Ash Street building fiascos. We could sort of count our blessings that such a thing didn’t happen. I understand how this could be considered twisted thinking on my part, but can you blame me for wanting to look on the bright side of government waste and corruption? “It could always be worse,” I like to say.
And then there is the option of turning the tables and looking at this money thing in a whole different way – as the City giving us a small monetary break that we at first glance don’t really appreciate. For example, it turns out that though the City leaders originally promised a couple years ago we would pay only about $23.00-$25.00 a month for “world class” trash pick-up, they later reneged on that price and insisted it would end up costing about $47.59. Fortunately, the City Council finally settled on a price of $43.60. Many taxpayers are still unhappy about that upcoming monthly charge, but look at it this way…the City found a way to save us $3.99 a month. What a deal!! With that kind of money we can splurge each month and buy a couple items on the Taco Bell value menu. Or, four Super Lotto lottery tickets (if you have an extra penny). Or, if you are willing to throw in a couple extra bucks, a cup of fancy coffee at Starbucks. Thank you, City officials!
I say we count our blessings, and remind ourselves that the idea the City is wasting large amounts of our taxpayers money is just perspective-based. For the sake of your own sanity, please take into consideration some of the ideas I just reviewed and be thankful the City has allowed you to still have money left over to buy some items at Taco Bell, and that you don’t have the headache of worrying about making the Dodgers payroll each month. Life is good. Stay positive.
What/Who Will Replace Rite-Aid?
It’s a guessing game as to what business will eventually replace the soon-to-close Rite Aid store at the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. There are all kinds of rumors flying about.
In order to add to the mystery, we at the Linda Vista Update recently utilized our very own artificial intelligence (AI) entity named VISTA5000 to come up with a prediction. This AI entity uses all kinds of fancy algorithms (whatever that is) to perform tasks and make decisions. This week our newsletter’s information systems department fed VISTA5000 all kinds of data and the AI entity came up with a Rite-Aid Replacement Tournament bracket competition (see bracket chart below) as the best way to depict how a worthy selection could be made from a number of commercial businesses. Of course, as part of the information provided, we reminded VISTA5000 that a mini-Target store (with pharmacy capabilities) had been in the running to replace Skate World back in 2019. So a mini-Target store started off as the logical front runner in this bracket tournament. VISTA5000 then took other businesses typically found at malls and strip malls and pitted these entries against each other in bracket format.
As you might guess, some of these businesses were quickly eliminated. For example, it’s hard to have a rock climbing center without a high ceiling which the current building doesn’t have, and though there are two liquor stores competing in the bracket (because Linda Vista really likes liquor stores and opportunities to buy lottery tickets) neither one made it out of the first round, and there are already two pizza joints at the shopping center so Sbarro Pizza also was quickly eliminated. I think the insurance costs associated with a competitive Ax Throwing venue made this choice a definite no-go. And does the world really need another Starbucks? We were a bit sorry to see the Pie Shop didn’t make it far since LV is in sorry need of a pie shop, but who are we to argue with artificial intelligence?
In any event, VISTA5000 eventually picked the mini-Target store as the tournament winner. VISTA5000 also informed us the Yoga Studio entry was a very close second but that the typical yoga studio does not offer a much needed pharmacy.
If you don’t like the tournament bracket results, please do not blame our editorial staff…blame it on VISTA5000. This newsletter doesn’t have an extravagant budget, so keep in mind VISTA5000 is not exactly the most high priced AI entity available on the market. In fact, it reflects very little money spent by the newsletter on AI, and you know what they say….”You get what you pay for.” In that regard, you might say VISTA5000 should be referred to as artificial SEMI-intelligence. But if a mini-Target store actually moves into the LV Plaza Shopping Center, then VISTA5000 will expect congratulations and a virtual pat on the back from all LV Update critics.
LV Plaza Shopping Center
Poetry Corner
As many of our readers know, the original Linda Vista Mall was one of the first malls built in this country. Eleanor Roosevelt, our country’s First Lady at the time, visited Linda Vista for its ribbon cutting ceremony back in 1942. The mall was a centerpiece of the planned community built for defense workers. It has since gone through several changes. Back in 1972 the once futuristic mall was torn down and replaced by the current Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center.
The shopping center has since seen several different stores rotate in and out, with Rite-Aid being the latest to eventually close its doors and leave. The loss of Rite-Aid means a big change for the LV Plaza Shopping Center and its many customers. Hence, we saw this as a good time to express our feelings about the mall/strip mall and what it has meant/currently means to the LV community.
Strip Mall Up on the Linda Vista Mesa
Legend has it Eleanor Roosevelt herself
was present at the creation. Way back in ’42.
Ribbon-cutting visitor to the mesa,
arriving here to welcome one
of the country’s first shopping malls.
Designed by experts as neighborhood
centerpiece. A walk’s easy reach
from each house and street corner,
exactly as the newfangled community
planning professionals intended.
Presented in a sleek, modernistic style
for nascent American consumers.
Offering a confident, promising
first look at what a powerful economic engine
– one still in the process of revving up –
would provide country-wide in abundance
once victory steadied the future.
Department store, barbershop, beauty salon,
bakery, and deli, all gathered together
within modest scale. At once resembling
the village green of yesteryear, while
serving as prototype for grander dimensions.
Nowadays, colossal names like Versace,
Rolex, and Gucci hold court down
in the nearby valley, ruling over consumers
from a Nordstrom-anchored castle.
An expansive, fashionable mall
placing luxury within easy reach.
Meanwhile, up on the mesa,
in its current incarnation, the venue
hosts a Vietnamese market.
Stark Saigon contrast with the original Safeway.
Of course, circumstances dictate change;
compare ‘42’s inklings of promise
with ‘75’s resulting resilience, employed
to overcome defeat and displacement.
Notwithstanding a dose of diversity,
this small strip mall, gritty reinvention
of its former shiny self, now retails
in less elevated expectations. Pho shops,
a Mexican candy store, and dueling pizza
franchises offer deals, but the former centerpiece
no longer suggests outsized possibilities.
Take, for example, its long struggling Rite-Aid
drug store, now housing little more than empty shelves.
National chain overcome by bankruptcy;
unable to offer the consumer prescriptions,
much less promises of commercial survival.
No problem, however, for the nearest Costco – current
monument to abundance – is a two-mile drive up the road. 
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