The Peruvian Spot Opens
Plus: LV News Briefs, Kearny High Frosh Soccer Star, and Housing Issues in LV Take Center Stage
The Linda Vista Update
In last week’s LV Update I lamented the fact that there were no new restaurants in the Linda Vista area to review, and that we would have to resort to revisiting those previously reviewed. Well, no sooner were those words published than I happened on the great news about a recent restaurant opening at 7510 Mesa College Drive (across the street from Kearny High School). I thought the address had a familiar ring to it and realized it was in the same area of two other excellent establishments we had reviewed — Homestyle Hawaiian, and Cuscatlan Salvadorean Cuisine. And even more exciting, I learned it was a Peruvian Restaurant called The Peruvian Spot. One of our fondest memories is our visit to Peru, to include the ruins of Machu Picchu, so we knew we had to try it.
I did a little research and found that The Peruvian Spot just opened within the last few weeks. It is run by Willy and Silvana. It turns out Silvana is an award winning international pastry chef and chef for the House of Peru in Balboa Park. We saw the restaurant is open from 8AM to 3:30PM Tues- Fri, 8:30 to 4 Sat - Sun, and closed Monday so we decided to do lunch the very next day. Carnivore Sidekick was not available since he has a job, so we had him pick something off the online menu (with meat) and promised we would deliver it to him.
There is free parking in front of the restaurant, which is always nice. As soon as we entered, we were greeted in a very friendly way by Willy the co-owner. As he was explaining the menu to us, I mentioned the LV Update and he told us that his friend at the Salvadoran restaurant next door had already told him about us, and as a result, he is already a subscriber to the newsletter, so that made us feel like VIPs. He described the items on the menu that were meat-free and made some suggestions, which we took — Papa a la Huancaina, Yucca, a Lomito Sandwich (for the Carnivore), and some of the famous pastries, Alfajores and Mil Hojas.
The restaurant is very spacious with a really nice area for young ones to play showing it is obviously a family restaurant. There are beautiful paintings on the wall of scenes of Peru, all painted by Silvana’s mother. There are a couple of flat screen TV’s as well. Willy told us that prior to this restaurant, they sold wholesale, and were excited to open this space when it became available as he lives only blocks away. He also introduced us to Chef Silvana and she explained what was in the dishes we ordered as well as a description of the sauces.
The menu has some very interesting sounding dishes including a chicharron sandwich, chicken croissant, tamal, empanadas, other sandwiches, entrees, side dishes, a kids menu, baked goods, hot and cold beverages such as fruit drinks, Andean tea, and more. Check out their complete menu on the website.
Steve and I shared Papa a la Huancaina which is boiled potatoes in a spicy cream sauce made of queso fresco, and aji Amarillo (yellow Peruvian pepper) and olive, and is absolutely delicious. The name is derived from Huancayo, a city in Peru near Lima, but is really a staple throughout the country. There was a bit of spice, but so creamy that it became almost addictive, and we finished it up. We also shared a plate of yucca which neither of us had tasted before. The yucca is imported from Peru. It was fried and came with two sauces, one much like the one on the potato and one green. They were crispy and so tasty that again, we finished the whole plate. Willy was nice enough to give us a sample of a couple of their drinks and the fruit drinks were fresh tasting and hit the spot after the spicy potato.
We delivered the sandwich to the Carnivore Sidekick, and practically before we got home there was a text and a picture saying that it was really, really delicious. You know it has to be good to get two “reallys.” He enjoyed the big chunks of meat with onions and peppers on a large roll.
We gave the carnivore and his sidekick the Alfajores, which were filled cookies, and we kept the Mil Hojas, which was a puff pastry filled with dulce de leche and cream (of French origin but popular in Spain and Latin America). We cut it in pieces to make it last longer, but what we ate was heavenly. It melted in your mouth.
Pastry Chef Silvana is a treasure and we are lucky to have her and Willy in the Linda Vista area. They are both very personable and I know you will enjoy meeting them and eating their delicious food. Give them a try and when you go to The Peruvian Spit, tell them you read about their restaurant in the LV Update.
LV News Briefs:
—District 7 Town Hall: District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo will hold a Town Hall for residents of Mission Valley and Linda Vista tonight February 6 (6:00 pm) at the Bayside Community Center. Please read the below flyer for further details. This is a great opportunity to express your concerns to the Councilmember. Please RSVP for the Town Hall HERE.
—Valentine’s Family Event: Mission Heights resident Bree Partington will hold a Valentine’s Hearts and Crafts Day Saturday February 8 for local families. Please check out the below flyer for details.
—Linda Vista Planning Group Election: The Linda Vista Planning Group (LVPG) is looking for LV residents to run for LVPG membership. The election for the LVPG will be held at the Group’s meeting in February. The Linda Vista Planning Group provides citizens with an opportunity for involvement in advising the City Council, the Planning Commission, and other decision-makers on development projects, general or community plan amendments, re-zonings and public facilities. The LVPG meets on the fourth Monday of each month. Check out the below flyer for details. You can complete an application to run for membership in the Group by clicking HERE.
—Friendly Adoptable Dog at SD Humane Society: Bradley, the friendly dog we profiled in last week’s article about SD Humane Society’s new Dog Day Out program, remains available for adoption. You can check him out, as well as other dogs available for adoption by clicking HERE.
In the Spotlight
Kearny High Freshman is Top Scorer
For most high school freshman athletes talented enough to make it on the varsity roster, their first year on the team is generally a time for observation as they find themselves sitting on the bench and observing the older players participating in all the action. But such is not the case for Kearny High freshman soccer player Max Qui. Based on his ability to score goals and serve as a team leader, he is proving to be the exception to the rule in terms of playing a prominent role for his varsity team.
Last year at this time, Qui was playing soccer for Montgomery Middle School; however, this year he has wasted no time acclimating to the challenges of playing at the high school varsity level. While playing the position of striker forward, he is a top scorer for the team—something that is quite rare for a freshman. He started off the season in an impressive manner by scoring in his first game, and then two goals in his second game, quickly establishing himself as worthy of being a starter at the varsity level. As Qui said, “At the beginning of the season, I thought I would be on the varsity team, but I didn’t expect to get much playing time, and didn’t expect to score many goals.”
He has more than exceeded his initial expectations, scoring in 8 out of the first 10 games played by the Kearny Komets, and he happened to miss 2 of those games due to being ill. He has lofty aspirations of scoring 25 goals this season, with an overall team goal of making the playoffs at the very competitive CIF Division II level. The team’s record currently stands at 6-4-3, to include an impressive win over highly ranked Orange Glen and a 3-1 victory over Sweetwater High School.
As explained by Kearny coach Noel Musicha, Qui is “Fast and has the ability to bring the whole team into the game by holding the ball. He is playing well beyond what would be expected of someone of his age.” Regarding Qui’s confidence, Coach Musicha added, “In his mind, he has the confidence to lead the team.”
Qui happens to be one of three freshman starters on the team. The Kearny boys soccer program has recently established itself as an up and coming program, participating in the CIF playoffs the last couple years while being elevated from Division IV to the Division II level last year based on the program’s strong performance.
Qui’s interests are not focused exclusively on the soccer field. In terms of academics, Qui’s favorite subject is math and he credits Kearny math teacher Monica Carapia as his favorite teacher.
Though he is excelling as an individual on the soccer field, he is quick to credit those people who have helped him get to his current level of play. “We need to always be respectful of the coaches and our parents,” he said. “Without them we could never achieve much.” As far as the rest of the season goes, he expects to continue playing based on his personal philosophy of “Never back down. Never give up.”
The Kearny High boy’s soccer team plays its next home game tonight Thursday February 6 (at 6:00 pm) against highly competitive University City (10-2-5).
Housing Issues Stay Prominent in Linda Vista
As we have previously reported in this newsletter, issues related to housing continue to play a significant role in Linda Vista. The need for more housing is resulting in new construction projects that include primarily mid-size apartment complexes as well as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). In turn, these projects are seen as intrusions that place a burden on residents by causing parking and privacy problems as well as posing threats to the character of the respective neighborhoods. In these past couple of weeks we saw a few familiar LV housing issues, to include issues having to do with safety, come to the forefront and gain our attention. The raising of these issues serve to remind us of the complexity involved in managing the inevitability of neighborhood change and the expectations that come with that change.
First, at last week’s meeting of the Linda Vista Planning Board, a presentation was made by a development group that is currently building the 94-unit Hillside apartment project located on Hueneme Street (at the intersection with Lauretta Street). This project is close to the University of San Diego and will attract students looking for housing. This apartment complex will join several other similar multi-story complexes in the neighborhood that have opened in recent years. As explained by the development group, the complex will include 50+ parking spaces for the 94 units that can be leased by the apartment residents. However, it becomes very evident while driving around that particular neighborhood that there already appears to be a shortage of available street parking spaces. Since not all residents of this apartment complex will have parking spaces, any new units in the area are sure to make the street parking situation more problematic. In this sense, the introduction of this new development seems to typify some of the problems that local residents have been raising when discussing the densification of old LV neighborhoods.
Second, at last week’s San Diego City Council meeting, a majority of council members, to include District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, made a dramatic decision to reconsider the current policy trajectory for ADU construction in the city of San Diego, and agreed to study the possibility of changing or eliminating the incentive that allows the owner of a single-family lot to build a large number of ADU’s on it. Right now the incentive involves the following: For every ADU a property owner is willing to build that is deed restricted for low income or moderate income tenants, they can build one bonus ADU and charge market-rate rent for the bonus unit. This incentive had served as a major factor in the proliferation of ADU’s in several San Diego communities (to include Linda Vista and helped to drive Mayor Todd Gloria’s push to increase housing in the city. As described in the SD Union Tribune, “It’s widely believed to be the most aggressive ADU incentive in California, and it goes far beyond what state law requires cities to allow regarding ADU’s.”
787 ADU’s were approved under the incentive in 2024. San Diego neighborhoods with the most ADU’s approved under the incentive are Clairemont Mesa (235), southeastern San Diego (117), the College Area (105), and Linda Vista (103). The City Council’s sudden decision to study the issue came as a surprise to many San Diego residents who have closely followed ADU policy. Geoff Hueter, the Chair of the community group Neighbors for a Better San Diego, which has aggressively lobbied against the ADU bonus incentive, welcomed the decision to study the policy, though he was cautiously optimistic, claiming in a SD Union-Tribune article that “If we go all the way back to state law, (permitting just one ADU per property) that would be miraculous.” In an interview with the LV Update he elaborated by saying “We are willing to listen to what the council members have to say when they report back.”
Finally, we want to address a serious threat to the safety of our houses and neighborhoods. At the beginning of this week, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials identified one thing in common between three recent San Diego fires— to include the fire that occurred two weeks ago on the Fashion Valley slope leading up to Linda Vista. This commonality involved the finding that all three fires originated in homeless encampments. We should, of course, continue to show compassion for those people living in such encampments, and we should recognize there are laws governing the conduct of homeless individuals as well as any appropriate reaction by law enforcement officials. However, this finding should force everyone, residents and public/elected officials alike, to review how to we should deal with homeless encampments in light of the current dry weather situation. What can City officials do to help ameliorate this situation and reduce the risk of further fires if we know with great certainty that homeless encampments pose a serious threat to the safety of our homes? Are there any answers, or are we doomed to just wait for the next fire to determine in retrospect that we should have done something? If such a fire occurs on a windy day, will we look back and say that the destruction of many houses could have been avoided had we more effectively addressed the homeless situation instead of just turning a blind eye?
We look forward to following the housing/ADU situation in the coming months, especially in regard to how the City Council eventually addresses any rollback to current ADU policy, and we hope City officials consider the threat that homeless encampments and the underlying factor of climate change pose to our homes/neighborhoods and take some level of preventive action on a proactive basis.
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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.