Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar for Shopping Break
Plus: LV News Briefs, LV Fair Announcement, LV Town Hall Summary, Traffic Cone Commentary, LV Poetry Corner, SD County Fair Community Banner Program, and Kearny Soccer Update
The Linda Vista Update
Fashion Valley Mall is a very high end mall filled with many luxury stores that I’ve yet to enter. I’m more a JC Penney shopper. However, we have been trying some of the mall’s eating establishments and have enjoyed most of them very much. The Café Terrace is becoming a hub of restaurants, both full service and specialty shops with ice cream, desserts or drinks.
We’ve been wanting to try Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar which is attached to the Tommy Bahama store on the first level next to Macy’s. Fashion Valley is their first restaurant location in San Diego. We decided to go there for lunch recently. They are open from 11AM - 9PM every day but Sunday when they close at 8. They have happy hour from 3 - 6 daily and live music 4 - 8 Mon – Sat and 1 – 5 Sun. They have an outside dining patio and beautiful bar. Their menu includes Shareables, Handhelds, Salads and Bowls, Sides and Desserts. They have a full menu of cocktails, wines, beer, of course their specialty being margaritas, and non-alcoholic drinks. We found their prices to be very reasonable from a low of $6 for a side to a high of $20 for Steak Flatbread.
You place your order at the front counter and can sit at the bar or at any of the large number of tables on the patio. The patio is fully covered. The person who took our order was very friendly and helpful. The weather was cool and I was worried I would freeze to death, but she assured me they had plenty of heaters scattered around the patio and we chose a table near one, which kept us toasty warm.
From the shareables which included coconut shrimp, ahi tuna tacos, chicken wings and more, I chose buffalo cauliflower ($10) which was Cajun fried and included herb buttermilk dressing (absolutely delicious) or buffalo (which I found too spicy for me) and pickles. I make these cauliflower wings at home a lot, but these were very different as they were coated with a spicy breading which was applied evenly, not helter-skelter like mine. They looked really pretty and tasted better.
From handhelds, which included steak tacos, burger and chicken sliders, steak flatbread and more, Steve chose Blackened Mahi Mahi tacos ($15) which came with tomato relish, chipotle Aioli, Island Slaw, lime and sour cream. There were two and he really liked them. He said they were a little spicy, but very good. The servings were just right for a light lunch and we had no leftovers.
The music at lunch time was not live, but a very good selection of tunes to get you in a beach vibe sort of mood in spite of the cool weather. I think this would be a nice place to sit down and relax while you are spending great sums of money at the mall. No one is rushing you to finish and the wait staff is very friendly.
LV News Briefs:
—USD Baseball: The University of San Diego baseball team opens its season at home this weekend with a four-game series against #23 ranked Texas Christian University. The Toreros play Friday night at 6:00 pm, followed by games on Saturday 5:00 pm, Sunday at 1:00 pm, and Monday at 12:00 pm.
—LVTC Meeting: The Linda Vista Town Council will hold its monthly general meeting Wednesday February 19. The meeting will be held at the Baha’i Center, located at 6545 Alcala Knolls Drive. The public is invited. Social time begins at 6:00 pm and the official part of the meeting starts at 6:30 pm. Check out the flyer below for info on this month’s guest speaker.
—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 LVPG by clicking HERE.
Upcoming Community Event
Participate in LV Multi-Cultural Parade and Fair
The Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade will take place on April 26. Check out the flyer below to see the various ways how you can support this great community event.
Please click HERE to learn more about ways to contribute.
LV District 7 Town Hall Meeting Held Last Week
Last week District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo held a Town Hall at Bayside Community Center. Residents of Linda Vista and Mission Valley were invited to attend. The Town Hall allowed Councilmember Campillo the opportunity to make a presentation that expressed his priorities for District 7 and the City, and also allowed residents to ask questions and express concerns.
During the Town Hall, Councilmember Campillo emphasized the following issues as his priorities:
Public safety
Infrastructure
Economic development (strong economy)
In the process of highlighting these priorities, Campillo also discussed his strong desire to stay updated on what city workers are doing by participating in such activities as police ride alongs and staying overnight at fire stations to understand what challenges go into doing such jobs. He discussed the issue of public safety, and brought up the point that according to data, San Diego is the second safest major city in the country. He addressed the importance of smart street lights and license plate readers and their potential for fighting crime. He also spoke about the potential of using CitroTech—an EPA-approved fire suppressant that has been tested in District 7. In terms of addressing the need for a strong economy, he discussed what he has done to help streamline the permit process for small business owners proposing the city should have a list of qualified contractors that can allow the process to work much faster. Campillo also spoke about the consequences of Measure E failing in this past election, and how this has hindered City efforts to tackle citizen needs. The Measure was designed to add a one cent tax increase to raise City revenues.
The question/answer part of the Town Hall provided lively discussion on such subjects as the homeless situation, water bill increases, the size of new apartment complexes and accompanying parking problems, the bonus ADU incentive, and the importance of the Pure Water project.
The Town Hall proved an informative session for all residents in attendance.
Commentary
Get to Know Your Traffic Control Devices
I recall about three years ago saying to someone…”Have you noticed the number of orange traffic cones, delineators and bollards springing up on Friars Road?” Since that time, the number of these orange objects has grown exponentially as never-ending construction for the Pure Water Project, the Riverwalk development, the Rivair apartment complex, and various pipeline projects has continued to expand and linger like an orange fungus that cannot be eradicated. As a result, each day we are forced to take detours, weave from one closed lane to another, and drive what appears to be a driving obstacle course that requires avoiding anything the color of orange. And there seems to be no end in sight for some of these projects.
The truth is, it doesn’t do any good to complain about all these orange traffic devices telling us where and how to drive. Instead, we need to accept that Friars Road will continue to play host to many orange cones, delineators and bollards for the foreseeable future, perhaps for the next couple decades. Hence, what I advise we do is stop fighting their presence, and instead adapt and learn to accept these traffic objects, much like we would learn to accept an annoying co-worker or family member. In fact, I suggest we need to go one step further and learn to appreciate them.
How can we appreciate these objects? By learning more about them. Once you do so, you may start to see the beauty that lies within. This is why I have offered below a Top Ten list of interesting facts gathered from the internet pertaining to these sturdy orange road warriors:
1. Traffic cones were invented in 1940 by a Los Angeles road worker named Charles D. Scanlon. In 1943 he received a patent for his invention. He called it the Traffic Marker.
2. The Ailee Willis Museum of Kitsch has a Traffic Cone Preservation Society.
3. Every year in the US, thieves steal a million traffic cones.
4. A British citizen by the name of David Morgan owns the biggest personal collection of traffic cones—over 500 cones.
5. Traffic cones are sometimes referred to as witch hats, especially in Australia.
6. Traffic cones were originally made of rubber. They are now made of PVC.
7. An estimated 140 million traffic cones are in use world-wide (editor’s note: a significant percentage of these are currently on Friars Road).
8. In 1983, the US Federal Highway Administration published the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,” which standardized traffic cone design and usage.
9. Though orange is the most common color, traffic cones can also come in lime, yellow, blue, green, red, and pink.
10. The height of a traffic cone typically ranges from 18 to 36 inches.
WARNING: Though I think it’s a good idea to develop a healthy appreciation for traffic control devices, I also believe that if we start noticing Linda Vista residents saying the below words, we can safely assume the traffic control devices on Friars Road have overstayed their welcome:
1. “Daddy, can I dress up as a traffic cone for Halloween?”
2. “I am not a landscape artist. I live in Linda Vista. What I paint are streetscapes containing a heavy use of orange paint.”
3. “The traffic cone pinata was full of candy.”
4. “I am plan on visiting the National Traffic Cone Museum during my next vacation.”
5. “How do we plan to decorate the family traffic bollard for Christmas?”
6. “I have insured my collection of vintage traffic delineators for thousands of dollars.”
7. I am going to Costco to see if they sell a family-size box of traffic cones.”
8. I just downloaded a traffic cone locater app on my phone. It’s really cool.”
9. “Hey, good looking, want to come up to my apartment and check out my traffic bollard etchings?”
10. I love the smell of traffic cones in the morning. It smells like victory.”
Poetic Perspective on Growing LV Density
LV Poetry Corner
There often seems to be a competition for space in Linda Vista. With real estate prices still high, only so many homes and apartment units available, new ADU’s popping up in backyards, parking spaces at a premium, and more traffic on our roads, I thought a poem might be appropriate to describe how densification manifests itself.
The Linda Vista Space Between and Amongst Us
Bike lanes lining the mesa lie idle.
Amidst a trend of rising density,
channels of space are spared from this cycle.
Developers hunt square footage title
– plotting more units their propensity –
while bike lanes scaling the mesa lie idle.
Locals looking to park, face a tidal
wave of cars along curbs. Shared enmity
for channels of space spared from this cycle.
Though wary homeowners seek to bridle
a next door ADU’s immensity,
bike lanes taunting the mesa lie idle.
Like red carpet ropes meant to entitle
few, white pylons shield our mobility.
Costly channel space spared from this cycle.
Rush hour congests concrete, arrivals
slow, suggesting spatial complexity
since contiguous bike lanes lie idle.
Channels stay spared by hopes for the cycle.
Upcoming Community Event
See Your Face on a Community Banner
The Linda Vista Town Council is working with the San Diego County Fair to recruit local family members to participate in the community banner program. Want to see your face, or the face of a family member on a banner that will hang on a Linda Vista street? If so, read the two flyers below.
Prep Sports
Kearny Soccer Hits Stride at Right Time
The high school Winter Sports season is quickly coming to an end. As the season cools down, the Kearny Komets Boys Soccer team is heating up. With only one game remaining on the calendar before CIF playoffs begin, the Komets are enjoying a four-game win streak. Tonight, Thursday February 13 at 6:00 pm, they look to finish off the regular season with a fifth win in a row against Eastern League rival Mission Bay, before playoffs begin.
Since being highlighted last week in this newsletter, freshman star Max Qui finished off another 3 goals in the last two massive victories over University City (4-3), and Clairemont (3-1) on Senior Night. Co-starring beside Qui, freshman counterpart Christopher Zapatero added a hat trick last week against Hoover, which earned him SD Union Tribune Prep Athlete of the Week honors. The Komets now sit with a record of 8-4-3.
Coach Noel Musicha attributes the improvement in the Komet’s play to “The shift (in formation) to a 4-3-3 (4 defenders, 3 midfielders, and 3 strikers). It has given everyone an opportunity to play their correct positions, allowing them to play to their strengths…a complete game changer.”
The biggest change has been moving a key player into a more defensive position. Joao Matarazzo moved from attacking center midfielder to a defensive center midfielder. This has solidified the defense, and the Komets are now able to start the attack, through the skill of Matarazzo, further back in the defensive side of the field. Matarazzo, a sophomore in his first year at Kearny, grew up in San Paolo, Brazil before moving to San Diego with his family just a few years ago. In his first year with the Komets, he has netted four goals, eleven assists, and has earned the right to take all freekicks. For those set pieces, he provides a dual threat to score, and to serve up assists from most anywhere on the field.
The Komets currently sit in 8th place in Division 2, and a win tonight should be enough to punch their ticket to a sixth straight postseason appearance. In addition, 2nd place in the always competitive Eastern League is up for grabs tonight against the Buccaneers.
***
The LV Update wishes to thank John Winter-Nolte for his contributions to this article.
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Bikable cities-- which ultimately lead to lower congestion and pollution -- have to start somewhere. Like the trolley, right? It's all about changing habits, and we have a powerful habit around cars. NYC, Seattle, Portland, SanFrancisco-- admittedly more compact than SD, have successfully changed commuter habits. Davis, FT Collins, etc. are far better communities for being bike cities. And let's not get started on Scandinavia!
If want to maintain a car culture and and unbridled development culture-- fine. It seems like we do. But as a wannabe bike rider in SD, it is powerfully hard to connect routes in a safe way without dedicated sharing of the road.
Good poem; really enjoy poetic expression:).